Death at a Funeral tells the wacky story of all the things that can go wrong when families come together to observe the loss of their patriarch.
Sound familiar?
This remake of the popular British comedy of the same name from just a couple of years ago, really isn’t that much different. The twist? Now the family is African-American. That’s it. Same plot, a few more “white people” jokes, same movie.
Chris Rock plays the son of the recently deceased, attempting to avoid the pitfalls that come with drawing the family together. Major conflict comes in the form of Martin Lawrence, whom you might remember from the years 1995-1998. He’s the more successful brother who overshadows the responsible Rock. Columbus Short plays the drug making cousin who accidentally gets his soon to be brother-in-law, a surprisingly funny James Marsden, whacked out on goofballs, or some such nonsense.
Oh, and anyone who thought that Danny Glover might have been put out on an ice floe, worry not–he makes an appearance as Uncle Russell.
It’s a slapsticky, foul-mouthed, derivative mess. But I’ll be damned if it’s not funny.
That’s actually the highest praise I can give it. It’s pretty much a carbon copy of the original. They laugh alike, they walk alike, at times they even talk alike.
That’s right, these films are identical cousins. They’re both pretty funny, both kinda dumb. Maybe you should just rent them both. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]
Comedy
Rated R
DVD Release Date: 8/10/10