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Death at a Funeral
Plot
Frank Oz's 2007 black comedy Death at a Funeral is given the remake treatment with an urban spin in this Chris Rock-produced production. When a dysfunctional clan reuintes to mourn the passing of the family patriarch, a respectful funeral quickly turns into an all-out fiasco marked by bitter resentment, blackmail attempts, and scandalous revelations. Dean Craig penned the script for director Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man), with Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, and Danny Glover co-starring. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, RoviReview
While it's easy to be put off by the often confrontational quality of Neil LaBute's plays and movies, one would be foolish to deny that he is a skilled writer, in that he knows how to shape and pace an entire story. That particular gift serves him well as a director in his remake of the 2007 British film Death at a Funeral.LaBute's version stars Chris Rock as Aaron, a well-meaning guy attempting to pull off a respectable funeral service for his recently deceased dad. His good intentions are undone by the wacky family members he's forced to juggle: his ovulating baby-crazy wife keeps trying to seduce him; his horndog brother, Ryan (Martin Lawrence), won't help pay for the funeral; his cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) has accidentally dosed her boyfriend, Oscar (James Marsden), with a potent batch of LSD; and his crusty uncle Russell (Danny Glover) lacks all social graces. Throw in Norman (Tracy Morgan), a motor-mouthed family friend with an undiagnosed skin rash, as well as a blackmailing dwarf (Peter Dinklage), and soon Aaron has so many balls in the air that it seems inevitable they will all come crashing down.
You might expect a movie as farcical as this one to slowly build to a breakneck pace, much like the classic screwball comedies, but LaBute -- working from a script by Dean Craig, who also wrote the 2007 original -- defies expectations by keeping a measured tempo throughout. He's confident the gags will work, so he doesn't feel the need to pile them right on top of each other. That's not to say there aren't some outrageous and hysterical set pieces, including a disgusting and hilarious scene between Uncle Russell and Norman that takes the phrase "toilet humor" more literally than you might expect. But even when LaBute pushes things to extremes, he slows it back down in an attempt to keep his characters from becoming caricatures.
Sadly, his two lead actors aren't much help to him in that capacity. Chris Rock is the best standup comic of his generation, but he's never been a convincing movie actor. Sure he can be funny, and he sinks his teeth into his best lines with a shark-like tenacity, but there is a big difference between playing a comic persona and acting. Rock hasn't mastered that distinction yet, but he's more believable than Martin Lawrence.
Thankfully, the rest of the cast delivers. Peter Dinklage -- reprising his part from the original movie -- is typically superb, Marsden keeps getting laughs with Oscar's increasingly erratic behavior, Danny Glover is a blast playing totally against type, and Tracy Morgan gets to deliver dozens of great lines, particularly a mini-rant about Kentucky Fried Chicken that could have come from the twisted mind of his 30 Rock character, Tracy Jordan. Add their sturdy support to LaBute's assured direction, and the result may not be as lively as you'd expect, but it's a long way from comedic death. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
Cast
- Keith David - Reverend Davis
- Loretta Devine - Cynthia
- Peter Dinklage - Frank
- Ron Glass - Duncan
- Danny Glover - Uncle Russell
- Regina Hall - Michelle
Credit
Chris Cornwell - Art Director, Trae Ireland - Associate Producer, Victoria Thomas - Casting, Nicolas Stern - Co-producer, Josh Kesselman - Co-producer, Maya Lieberman - Costume Designer, Albert Cho - First Assistant Director, Neil LaBute - Director, Tracey Wadmore-Smith - Editor, Glenn S. Gainor - Executive Producer, Bruce Toll - Executive Producer, Dean Craig - Executive Producer, Jim Tauber - Executive Producer, Stacey Morris - Hair Styles, Linda Villalobos - Hair Styles, Christophe Beck - Composer (Music Score), Judy Murdock - Makeup, Debra Denson - Makeup, Lisa Deveaux - Makeup, Kamani Sawyer - Makeup, Jon Gary Steele - Production Designer, Rogier Stoffers - Cinematographer, Chris Rock - Producer, William Horberg - Producer, Sidney Kimmel - Producer, Laurence Malkin - Producer, Share Stallings - Producer, James Tocci - Set Designer, Barbara Mesney - Set Designer, Lance A. Gilbert - Stunts Coordinator, John Frazier - Special Effects Supervisor, Glenn S. Gainor - Unit Production Manager, Dean Craig - Screenwriter, Rocco Passionino - Visual Effects Supervisor, Fernand Bos - Music Editor, Todd Bozung - Music Editor, Jennifer Blair - Production Supervisor, Max Brehme - Properties Master, Jillian Giacomini - Script Supervisor, Jeff Bilger - Second Assistant Director, Jeff Wischnack - Special Effects Coordinator, Ronald Eng - Supervising Sound Editor, Raoul Bolognini - Visual Effects Producer, Heidi Higginbotham - Costumes Supervisor, Mary E. Walbridge - Costumes Supervisor, Robert Troy - Dialogue Editor, Kathleen Mussehl - Key Costumer, Leonard Drake - Key Hairstylist, Beverly Jo Pryor - Key Make-up, Jonathan Bobbitt - Leadman, Jennifer La Gura - Leadman, Zoic Studios - Visual Effects, Dena Roth - Set Decorator, Vera Steimberg - Department Head Makeup, Pierce E. Austin - Department Head Makeup| Death at a Funeral (2007 Film), Death at Love House (1975 Film) | |
| Death at an Old Mansion (1976 Film), Death by Dialogue (1988 Film) |
Death at a Funeral
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Death at a Funeral (2010 film)
| Death at a Funeral | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Neil LaBute |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Dean Craig |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Christophe Beck |
| Cinematography | Rogier Stoffers |
| Editing by | Tracey Wadmore-Smith |
| Studio |
|
| Distributed by | Screen Gems |
| Release date(s) |
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| Running time | 92 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $21 million[1] |
| Box office | $49,050,886[2] |
Death at a Funeral is a 2010 American dark comedy film directed by Neil LaBute and starring an ensemble cast. The film is a remake of the 2007 British film of the same name.
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Contents
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Plot
The film revolves around the funeral ceremony for the father of Aaron (Chris Rock) and Ryan (Martin Lawrence). Aaron, the older son, lives with his wife Michelle (Regina Hall) at his parent's home. Aaron and Michelle have been trying to buy their own home and have children but have been unsuccessful. Aaron envies Ryan because Ryan is a successful writer, while he has not had his novel published, and resents his brother because he would rather spend money on two first class tickets (for himself) from New York to L.A. than help him pay for the funeral expenses.
Aaron and Ryan's cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) and her fiancé Oscar (James Marsden) are on their way to pick up her brother Jeff (Columbus Short) before heading to the funeral. To ease Oscar's nerves, she gives him a pill from a bottle labeled as Valium. Jeff later reveals to Elaine that it is actually a powerful hallucinogenic drug he's concocted for a friend. Chaos ensues when Oscar hallucinates that the coffin is moving; he knocks it over, and the body falls out of the coffin.
Aaron is approached by an unknown guest, a dwarf named Frank (Peter Dinklage, reprising his role from the original film), who reveals himself to be the secret lover of his deceased father. Frank shows Aaron photos as proof and threatens to reveal them to Aaron's mother unless he is paid $30,000. Aaron tells Ryan, who suggest Aaron pay the money because Ryan claims he's buried in debt. While Aaron and Ryan meet with him to pay him, Frank starts to deride Aaron's ability as writer and Aaron refuses to pay. Frank begins to turn violent and puts his hand in his pocket (hinting he may have a gun) and tries to leave the room; Ryan attacks Frank and both Aaron and Ryan tie Frank up to prevent him from leaving. Norman (Tracy Morgan) comes in and sees what happened. He gives Frank several doses of what hey also believes is Valium to try to calm him down, before Jeff tells them it's actually the same hallucinogen Oscar took earlier.
While Jeff and Norman, who are supposed to be watching Frank, get distracted by Uncle Russell (Danny Glover), Frank frees himself from his bonds, jumps off the couch, and hits his head on the coffee table. With Aaron, Ryan, Jeff and Norman believing Frank is dead, they plan to put him in the coffin. While everyone is outside watching Oscar, who is now naked on the roof, threatening to jump because he Derek kissing Elaine (Luke Wilson), Aaron and Ryan put Frank in the coffin.
Elaine tells Oscar that Derek forced himself on her and calms him down by revealing she is pregnant. With everyone back inside, they continue the eulogy. While Aaron awkwardly tries to give his speech, Frank starts banging on the coffin and suddenly emerges from it. The pictures fall out of his pocket and Cynthia sees the pictures, screams at Frank, and starts to attack him. Aaron yells for everyone's attention as he delivers a moving, impromptu eulogy saying that his father was a good man with flaws like everyone else.
The film ends with Aaron and Ryan saying goodbye while Ryan gets a ride to the airport by little Martina (Regine Nehy), who he has been trying to seduce all day. Aaron and Michelle are finally alone and going to try to have a baby. Aaron asks where Uncle Russell is and Michelle tells him that she gave him what she believes is Valium to calm him down. In the final scene Uncle Russell is on the roof naked complaining about how "everything is just so fucking green".
Cast
- Chris Rock as Aaron Barnes
- Martin Lawrence as Ryan Barnes
- Regina Hall as Michelle Barnes
- Columbus Short as Jeff Barnes
- Zoe Saldana as Elaine Barnes
- Loretta Devine as Cynthia Barnes
- James Marsden as Oscar
- Ron Glass as Dr. Duncan Barnes
- Danny Glover as Russell "Uncle Russell" Barnes
- Peter Dinklage as Frank Lovett
- Tracy Morgan as Norman
- Luke Wilson as Derek
- Keith David as Reverend Davis
- Regine Nehy as Martina
- Kevin Hart as Brian
- Robert Lee Minor as Edward Barnes
Reception
Critical reception to the film was generally negative to mixed with review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reporting that 38% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 119 reviews.[3] Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave the film an average score of 51 based on 22 reviews.[4]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3½ out of 4 stars, saying "Here's the best comedy since The Hangover," and that "a lot of Death at a Funeral is in very bad taste. That's when I laughed the most."[5]
References
- ^ Fritz, Ben (April 18, 2010). "First look: Soft box-office start for 'Kick-Ass,' which is vying for No. 1 with 'Dragon'". Los Angeles Times. Tribune Company. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2010/04/soft-box-office-start-for-kick-ass-which-is-vying-for-top-spot-with-dragon.html. Retrieved April 24, 2010.
- ^ "Death at a Funeral (2010)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=deathatafuneral10.htm. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
- ^ "Death at a Funeral Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/death_at_a_funeral_2010. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ "Death at a Funeral Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. CBS Interactive Inc.. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/deathatafuneral2010?part=rss. Retrieved 2010-04-15.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. Death at a Funeral. Chicago Sun-Times (April 14, 2010). Retrieved April 30, 2010.
External links
- Official website
- Death at a Funeral at the Internet Movie Database
- Death at a Funeral at AllRovi
- Death at a Funeral at Rotten Tomatoes
- Death at a Funeral at Box Office Mojo
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