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 | Bound And Gagged

Awards:

2 wins

US TV Schedule:

Wed. Nov. 11	8:10 AM	SHOW
Sun. Nov. 15	9:00 AM	SHOW
Fri. Nov. 20	9:00 AM	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 | Australia:PG (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment

Trivia:

According to Alan Tudyk the inspiration for his 'stoned' performance came from a memory from his teenage years when he once saw an intoxicated teen perched naked on top of a picnic table. He mimicked the same weird pose during his nude scene on the roof.

Goofs:

Continuity: Troy drops the bottle of 'Valium' on the kitchen table, label face up, to answer the door. His sister Martha walks by and the bottle is laying label face down.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References Brazil (1985)

Soundtrack:

Love our Time Today

Highbrow meets lowbrow: results in laughter

I saw this at a screening and I had a rousing good time. It starts with a chuckle in the opening credits and slowly builds to spotty laughter, belly laughs, and loud groaning silliness. This is British farce with an expert ensemble cast. Everyone hits their marks and a couple go completely overboard and over-broad (Mr. Vaughn, we're looking at you.) Tudyk and Dinklage have the showiest parts and they feast on them. The rest of the cast is inspired and spot on.

It's a delightful combination of highbrow meeting lowbrow and everything in between. A dash of wit and charm mixed in with a few genuine surprises. A few old tropes are trotted out but there is a bit of backspin on them. If you want a laugh, go!