In honor of the 2007 version for which the remake being released this week is based on, here is my review for “Death at a Funeral”.

A crude, disgusting and vile movie from Frank Oz. Yes, the same Frank Oz
that does the voice of many muppets and Sesame Street characters. How
could a man that does voices for characters in child friendly shows,
make a movie so utterly grotesque? Because it is a funny. Because it is
interesting. Because it is a good film.

I may have exaggerated
just a little bit by saying that the film is grotesque. Though the film
has more than its fair share of cursing and drug use and just a tad of
gay, midget sex, the film accomplishes a feat that few others can; and
that is finding humor in what is usually the most solemn moment in one’s
presence on earth. What unfolds is an eclectic story of people coming
to the funeral of a man that secretly had more going on than anyone
knew. Fortunately for him, he died with a secret that would eventually
catch up with him and wreck havoc at his funeral.

The story
bounces around from character to character eventually setting up the
rather expected and clichéd ending. However, the direction is great and
the acting all the way around is very solid providing us with some
laughs here and there. The film seems to very long for only being 90
minutes. This can be attributed to some slow moving scenes. The movie by
its intended purpose is a dry and dark comedy, but sometimes a little
too dry.

The movie for the most part centers around the sons of
the man that died, Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen) and Robert (Rupert
Graves). The story is really about these two brothers and how this
funeral brings about the death of their former lives. Daniel has stayed
at home helping to support his parents, while his brother has gone off
to New York and become a famous writer. What ends up happening is a sort
of switching of roles as Robert learns to become unselfish and more
modest and Daniel becomes more confident and self-reliant.

The
movie will provide some laughs. Not a lot, some. Fans of Frank Oz will
enjoy this film. Fans of Alan Tudyk will definitely enjoy his
performance. So if you can stomach a lot of dirty language, and enjoy
dry, dark comedies than you should enjoy this film. If not, then don’t
waste your time or your money.