Death at a Funeral Slays with Laughter

The new British comedy Death at a Funeral is very funny. More importantly, it is a brutally hysterical return to form for In & Out maestro (and Muppet voice artist) Frank Oz. It is just the type of fitfully frenetic farce I was hoping in my heart of hearts it would be, and even if it does run out of steam towards the climax getting to that point is such an acerbically nasty good time I’m more than willing to let that fact slide. 

Daisy Donovan, Andy Nyman and Alan Tudyk in MGM's Death at a Funeral

Daniel’s (Matthew MacFayden, Pride & Prejudice) father is dead. He and his wife Jane (Keely Hawes, Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story), still living in the spacious family home with mom Sandra (Jane Asher, Alfie), are silently apprehensions about the coming day’s funeral, both for different reasons. Not helping matters is favorite son Robert (Rupert Graves, V for Vendetta), a famous novelist skirting through life and living a playboy lifestyle above his means across the ocean in New York.

But the dynamic between this quartet is just the icing on the cake. Cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan, Millions) has to deal with the fact her blow-hard father Victor (Peter Egan, The Wedding Date) absolutely loathes her nebbish solicitor fiancé Simon (Alan Tudyk, Serenity). Worse, her idiot brother Troy (Kris Marshall, Love Actually) has accidentally given her beau a new designer drug he’s just created, sending the poor man into uncontrollable bouts of delirium (and nudity) right in front of the potential in-laws.

Throw in a cantankerous uncle named Alfie (Peter Vaughan, An Ideal Husband) trying to get around in an uncooperative wheelchair, Daniel’s nervous hypochondriac best friend Howard (Andy Nyman, Severance) slowly going mad because of a tiny little rash and Martha’s narcissistic ex Justin (Ewen Bremner, Trainspotting) oozing disgustingly oily charm in an obnoxious quest to get back with her and you have all the makings of a disaster. Add in a mystery guest (Peter Dinklage, The Station Agent) with the potential to really blow things to pieces and Daniel and Robert discover burying a parent is easy; it’s keeping his secrets underground that’s difficult.

This movie is flat-out funny. Not in a Superbad spit out your nose and fall on the floor in pain sort of way but instead in a continuous smirk, giggle and chortle with a good-natured smile fashion that lasts until the end of the picture’s credits. Dean Craig’s (Caffeine) smart and sophisticated script is like a breath of fresh air, each note so spot-on and perfect I almost can’t believe this is only his sophomore writing effort. The film moves with ebullient grace and blissfully feels like a classic Ealing Studios comedy reminiscent of The Lavender Hill Mob and The Ladykillers. It reminded me of A Fish Called Wanda, and while I can’t say it reaches the perfection of that 1988 classic it comes just close enough I can’t wait to see it again.

In a cast as good as this, I must give special mention to Tudyk. His ferociously fearless portrait of a man slowly losing his mind to psychotropic delirium is so brilliant I almost couldn’t stand it. As good as he’s been in previous production this is the one where this talented actor is finally given the chance to strut his stuff. He is, without question, sensational, and if I had my druthers I’d sign him up for an appearance on Oscar night strutting down the red carpet right this very second. 

This might just be the best comedy Oz has made as a director. After the colossal failure of The Stepford Wives I wasn’t sure there was another Dirty Rotten Scoundrels or Bowfinger left in him. Obviously there was, and it just took traveling to England and going back to basics with a low budget independent ensemble production to get it out of him. While it doesn’t offer the knockout punch of the former or the gracefully ironic coda of the latter this one is still pretty darn fantastic, Death at a Funeral easily murdering my apprehensions and slaying me with its laugh-filled wisdom.

Film Rating:  êêê  (out of 4)

Additonal Links

-  Death at a Funeral Theatrical Trailer