Death at a Funeral

Released: 8th April 2010

Director:Neil LaBute

Stars: Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Martin Lawrence, Chris Rock

Certificate: 15

Reviewer: Luke Walkley

A remake of a 2007 British comedy, DAAF follows the events that ensue on the day of a beloved father’s funeral. Chris Rock, Zoe Saldana, Danny Glover, Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson, all star as friends and family of the deceased.

The story loosely revolves around the deceased secret love affair with another man, played by Peter Dinklage who is the ‘little’ secret and his plans to blackmail the family for $30,000. I say loosely as it isn’t actually the main focus of the film. The movie brings an element which hasn’t been seen in American cinema for a while, slapstick comedy. It is a to-and-fro type of film. Jumping from one crazed person, to the next. There are cheesy moments with bodies falling out of coffins and the like aswell as a bit of cheap toilet humour.

The films highlight has to be James Marsden’s performance as Saldana’s boyfriend Oscar, after being slipped what he believes to be a Valium to calm him down, it turns out to be Acid and he begins hallucinating. The lines and way in which he plays to the idea is fantastic and he and Saldana combined, easily created the most laughs. Whereas Luke Wilson’s character never really stopped annoying me, his role in the film was barely explained, it becomes clearer right at the end why throughout the film Saldana hated his presence at the funeral, but it fell flat due to the lack of interest it created throughout the film.

Appearances from Danny Glover add some laughable moments, despite clinging to the ‘I’m too old for this shit’ quote; he really was a good addition to the cast.

Chris Rock is excellent, his character Aaron along with his younger brother Ryan (Lawrence)earn the most screen time and elements of Rock’s shows and stand-up comedy are well placed within the film.

In truth, the story is nothing spectacular; it jumps around a lot and crams an awful lot into its short running time. However as it has some good jokes and quotes littered throughout its worth watching if you want something light-hearted, it’s one of the films you can really watch when you’re stuck as to which DVD to choose. Good stars and good jokes make this a decent film which puts the fun into funeral…almost.