Death at a Funeral

2007

This nutty British comedy observes with jet-black humor the myriad outrageous calamities that befall an eccentric English clan with more than a few skeletons in its closets when its patriarch dies an unexpected death. Soon, every complication imaginable -- including the wrong corpse in the coffin, the accidental consumption of hallucinogenic drugs, and the disclosure of the deceased's closeted homosexuality -- befall the grief-stricken mourners. The funeral commences at the family estate, with the arrival of younger son Daniel (Matthew MacFadyen), who has long felt uncomfortable around his cocky, licentious novelist brother, Robert (Rupert Graves) -- and thus dreads seeing him. Meanwhile, Daniel is also struggling to adhere to promises he's made to his wife (Keeley Hawes). Also arriving at the house are cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) and her intended, Simon (Alan Tudyk), who embarrasses just about everybody, including himself, by accidentally consuming a strange drug that inflicts him with wild delusions and gives him an uncontrollable penchant for exhibitionism. But the event that truly turns the family members onto their ears is the arrival of a dwarf (Peter Dinklage) who speaks openly of the patriarch's secret passions, which included dressing up in a kinky gladiator outfit and watching young men skinny-dip. Frank Oz (In & Out, Bowfinger) helmed the film, while Dean Craig authored the script. more..

Director: Frank Oz

Starring: Matthew Macfadyen, Keeley Hawes, Andy Nyman,Ewen Bremner, Daisy Donovan

Reviews

  • The humor manages to be simultaneously sophisticated, supremely silly and very dark.

    Ruthe Stein - The San Francisco Chronicle

    19 January 2013

  • The lack of propriety and solemnity is precisely what makes this comic farce so uproariously funny.

    Claudia Puig - USA Today

    19 January 2013

  • The movie is part farce (unplanned entrances and exits), part slapstick (misbehavior of corpses) and part just plain wacky eccentricity. I think the ideal way to see it would be to gather your most dour and disapproving relatives and treat them to a night at the cinema.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • Shows us how funny farce can be -- even with the hokiest of premises -- in the hands of the British.

    Desson Thomson - The Washington Post

    19 January 2013

  • Thereâ??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 New York Times

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Frank Oz

    Locarno International Film Festival (2007)

  • Frank Oz

    U.S. Comedy Arts Festival (2007)