Film Review: DEATH AT A FUNERAL
starring Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Zoe Saldana, James Marsden, Danny Glover, Loretta Devine, Keith David, Peter Dinklage, Tracy Morgan, Regina Hall
directed by Neil LaBute
At first glance, one might mistake this reinvention of the 2007 British comedy of the same name as the latest invitation into family chaos by Tyler Perry. It's actually directed by Neil LaBute, who is respected for directing heavy character pieces like Your Friends & Neighbors and The Shape of Things. The original film was an indie hit the year it was released, and even though I never saw that film in its entirety, I was a bit turned off when I saw the trailer for the urban version. It looked like producers collected a bunch of black comics, took an idea from a few years ago and said, "we can market this for a whole new audience". Luckily, my preconceived notions were wrong and I got to benefit from the new, hip version, just like anyone else will. It's packed with ridiculous humor and screamingly laugh-out loud moments (people in my specific audience were SO loud and clapping at certain scenes). The one thing I was really surprised to find was that someone like James Marsden could outshine some of Hollywood's most famous and celebrated male comedians. Rock, Lawrence and Morgan kind of fall short in comparison to the range of comedy Marsden provides with this performance. He steals the show! It's also a major plus that half-way through the film he shucks his clothes and gives us a peek at the good stuff! Like most films of this slapstick nature, the plot is lacking at times and some of the dialogue is weak and underwhelming. I expected more out of Regina Hall and found Luke Wilson's character to be completely unnecessary and a waste of the production budget. But overall, I got to laugh loud with the rest of the audience and took Death for what it is.
My Grade: B
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