Eulogy (2004)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Michael Clancy

Writer (WGA):

Michael Clancy (written by)

Release Date:

24 February 2005 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Last rites. Last words. Last laughs.

Plot:

A black comedy that follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch - unveiling a litany of family secrets and covert relationships.

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian | Dysfunctional Family | Black Comedy | Funeral | Eulogy

Cast

Hank Azaria	...	Daniel Collins
Jesse Bradford	...	Ryan Carmichael
Zooey Deschanel	...	Kate Collins
Glenne Headly	...	Samantha
Famke Janssen	...	Judy Arnolds
Piper Laurie	...	Charlotte Collins
Kelly Preston	...	Lucy Collins
Ray Romano	...	Skip Collins
Rip Torn	...	Edmund Collins
Debra Winger	...	Alice Collins
Micole Mercurio	...	Delilah the Neighbor
Lucy Boyle	...	Girl in Dorm Room
Tania Gunadi	...	Girl in Dorm Room
Kevin Ruf	...	Commercial Dad
Alex Moore	...	Young Daniel

MPAA:

Rated R for for language, sexual content and drug use.

Runtime:

91 min | Canada:85 min (Ontario)

Country:

USA | UK | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Iceland:LH | Canada:PG (Ontario) | USA:TV-MA (cable rating) | Australia:M | Singapore:M18 | USA:R (certificate #38723)

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Eulogy Productions LLC

Trivia:

Winona Ryder was initially attached to this movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Kate and Ryan are walking along the country road after Kate says "I'm sorry you had to see my Grandmother like that": Ryan says "I've never seen anyone like that", Kate squats and puts her hands to her face. Then, her face is uncovered.

Quotes:

Skip Collins: This is why your mother left us.
Ted Collins: She was a hack.
Fred Collins: I've seen better moms on TV.

Movie Connections:

References The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack (2000)

Soundtrack:

Walk on Water

Conventional Plot, Good Acting, Sometimes Over the Top

If Hollywood stopped making films about dysfunctional families there'd be a real drought in the theaters and on DVD shelves. "Eulogy" is a pretty conventional tale but it's well-acted.

The paterfamilias, grandfather, is dead, apparently by his own hand, and the family - immediate and extended - arrives at the grieving widow's home to prepare for the funeral immediately resuming hostilities over well-aged feuds and hurts. Nothing surprising here.

Zooey Deschanel as Kate is a college student who seems to be the most normal member of an eclectic and eccentric crew. Her grandmother is Piper Laurie and, have no fear, those who remember the beautiful young actress of an earlier Silver Screen age won't recognize her here. How the mighty have...aged.

Hank Azaria has a fun(ny) role as a loser with a heart.

Deborah Winger turns in a first-rate performance as Kate's shrewish Aunt Alice who exudes homophobia at a sister who arrives with her fiancé (or fiancée), a sharp, observant woman. Alice, is married to a drone who without barely a word smiles ceaselessly and seems on the verge of drooling.

Their three kids are also silent, probably disturbed big time. And two nasty pre-teen twins of Alice's brother make Dennis the Menace a choir boy by comparison.

No character here that hasn't been seen in many movies and TV sitcoms. But there's a thread of drama with the zany comedy that makes "Eulogy" a mite different if whacked out family stories intrigue you.

It's an ensemble production - see the IMDb.com main page for the full cast. But Ms. Deschanel, with her dark eyes and sharp takes at her family members' antics, is the acting center of the flick.

8/10 (barely but I laughed a lot).