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DEATH AT A FUNERAL Send This Review to a Friend
By far the funniest film of 2007 until now, the farce “Death at a Funeral” disrespectfully examines a funeral at which everything goes wrong, with increasingly hilarious results. Veteran filmmaker Frank Oz directed this laugh riot set in England. I started laughing while watching the credits, in which a coffin is tracked making its way along country roads, taking a wrong turn and having to double back. That sets the tone, and the comedy builds from there.
The plot involves a gathering to bury a patriarch, and things begin to go awry when one of the mourners takes a hallucinatory drug by mistake. There is also a stranger who turns up with an agenda of his own and a secret. No sense in giving more of the tale away.
The superb cast in the comedy, written by Dean Craig, includes Matthew McFadyen, Rupert Graves, Alan Tudyk and Peter Dinklage. Although what happens is outrageous and slapstick is involved, the tone is gingerly. Oz knows that understatement can work better than overkill, especially when the material itself is so very funny and you have such an excellent group of actors. If it’s laughter you’re after, head for “Death at a Funeral.” A Sidney Kimmel Entertainment release
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