Death at a Funeral

If you're in the mood for a bit o' fluff... and not easily offended by the darker side of pitch black humor, then Death at a Funeral is a pleasant way to waste an evening. Frank Oz has directed a decidedly British farce with a mostly British cast and the devil's own eye at how to make a completely outlandish situation seem plausible. Well, maybe not all that plausible, but at least I bought in enough to find myself snorting under my horrified breath.

Our story begins with a gathering of the clan for the final send off of a perfectly respectable old gentleman - the grieving widow, the put upon second son left holding the fort whilst his dazzling novelist brother gets all the glory, the old codgers' even older sibling straight from the nursing home et al. There's an additional guest that no one recognizes who turns out to have a dark secret and blackmail on his mind. So to the brew of dysfunctional family fun add some misplaced hallucinogenic substances and things get all kinds of interesting - naked man on the roof interesting.... extra body in the casket interesting.

Oz keeps the whole thing moving at a frenetic pace but the really funny stuff comes from Alan Tudyk (remember Firefly?) who is hilarious as a niece's intended, stoned mindless on the accidental acid cocktail. And Peter Dinklage (remember The Station Agent?) is brilliant as the lover come to get what he's due. And does he get it! There's plenty of innuendo and more potty humor than necessary but it all comes right at the end. See another review here.