Death at a Funeral

If anyone knows how to make death and funerals funny, its the English.

Death at a Funeral is an English black comedy, directed by Frank Oz, about well, a funeral.

The thing about English humor is that it is either so understated that its easy to miss, or it is so over-the-top that it becomes slapstick or farcical. Death at a Funeral opts for the latter.

Basically, the movie is about a family that gathers together for a funeral. The family is full of absurd characters with every sort of personality flaw. Throw in a skin rash, some hallucinogenic drugs, a gay midget, and nudity, and in typical English style, things wildly spiral out of control as every possible thing that could go wrong, does. This is another one of those movies that draws on awkwardness, embarassment, and inappropriateness of all sorts, as we find ourself laughing at things we're not sure we should be laughing at. (Beware of a rather surprising fecal matter gag that comes out of nowhere.)

That being said, while the humor is silly at (most) times, it is still smartly done and cleverly paced. There are great laughs scattered throughout the whole short running time, and its all very entertaining. With a running time of only about 1 hour and 15 minutes, you don't have to invest a lot in this movie to enjoy it. Overall, a slightly above average comedy, that, because of English tone and delivery, succeeds more than probably any American attempt at the same type of humor.

"Death at a Funeral" at Rotten Tomatoes - 62%
"Death at a Funeral" at IMDB