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

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

Colour:

Colour

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

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 Plane Crazy (1928)

Soundtrack:

Love our Time Today

Who knew a funeral could be so funny?

A midget, hallucinogenic drugs, homosexuality, sibling rivalry, nudity, and a funeral come together in riotous chaotic harmony in Death at a Funeral. The films story unfolds in the span of an afternoon and despite the short duration of plot Frank Oz, directory, endears us to the characters with witty and realistic dialog. What better setting than a funeral to highlight the humor and irony of life? The characters' mourning is completely relatable because it isn't overwrought or melodramatic and is thus all the more genuine.

Family turmoil overshadows the funeral and propels the characters into awkward but hilarious situations. The film does not forget it takes place during a funeral and by the end a heartfelt eulogy is delivered in spite of the lunacy surrounding it.

The humor is just dry enough to complement the somewhat dark comedy but not so dry that it alienates the audience.

I haven't laughed this much at a film in a very long time...especially a film about a funeral.