Death At A Funeral

Muppets-alumni Frank Oz has had a directorial career full of hits and misses. When he hits, he connects brilliantly. Previous comedies such as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Bowfinger, have been rollicking affairs, both served by high-calibre ensemble casts and tightly written scripts. When he steps outside comedy, Frank Oz also shines. The Dark Crystal remains a cult classic and The Score was a finely crafted, character-driven crime caper.

With the resounding failure of 2004’s Stepford Wives remake, Frank Oz really needed to bounce back. Luckily for him, Death At A Funeral is a career-saver by anyone’s standards. Taking a fresh and dark humoured script by young, British screenwriter Dean Craig, and using an entirely British cast, Oz has made the most of his resources.

Death At A Funeral wouldn’t work as an American production. When distilled to its common denominators this is a farce, full of drug, sex and toilet humour. But the British know a thing or two about black-comedy. Oz is served brilliantly by his cast, who play their roles straight. It’s the absurd situations that begin to corrode their stiff upper lips.

When the patriarch of an esteemed family passes away, the children, and the extended friends and family gather at his country mansion where the funeral service is to be held. In the opening scenes, we see the funeral directors bring the wrong coffin, presenting a deceased stranger to son Daniel (Matthew MacFayden). This shocking and morbidly funny error turns out to be the most palatable thing to go wrong during this fateful day.

You sense that Daniel is the leader of the father’s children and would be recognised as such if it weren’t for the shadow cast by his brother Robert (Rupert Graves), who is a world-famous author living in New York. This vicariously introduces America into the screenplay, as a destructive society that has shaped Robert during his time there.

Martha (Daisy Donovan) has brought along her boyfriend Simon (Alan Tudyk) and hopes that he will impress her father, the brother-in-law of the deceased. When they stop by Martha’s brother’s house on the way to the funeral, Simon takes what he thinks is a sedative, but it turns out to be a poweful hallucinogen.

Although Death At A Funeral doesn’t really explore family relationships as much you might expect, it’s confronting moments are sublime. Particularly when a mysterious dwarf (Peter Dinklage) appears at the service. That’s when things get really interesting.