Review of Death at a Funeral (2007) by Tim S — 30 Mar 2012

Whatever lead Frank Oz to direct Death At A Funeral, I'm pleased that he did. This movie is not the award-winning type, nor is it a low brow zany comedy...it lies somewhere in between. The film's strengths and weakenesses are fairly balanced without feeling too contrived.

As for the comedic value, this film made me laugh out loud quite a bit. A rather non-insane cast of characters put together that as a group just create chaos. Everyone puts forth their best efforts. Daisy Donovan and Andy Nyman shine here, but the biggest surprise to me was Alan Tudyk who pulls off a funny, sympathetic and inventive performance.

The story itself is absurd and zany, but somehow manages to stay on the ground most of the time. There are times when it tends to stray and veer off into madcap territory, but thankfully not for very long.

This is a funeral after all. The film is decently shot, although a lack of style and some sorely missed opportunities to freshen up the angles and viewpoints definitely couldn't have hurt. However, there are some nice shots in the film and the color palette is slightly broad, so I can't write it off entirely.

This is a heart-warming film to an extent and has medium comedic value. It's definitely worth a rent, or if you happen to catch it on cable, do so. You'll get quite a few laughs.