Death at a Funeral
Frank Oz is someone who is so exceptional as a voice actor- bringing to life the indelible likes of Yoda and Miss Piggy over the years- that you tend to forget that hey, he’s not a bad comedic director either. Of course, it helps when he follows something as limp as his remake of “The Stepford Wives” with a sly bit of British wit in “Death at a Funeral.” No major stars, no mega-studio financing (I think it’s safe to call MGM now a mini-major), and little in the way of promotions except a devious trailer and some TV spots. Actually, none of that bodes well for the film’s long-term box-office prospects, which means audiences will just have to spread the word themselves about how wickedly enjoyable this film is. Well, consider this my sales pitch- it may lack the name-recognition of earlier Oz classics of farce (“What About Bob?,” “Bowfinger,” “In & Out,” “Little Shop of Horrors”), but what it lacks in visible hooks it makes up for in comic ones that cast some tasty bait.
Newcomer Dean Craig’s screenplay populates the film with characters whom are funny because of being acted upon, funny for doing the acting upon other characters, and not really funny at all, which makes them funny in their seriousness. You’ll probably be able to figure out which ones belong where as the story goes along, starting with Daniel, one of the sons of the man whose funeral provides the film’s backdrop, and as played by “Pride & Prejudice’s” Matthew MacFadyen, he immediately incures our sympathy with the predicaments he finds himself in. That includes what to do with his grieving mother now that his dad’s gone, especially since his wife Jane (Keeley Hawes) wants them to move into a flat in the city, and his brother Robert (Rupert Graves)- a successful novelist everyone agrees should be giving the eulogy over Daniel- is not really interested in taking her to New York with him to live with her.
And this is just the immediate family. Things get pretty crazy once cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) comes with her boyfriend Simon (Alan Tudyk in a subdued and hilarious performance)- whom her father disapproves of, and doesn’t come to like much more when a mixup at her brother’s house (the brother is played by Kris Marshall, the horndog Brit headed to America in “Love Actually”) sends him on an acid trip. To say nothing of when Howard (a friend of the family played haplessly by Andy Nyman) is left to deal with the feisty, wheelchair-bound Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughan) while the egotist charmer Justin (Ewen Bremer) tries to hit on Martha. And then there’s the matter of Peter, a mysteriously unknown guest to the funeral (played by Peter Dinklage) whose business there is more than just paying his final respects.
There’s the windup. Admittedly, Oz’s delivery isn’t as on-target as you’d prefer from such a seasoned comedy veteran- maybe the distinct subtleties of British humor are lost on the Yank after so long- but it’s hard to think that he won’t have you laughing at all. To be fair, some of the situations are gotten into (and out of) too easily, and some of the performances are too broad to be taken seriously, but it’s an enjoyable affair if you get synced up to the film’s wry wit and tone. I certainly laughed more than at any funeral I’ve been to in real life, and in the end, it does center in on what the importance of the ceremony is…even if it did treat it with little reverence in the process of getting there.
