REWIND REVIEW: Death At A Funeral (2007)

Check out a far superior audio version of this review! I chat with Jono Pech about the film for his podcast Comedy Rewind.

(M) ★★★★

Director: Frank Oz

Cast: Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves, Andy Nyman, Kris Marshall, Peter Dinklage, Keeley Hawes, Daisy Donovan, Alan Tudyk, Ewen Bremner, Peter Vaughan, Thomas Wheatley, Jane Asher, Peter Egan.

"Everyone stop what you're doing - it's time for the dancing girls."

It's a pretty good sign when your film is remade three times within three years of its release. Such is the excellence and translatability of the situations at the heart of Death At A Funeral, a wonderful ensemble comedy that doesn't get the dues it deserves.

The script's power lies partly in its brevity. Cut off the opening and end credits and it's barely 80 minutes. But within that hour-and-twenty there isn't a wasted second. Every character is set up with disarming ease, every catastrophe piles on top of the previous one in breathless fashion, and the gags come so thick and fast they have a better strike rate than Glenn Maxwell in a T20.

The titular funeral is the backdrop for sibling rivalry, money woes, disapproving in-laws, shunned suitors, hypochondriacs, grumpy old men, unintentional drug intake, posthumous secrets, and a spot of blackmail. There are so many opportunities for high-tension jokes that it's actually amazing it all fits into 80 minutes. The breakneck pace only adds to the comic timing. 

The cast is uniformly excellent, though the standout is of course Alan Tudyk as the accidentally drug-addled Simon. He steals so many scenes he walks off with the whole movie. The performance is all the more masterful due to the American actor not only taking the escalating absurdity in his stride, but delivering it all in a note-perfect British accent. 

Similarly impressive is Peter Dinklage, who has to portray an even more intense brain-frying trip, but with the added layers of being a secret lover in a delicate and somewhat heartbreaking situation. He and the script walk a fine line in keeping his character sympathetic, while also balancing the laughs.

There are some roles that feel underdone - Asher's grieving widow and Hawes' despairing wife are prime examples - but the humour derived from the lightning pace means these are sacrifices for the greater good. Credit goes to writer Dean Craig for his no-frills script, but also Frank Oz, who ensures the pace never flags. Oz seems to specialise in under-rated comedies like this - see also Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, In & Out and Bowfinger - but this may be the best of his funny films. 

Some of it feels a little cliched now. How many comedies have a sweary old guy/accidental drug trip/disapproving mother-in-law, but these Old Reliables are delivered so perfectly it's of little concern. Death At A Funeral is a timeless comedy that's as funny now as it was when it was released.