So when Death at a Funeral was released I was hesitant to see it in the theaters. It starred Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence and had, on appearances, an all black cast. Intrestingly enough it was directed by Neil Labute which had me a little intrigued. I never got to see it upon it's release, and truth be told I never tried, but over the last few years my interest has grown. I never saw the original film so I can't compare the two but I can say this: This version is funny, laugh out loud funny at parts, and very entertaining.
Family and friends unite for a funeral after Rock and Lawrence's father passes away. At the funeral hijinks ensue, secrets are revealed and relationships are formed. That's the story in a nutshell. While most of the cast is black, Luke Wilson and James Marsden star as well. Peter Dinklage stars in the same role that he played in the original. I'm just gonna say it, I was wrong. Everybody will like this movie. It's targeted to everyone, everywhere.
Chris Rock is basically the straight man of the film. Marsden is funny, Danny glover is very funny and the rest of the cast is pretty damn funny too but Death at a Funeral is owned and dominated by Tracey Morgan. He steals the show with the funniest scenes and his absolutely hilarious performance. When he's trying to distract the reverend or helping his uncle in the bathroom are so laugh out loud funny your gut will be hurting for days. I watched this film three days ago now and I'm still laughing.
Kevin Hart, in a very small role at the beginning delivers a performance almost as good as Morgan's and just as funny.
The film is directed with style and flare by Labute. He shoots it in the 2.35:1 widescreen ration which isn't really necessary for this film but does make it more visually pleasing to the eye. And it looks good, with nice colours and great lighting. The editing is tight and picture breezes by so fast that when it ends you wish it were longer.
This was an interesting choice for Labute as it is different to anything he has done before. There is none of his trademark characters, no characters you hate, no moral messages and no twists. It is unlike anything he has done before and also his most hollywood fim to date. After eight pictures, Neil Labute seems to have caved in and become part of Hollywood. (Maybe his next picture will return him to his indie roots or at least to the fence between Hollywood and independence.) But even though this film is pure Hollywood it is also his best film since 2002's Possession. All that's missing here is some of that crisp snappy original dialogue that Labute is so good at.
While it's not awards worthy (well maybe comedy awards) it's definitely worth at least one viewing if not two or more. It's put together well, it's super funny, it's at parts smart and at parts just silly but at all times it is highly enjoyable. I give Labute credit for making a film with Chris Rock in the lead that is actually good and credit for putting Martin Lawrence in a film that doesn't have the words Bad Boys in the title and still is pretty good. I've never watched 30 Rock but having seen Cop Out I never got what Tracey Morgan was all about. Death at Funeral shows me how funny and talented he is. Thanks Mr. Labute!
Again, everyone should watch this movie. Unless you are a racist, I can't see how you wouldn't like Death at a Funeral. Maybe the original is a better film and if you've seen it you wouldn't like this one as much, or maybe the opposite is true. I've never seen the original so I cannot comment. All I can say is you won't be sorry for this one. Do you have a funny bone? If the answer is yes I can't recommend this enough.
Film Rating: 73%
Breakdown (How Death at a Funeral scored 73%):
Production Design: 7 out of 10
Cinematography: 7 out of 10
Re-playability: 8 out of 10
Originality: 6 out of 10
Costumes: 7 out of 10
Directing: 8 out of 10
Editing: 8 out of 10
Acting: 7 out of 10
Music: 7 out of 10
Script: 8 out of 10
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