Death at a Funeral (2007)

Touches You

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

The first must-see film of the year.

So... I seen the American remake of this years ago, and I think its exactly the same film somehow?

A jolly good British funeral that turns into a hilarious clusterf'ck of some of the worst coincidences and overall chaos of stuff that you wouldn't want ever happening to you, but is really funny to watch. Funniest funeral you'll ever see!

Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) and his wife Jane (Keeley Hawes) live in his father's home. Jane is eager to pay the deposit for their new flat. The father dies and they hold the funeral at the home. The day starts off badly when the wrong body arrives. Friends Howard (Andy Nyman) and Justin (Ewen Bremner) pick up Uncle Alfie. Justin is only there to chase after Martha. Daniel's cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) is moving in with Simon (Alan Tudyk). Sandra (Jane Asher) is the widowed wife and Robert (Rupert Graves) is the self-obsessed writer son who refuses to do the eulogy or pay for his half of the funeral. Everybody wants the successful writer Robert to do the eulogy. Martha innocently takes a pill from her pharmacy student brother Troy (Kris Marshall) for Simon. It's a drug specially designed by Troy and Simon doesn't react well. Along with a cavalcade of family and friends, mysterious stranger Peter (Peter Dinklage) shows up with a secret about the father although Daniel keeps ignoring him.This is a fine British farce. There are some fun wacky stuff in here but no big laughs. The actors work well together. They are all good at inhabiting their roles and make each one memorable. It's a lot of chuckle worthy individual performances especially Tudyk.

The strength of this film is its ensemble cast. No one actor dominates the film, though almost every frame containing Alan Tudyck is memorable. The British are noted for their dry humor and this film is loaded with it. The least subtle scene is a bathroom scene with geriatric Uncle Alfie; it will leave you rolling. Peter Dinklage turns in a great performance as a villain that you can't completely dislike. He appears in a 2010 remake of Death of a Funeral. I haven't seen that version, so I don't know if he reprises his role. It would be hard to improve on the 2007 work though.The DVD contains a gag reel and two commentary tracks. The first is with Frank Oz who is a master of giving a movie crew flexibility in the production and having it work out for the better. No command and control guy, he is. The second commentary track features several of the film's prominent actors. Both tracks added to the experience.