DVD
REVIEW: DEATH AT A FUNERAL
02/24/08
If you’ve ever accidentally
tuned to PBS, you might have seen those strange shows were a
laugh track plays about ever ten seconds, but nothing funny
is happening on the screen. This I’m told is British comedy.
I’ve also been told that some people find this type of
comedy very funny. I have yet to meet said person, except
for a bitter old man from my younger years who was always
telling me to get the you know what out of his yard. This
old man loved his British comedy and I’ll bet he would have
loved “Death at a Funeral” too.
In “Death at a Funeral”, Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) has
organized a small gathering of family and friends for his
father’s funeral. Daniel and his wife Jane (Keeley Hawes)
are in the process of making a down payment on a flat.
However things start going down hill when his brother Robert
(Rupert Graves ) informs Daniel that he can’t pay for his
half of the funeral. Things gets worst when an unexpected
guest Peter (Peter Dinklage) tries to blackmail Daniel. The
funeral itself turns into a circus with Daniel’s cousin
Martha (Daisy Donovan) boyfriend Simon Smith (Alan Tudyk)
who accidental ingested some LSD starts acting out. The
funnies two character in the movie are Uncle Alfie (Peter
Vaughan) a bitter wheelchair bound old man and Andy Nyman
the chubby family friend.
This movie wasn’t as funny as it could have been and I think
a lot of this has to do with the writing, because we know
that Director Frank Oz is a genius. Writer Dean Craig gave
the movie too much of that British fair where too many of
the jokes seem forces and others at just too cheesy. Granted
there were some funny scenes with Andy Nyman who give a
marvelous performance and Peter Vaughan. The scenes with
Peter Dinklage were also pretty funny.
If you’re a fan of British comedy you’ll probably find this
movie funny otherwise this is not a bad movie, but a lot of
the jokes will be lost on you.
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English
5.1 Dolby Digital Surround - Spanish Dolby Surround
Subtitles:
English/Spanish/Cantonese
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Commentary with
Director Frank Oz
Commentary with Writer Dean Craig and Actors Alan Tudyk and
Andy Nyman
Gag
Reel - a 7-½ minute gag reel
Review
By Brad Peterson
brad@smartcine.com
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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FEATURES |
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People Movie Review
Death at a Funeral
|
Mady |
90 |
|
This movie was absolutely hilarious. It
is fast and witty, and perhaps that is
why the humor was not perceived. This
movie makes you feel guilt for laughing
at things you're not supposed to laugh
at. It is refreshing to see a comedy
that also has weight as opposed to the
slap stick-fall-on-your-face comedy we
are used to.I thoroughly enjoyed this
movie and though it to be a true comedy. |
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