Eulogy
Writer/director Michael Clancy makes his feature film debut with the black comedy Eulogy. Zooey Deschanel plays Kate Collins, an unhappy college student who is made even more unhappy when her grandfather (Rip Torn) dies. Even though the entire family hates each other, they reunite at the home of Grandma Collins (Piper Laurie). Among other family members, Kate observes a war between her washed-up actor dad, Daniel (Hank Azaria); her lesbian Aunt Lucy (Kelly Preston); her wound-up Uncle Skip (Ray Romano); and her strict Aunt Alice (Debra Winger). Tensions escalate and family secrets are ultimately revealed. Kate is also inundated with the eulogy-writing duties, as she's the only one capable of such a task. Meanwhile, she reunites with old flame Ryan Carmichael (Jesse Bradford). Eulogy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.
Director: Michael Clancy
Starring: Zooey Deschanel,Hank Azaria, Jesse Bradford, Glenne Headly,Famke Janssen
Character eccentricities and off-kilter group dynamics play out with a comic vengeance.
Neither ditzy enough as comedy nor realistic enough as human drama to live a long life.
The movie is like a promising date that goes nowhere.
The occasional amusing one-liner can't compensate for the broad caricatures and awkwardly structured story.
That Eulogy has any laughs is largely a testament to the understated Romano -- he and Deschanel are the only ones in the cast who aren't straining to be funny.
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