Death at a Funeral (2007)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Frank Oz

Writer (WGA):

Dean Craig (written by)

Release Date:

11 July 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

From director Frank Oz comes the story of a family that puts the F U in funeral.

Plot:

Chaos ensues when a man tries to expose a dark secret regarding a recently deceased patriarch of a dysfunctional British family.

Plot Keywords:

Funeral | Uncle | Secret | Faecal | Mother Son Relationship

Awards:

2 wins

US TV Schedule:

Tue. July 14	8:30 PM	SHOW
Sat. July 18	1:15 PM	SHOW

Cast

Matthew Macfadyen	...	Daniel (as Matthew MacFadyen)
Keeley Hawes	...	Jane
Andy Nyman	...	Howard
Ewen Bremner	...	Justin
Daisy Donovan	...	Martha
Alan Tudyk	...	Simon
Jane Asher	...	Sandra
Kris Marshall	...	Troy
Rupert Graves	...	Robert
Peter Vaughan	...	Uncle Alfie
Thomas Wheatley	...	The Reverend
Peter Egan	...	Victor
Peter Dinklage	...	Peter
Brendan O'Hea	...	Undertaker
Jeremy Booth	...	Mourner

Also Known As:

Sterben für Anfänger (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug content.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

USA | Germany | UK | Netherlands

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Germany:6 | Netherlands:6 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Ireland:15A | Finland:K-7 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Portugal:M/12 | Sweden:Btl | USA:R (certificate # 43149) | France:U | Taiwan:R-12 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | New Zealand:M | Iceland:7 | Japan:G

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Trivia:

Filmed in seven weeks.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Simon gets out of the bathroom window he is completely naked, but moments later he appears in the same position leaning over to spit and you can see the edge of his underwear at the bottom right of the screen.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Daniel: [giving instructions to the pallbearers] Just, uh, straight through there and to the left, please.

Movie Connections:

References Cleopatra (1934)

Soundtrack:

Love our Time Today

Death at a Funeral: humor before the grave.

The laughs begin during the animated credits which prepares the film going public for the buffoonery to follow. Death at a Funeral (DaaF) is directed by Frank Oz. Because of the nature of this film I believe Mr. Oz is paying homage to the late, great, director, Robert Altman, particularly his film A Wedding. Both A Wedding and DaaF are both off beat, extremely, funny, and very non-typical of weddings and funerals, in which they both portray. In tribute to Mr. Altman, Mr. Oz also uses an ensemble cast of well known actors by face but not by name. The audience has seen their work and in this film they most definitely make you laugh. This is an adult comedy with an R rating for adult themes, nudity, recreational drug use, religious issues, postmortem issues, and the absurdity about death. Remember this is an adult comic opera taken to the extreme. At this funeral the mourners may come with their inhabitation's in check but due to the outlandish antics of many of the other grievous members assembled, all of the gathered, loose all claim to sanity. The audience becomes one with the collected zany members of this grieving group. Since the players on film have lost their inhabitation's so to does the audience. Remember this is an adult, knee slapping, laugh out loud farce. This film is outrageously funny, in an adult vein, not intended for children. If you go to a sporting event, after you have paid for your ticket and bought your seat, people around you cheer, yell, scream and sometimes even in funny costumes as well. A film house is the same communally shared type of experience and environment for entertainment but patrons of the silver screen tend to hold their laughter within, as of being afraid of upsetting the patron in the next seat. Is it not time to unshackle this age old concept and enjoy yourself along with others? I am certain that is the reason why Frank Oz made this film, so the audience could laugh and laugh at themselves. I personally want to thank you Mr. Oz for the laughter and the comedy of Death at a Funeral.