Death At A Funeral

Laughter is universal, but comedy isn’t. Comedy is subjective, cultural, and socio-economic. But sometimes funny is funny, and even though I have absolutely no idea why Hollywood felt it was necessary to remake an English speaking film made less than four years ago, I still laughed. And I laughed hard.

Oftentimes when I go to a foreign language film and I especially enjoy it, I wonder what it would be like with an American sensibility. And apparently the studios think this way too. Comedies such as Three Men and a Baby, La Cage aux Folles, and the upcoming Dinner For Schmucks, are all based on foreign language films. But this remake puzzles me. The original was directed by Frank Oz (The Muppets), the writer, Dean Craig is credited with both scripts and even Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent) reprises his role in the second film. I don’t understand why the remake was made, but it’s still a funny film just the same.

Death at a Funeral tells the story of two brothers who have been reunited to bury their father. The oldest brother, portrayed by Chris Rock (I Think I Love My Wife) is the responsible one. He is an accountant, still living in his parents home with his wife, and is writing a novel on the side. While he toils faithfully on his book, that he will allow no one else to read, his younger, carefree brother, Martin Lawrence (Bad Boys) goes off to New York and publishes his own and is now living the high life of a celebrated author. When he returns home, he becomes momma’s little darling once again, while big brother is left with all the family obligations. The resentment only escalates when the details of the funeral start to go wrong, including a lost body, an accidental drugging and a blackmailing dwarf. Even a fully functional family would have a tough time getting through this day.

The cast of Death at a Funeral is full of fabulous actors and comedians. James Marsden (Enchanted) steals the show as the white fiance of Zoe Saldana (Avatar). He is so nervous to face his future father-in-law Ron Glass (Lakeview Terrace) that he takes what he thinks is Valium only to become ridiculously high on a super hallucinogenic manufactured by his girlfriend’s brother Columbus Short (Armored) who is in med school. When Zoe’s ex shows up at the funeral, Luke Wilson (Legally Blonde), insecurities increase sending the finance into a bad trip that brings a screaming halt to the funeral when Marsden images that someone is moving inside the coffin. Meanwhile Tracy Morgan (Cop Out) is enlisted to help when he is let in on the family secret. His job was to drive Uncle Russell, Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon) a crotchety old man in a wheelchair, but now he’s an accomplice in the coverup. They must get the funeral back on track while keeping the long-suffering women, Loretta Devine (Crash) and Regina Hall (Scary Movie) in the dark. Dad has a big little secret and the rest of the family must never know.

For the large American population who has never seen the British original, I think they will really like this film. The comedy is character driven and relies on the absurd situation. The critics will all trash it and compare it to the first one, but this is completely unnecessary. It is what it is, and it is funny. Remakes are inevitable. New audiences emerge, new angles are found, people forget, re-imaginings are a part of Hollywood. I enjoyed this film and both have their strengths and weaknesses, so give it a try and judge for yourself. A good laugh is never a waste of time and this film is full of them.

Rating: First Run A truly dark comedy