Stars: Peter Egan, Alan Tudyk, Thomas Wheatley, Daisy Donovan, Matthew MacFadyen, Ewen Bremner, Jane Asher, Peter Dinklage, Peter Vaughan, Rupert Graves, Kris Marshall

Director: Frank Oz

Summary: DEATH AT A FUNERAL finds a well-to-do British family attempting to bury their patriarch amidst a backdrop of secrets, revelations, rivalries, and illicit pharmaceuticals.

Written by Dean Craig and directed by comedic veteran Frank Oz, DEATH AT A FUNERAL finds a well-to-do family attempting to bury their patriarch amidst a backdrop of secrets, revelations, rivalries, and illicit pharmaceuticals. While the dutiful Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen) stoically contends with major roadblocks in planning his father's funeral, including being presented with the wrong body, others connected with the family have catastrophes of their own, including the anxious Simon (Alan Tudyk), who is engaged to Martha (Daisy Donovan), and mistakenly takes a hallucinogen to calm his nerves. Lurking in the background is a mysterious stranger (Peter Dinklage) who threatens to send the chaotic proceedings over the brink.
A charming mix of high and lowbrow humour, DEATH AT A FUNERAL is a lively farce that makes the most of its hijinks-filled script and top-notch cast. In addition to excellent performances by MacFadyen (PRIDE AND PREJUDICE) and Tudyk (SERENITY), the film features fine turns by Donovan, Andy Nyman, and Jane Asher. Easily Oz's best movie since the giddily silly BOWFINGER, DEATH AT A FUNERAL showcases the director's knack for working with large ensembles, and will appeal to fans of his earlier romp IN AND OUT, as well as to aficionados of biting British comedy.

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The latest comedy from director Frank Oz, Death at a Funeral unusually sets a funeral at the heart of a film that’s trying to generate laughs. It does prove to be quite a hurdle, but it’s to the credit of those involved that the film proves to be a worthwhile and diverting way to spend an hour and a half.

Starring Rupert Graves, Matthew MacFadyen and Peter Egan among a talented ensemble cast, Death at a Funeral ticks most of the boxes you’d expect of its concept, but does throw in a few twists of its own, too. There are family secrets, mix-ups, battling characters and the funeral itself to deal with, and Oz proves skilful at marrying the threads together.

Death at a Funeral manages to generate a good few laughs on the way to its fine ending, but it does have its problems. There are perhaps one too many contrivances to put up with, and the script doesn’t really do the director and his cast too many favours. In spite of its slight running time, it also manages to feel a little too long.

But Death at a Funeral is still, despite these problems, a perfectly competent British comedy, and a useful way to fill a night in. Don’t expect a masterpiece, and chances are you’ll have some fun with it. --Jon Foster

Main Language:	English
Year:	2007
Release Date:	November 2, 2007
Runtime:	90 minutes
Certification:
Keywords:	Death, English, Comedy, General, Funeral
Genre:	Comedy