Monday, October 22, 2007

Death at a Funeral: cheap and clever humor mixed together in a film that manages to entertain


A good comedy is really hard to find. Especially for me that I find rather difficult to laugh crude jocks and stupid people who manage to get themselves in impossible situations and face ridicule. Irony, sarcasm and wit make me laugh much more and sincerely than anything else. As a result I usually go for a Woody Allen film like Deconstructing Harry or Mighty Aphrodite or even Manhattan Mystery Murder. Still this film has managed to win me over and make me laugh. As I have said on other instance seeing a movie in a theatre is a unique experience. The spectators influence greatly the experience. If their quiet, if they participate in the correct way in the viewing, if they make annoying noises … everything matters. When I saw this particular movie two rows further down was sitting a fat middle aged man who was laughing hysterically. I have to admit that if he wasn’t in the same room with me I might have laughed less with the film.

The father of dysfunctional British Family dies. At his funeral a stranger visits the family and threatens to reveal some shocking truths about the diseased. He blackmails the sons. The propriety is thrown to the dogs as more and more awkward and extra ordinary incidents take place. The family goes through a crisis but in the end manages to re establish its balance. The script mixes the irony and sarcasm against a proper middle class country British family and a hint of sexual and scatological humor with some success. The sobriety and awkwardness of a family funeral is transformed into a hilarious instance.

A small production film offers the advantages of all the economical independent production. A good written script with clever lines and lots of not-so-famous actors who manage to impersonate perfectly all the characteristic personas of the film. All the film is based on their acting skills and they manage to support it properly. Atmosphere, sytlish mise en scene and impressive directing are lacking but are not needed.

In the whole no one could say that Death in a funeral is masterpiece. It remains however, an interesting film and a rather good comedy. It is pleasantly watches and manages to provoke the spectator’s laughter and mirth with some genuine humor and even some well rather cheap tricks. One can rarely ask much more from a comedy.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Mori, apo to imdb copy/paste kaneis? :P

Helen Tragea \ Ελένη Τραγέα said...

To mono pou kanw copy paste apo to imdb kai ayto oxi pantote einai oi eikones kai thn orthografia twn onomatwn. Epeidh omws afhses tetoi sxolio mphka gia prwth fora kai koitaksa to ergo ayto sto imdb. Emmmm ti ypotithetai oti antigrafw ....giati den to brhka!