Death at a Funeral (2007)
Matthew McFadyen (In My Father’s Den) plays Daniel, who’s returned home for the death of his father. As the most responsible member of a chaotic and dysfunctional family, he’s busy trying to keep it all together. Things start off badly when the wrong coffin arrives at the house, get worse when his successful but reckless novelist brother tells him he’s can’t help pay for the funeral, and slide even further downhill when his cousin’s new boyfriend accidentally takes some hallucinogens. When a mysterious dwarf takes Daniel aside at the funeral to reveal a secret affair with his dead father, things really being to plummet.
- Director:
- Frank Oz ('The Stepford Wives', 'Bowfinger', 'Dirty Rotten Scoundrels', voice of Miss Piggy)
- Writer:
- Dean Craig
- Cast:
- Matthew MacfadyenKeeley HawesAndy NymanEwen BremnerDaisy DonovanAlan TudykPeter Dinklage
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Andrew Hedley
flicksWhen Death at a Funeral was scheduled to screen on opening night at the New Zealand International Film Festival, there were hoots of derision coming from the more refined cinema-goers. What was a film by Frank Oz, director of the rather plain Stepford Wives remake and The Muppets Take Manhattan, doing in such a typically arthouse environment? Ticket sales proved them wrong, however, and the packed theatre was so enchanted that one could hardly hear the film over the uproarious laughter from the audience. Death at a Funeral was a hit.
Amusing, but not the riotous ride many reviewers suggest.
Sure, this film has the odd funny moment, but frankly, if you've watched many sit-coms, British or American, chances are you've seen plenty of much funnier situations and have heard much funnier lines. Black Books, Flight of the Conchords, IT Crowd, Seinfeld, even Friends... all these shows have more to offer in terms of belly laughs than this movie. In...
Poos, drugs, a gay dwarf = fail
I hated this underwhelming waste of time. In spite of its englishness (which is really pretty overblown and forced), there's nothing sophisticated about it whatsoever. Faeces used for "humour"? - check. Gay dwarf? - check. People taking drugs unintentionally and then acting strangely? - check. It ticks all the "crap movie" boxes. Americans went...
I must have missed the funny parts.
British comedy is usually much better than this. Black Books is brilliant. This movie didn't cut it for me. Alan Tudyk's facial expressions were quite funny the first few times. There are some amusing moments but the repetitious 'f' word just becomes tedious. An old man crapping over someone else. Is that hilarious? Isn't that level of grossness is...
The New York Times
pressThere's no dearth of rude humor on screens right now, but Death at a Funeral stands apart because its characters - mostly reserved upper-middle-class British folk who have gathered to bury a patriarch - are determined to keep a stiff upper lip no matter what.
The Guardian
pressScientists believe that black holes can slow down the progress of time. A similar effect can be felt by viewers of this damp squib of a farce as it grinds on from one lame set-up to the next.
San Francisco Chronicle
pressThe humor manages to be simultaneously sophisticated, supremely silly and very dark. If you don't laugh at the preposterous situations a grieving family becomes entangled in - a naked mourner and a secret about the dead man that could blow the lid right off his coffin, for samplers - you may require some kind of scan to check the health of your funny bone.
New Zealand Herald
pressIt's interesting to note that virtually every reputable American critic adored Death at a Funeral and every decent English critic loathed it. You may draw your own conclusions from that, but it's worth bearing in mind that American humour is not exactly subtle and Wasp Americans love seeing Brits make idiots of themselves because they secretly envy them...
Los Angeles Times
pressDeath at a Funeral is lethal farce, combining hints of The Lavender Hill Mob, doses of Joe Orton and a smidgen of the Farrelly brothers' scatology in its mix. It's sillier but funnier than Knocked Up, the summer's other notable comedy.
Christchurch Press
pressDeath At A Funeral was a surprise hit at the New Zealand International Film Festival earlier this year and while it's absurd, it's also a lot of fun...
BBC
pressSomeone call an undertaker: another stiff has arrived in the form of Death at a Funeral, a pulse-free farce that categorically proves mortality is no laughing matter. No wonder Mattthew Macfadyen looks so glum as he tries to keep a lid on the chaos that threatens to turn his father's burial into a drug-fuelled orgy.
Flicks, Andrew Hedley
flicksWhen Death at a Funeral was scheduled to screen on opening night at the New Zealand International Film Festival, there were hoots of derision coming from the more refined cinema-goers. What was a film by Frank Oz, director of the rather plain Stepford Wives remake and The Muppets Take Manhattan, doing in such a typically arthouse environment? Ticket sales proved them wrong, however, and the packed theatre was so enchanted that one could hardly hear the film over the uproarious laughter from the audience. Death at a Funeral was a hit.
The New York Times
pressThere's no dearth of rude humor on screens right now, but Death at a Funeral stands apart because its characters - mostly reserved upper-middle-class British folk who have gathered to bury a patriarch - are determined to keep a stiff upper lip no matter what.
The Guardian
pressScientists believe that black holes can slow down the progress of time. A similar effect can be felt by viewers of this damp squib of a farce as it grinds on from one lame set-up to the next.
San Francisco Chronicle
pressThe humor manages to be simultaneously sophisticated, supremely silly and very dark. If you don't laugh at the preposterous situations a grieving family becomes entangled in - a naked mourner and a secret about the dead man that could blow the lid right off his coffin, for samplers - you may require some kind of scan to check the health of your funny bone.
New Zealand Herald
pressIt's interesting to note that virtually every reputable American critic adored Death at a Funeral and every decent English critic loathed it. You may draw your own conclusions from that, but it's worth bearing in mind that American humour is not exactly subtle and Wasp Americans love seeing Brits make idiots of themselves because they secretly envy them...
Los Angeles Times
pressDeath at a Funeral is lethal farce, combining hints of The Lavender Hill Mob, doses of Joe Orton and a smidgen of the Farrelly brothers' scatology in its mix. It's sillier but funnier than Knocked Up, the summer's other notable comedy.
Christchurch Press
pressDeath At A Funeral was a surprise hit at the New Zealand International Film Festival earlier this year and while it's absurd, it's also a lot of fun...
BBC
pressSomeone call an undertaker: another stiff has arrived in the form of Death at a Funeral, a pulse-free farce that categorically proves mortality is no laughing matter. No wonder Mattthew Macfadyen looks so glum as he tries to keep a lid on the chaos that threatens to turn his father's burial into a drug-fuelled orgy.
Amusing, but not the riotous ride many reviewers suggest.
Sure, this film has the odd funny moment, but frankly, if you've watched many sit-coms, British or American, chances are you've seen plenty of much funnier situations and have heard much funnier lines. Black Books, Flight of the Conchords, IT Crowd, Seinfeld, even Friends... all these shows have more to offer in terms of belly laughs than this movie. In...
Poos, drugs, a gay dwarf = fail
I hated this underwhelming waste of time. In spite of its englishness (which is really pretty overblown and forced), there's nothing sophisticated about it whatsoever. Faeces used for "humour"? - check. Gay dwarf? - check. People taking drugs unintentionally and then acting strangely? - check. It ticks all the "crap movie" boxes. Americans went...
I must have missed the funny parts.
British comedy is usually much better than this. Black Books is brilliant. This movie didn't cut it for me. Alan Tudyk's facial expressions were quite funny the first few times. There are some amusing moments but the repetitious 'f' word just becomes tedious. An old man crapping over someone else. Is that hilarious? Isn't that level of grossness is...
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