Film Review with Robert Mann – Death at a Funeral

5th June 2010

Death at a Funeral *½

It’s remake time yet again but this time the film getting the remake treatment is not one of the obvious candidates. Usually the film getting remade is some well known and well loved movie from classic Hollywood or some recent Asian horror flick that is being swiftly redone for American audiences to cash in on the name it has created but on this occasion the film being remade is a little known and little seen British comedy, one that didn’t exactly make that big an impression at the box office, even though it did find something of a niche following for its offbeat and somewhat dark sense of humour, the emphasis being purely on it being a ‘black’ comedy. That film was 2007’s Death at a Funeral, directed by Frank Oz. Hardly a film in need of a remake, this hasn’t stopped Hollywood from going ahead and doing one anyway and, while the story is virtually identical to that of the original film, the approach taken with Death at a Funeral 2010 is more one of excess, the original film’s low key cast of actors being replaced by a who’s who of big Hollywood stars, although anyone who has seen the original will notice that Peter Dinklage is back, playing the exact same role he played in the original. The real make or break with this remake, though, is director Neil LaBute who has a very mixed track record, having previously directed both the truly dire 2006 remake of The Wicker Man and the quite decent thriller Lakeview Terrace (incidentally, notice that neither are comedies). Is Death at a Funeral a repeat of his last attempt at remaking an existing film or is it more like the latter in being a decent, if hardly spectacular, moviegoing experience.

Arranging his father’s funeral, Aaron (Chris Rock) has to deal with his entire eccentric family as they gather to pay tribute. Complicating matters is Aaron’s wife Michelle (Regina Hall), who wants a baby and expects Aaron to do his husbandly duties – despite the unfortunate timing. Meanwhile Aaron’s successful but chauvinistic brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence) arrives, to the family’s delight but not Aaron’s. With his strong-willed mother Cynthia (Loretta Devine) looking on, Aaron attempts to deliver a fitting memorial, but the family undermines his efforts at every turn as petty resentments and lifelong feuds spill over. Confusion becomes chaos as future in-law Oscar (James Marsden) accidentally ingests hallucinogenic drugs supplied by Elaine (Zoe Saldana), who takes them from her brother Jeff (Columbus Short) believing them to be valiums, and turns Aaron’s carefully planned tribute into the worst funeral in history. To make matters worse, Elaine’s father Duncan (Ron Glass), who disapproves of her future husband has invited her old flame Derek (Luke Wilson) who hopes to win her back, family friend Norman (Tracy Morgan) is struggling to handle the grumpy Uncle Russell (Danny Glover) and a mix up with the body of the deceased by funeral organiser Brian (Kevin Hart) almost results in the wrong body being buried. But even all that pales when Frank (Peter Dinklage), a “special friend” of the deceased, arrives in search of a big payday.

Anyone who has seen the original Death at a Funeral will no doubt find this rather needless remake to be a pale imitation and even those unfamiliar with that film may not be wholly impressed by this film either. The humour is decidely unsophisticated, seemingly targeting the lowest common denominator with its crude gags and dialogue and lack of anything particularly witty or imaginative. This is most evident in one of the film’s big comic setpieces, involving Uncle Russell going to the toilet, Norman getting his hand stuck and a whole lot of human excrement, which will be either be hilarious or disgusting (in some cases, possibly both) depending on your personal taste in humour. Never much a fan of gross out humour, this critic is definitely in the second category but even I have to admit that the film is not without moments that are dead funny (credit to the general manager at my local cinema for that piece of word play), if not exactly comic gold. Sure, the film’s attempts at comedy are sometimes cringeworthy but every now and then the film does score a hit, mostly thanks to the cast who do a pretty good job with what it is pretty weak material. The highlight of the cast is Danny Glover, who is hilarious grumping it up for his role, and his back and forths with co-star Tracy Morgan provide some of the film’s funniest moments. Morgan, whose loud and childish act can grate after a while, also proves amusing on his own terms, if only in small doses. Kudos must also go to Chris Rock, whose pitch perfect comic timing and snappy delivery of lines transforms bland dialogue into humourous one liners. Elsewhere among the cast, Peter Dinklage amuses in a role that probably only he could play, James Marsden is perfectly loopy and very game for the numerous physical gags involving his character, Zoe Saldana provides the film with a more serious voice of reason and injects some genuine emotion into her role, and Martin Lawrence convinces as the amoral and sexist type even if he doesn’t score big in the laughs department. While the cast do indeed do a decent job of overcoming the poor script and often lame gags, however, the predictable plot and tendency towards crude and uninspired humour does make for a film that is hardly memorable viewing, although the cast do at least prevent it from being completely unwatchable. So, Death at a Funeral is a comedy that many may find something to enjoy in but, partially due to the ensemble nature of the film, some characters being funnier than others, it is a film that no one will love. Not quite bad enough to make you mourn the loss of the time watching it then, but not worth writing a great eulogy about either.

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Review by Robert Mann BA (Hons)

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