Death at a Funeral (2007) is a classic British farce comedy directed by Frank Oz (Little Shop of Horrors) and written by Dean Craig (A Few Best Men). It features a great comic ensemble cast including Matthew MacFadyen, Kris Marshall, Ewen Bremner, Alan Tudyk Andy Nyman, Peter Dinklage, Rupert Graves and Keeley Hawes.
The film follows the great tradition of British ‘farce’ comedies (i.e. The Ladykillers, Carry On). The story revolves around Daniel (MacFadyen) who is left to deal with the funeral arrangements for his late father. Things are complicated when his fathers ex-lover Peter (Dinklage) turns up at the wake and a hilarious comedy of errors ensues.
The well-written script is supported by great comic performances from the entire ensemble. Tudyk’s comic performance as Simon is a delight while MacFadyen plays his charecter completely straight-faced and buttoned up. Comedy favourite Kris Marshall (My Family, Love Actually) gives his usual zany performance as Troy.
Interestingly this spawned a American direct remake of the script (very little is changed other than to Americanise the film); released in 2010 starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Danny Glover, Tracy Morgan & Luke Wilson. Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) even plays the same character in both films. However while funny and well cast I found this version to a poor imitation of the original.
5/5 – Great cast, lots of laughs, highly recommended.
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