Movie review: 'Death at a Funeral' (2010)

"Death at a Funeral" with Tracey Morgan and Chris Rock

Genre:  Comedy, Remake (of the 2007 film "Death at a Funeral")

In Theatres Locally:  April 16th, 2010 (see NCM Widget below for showtimes & theatres)

Starring:  Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover

Directed by:  Neil LaBute (The Wicker Man, Lakeview Terrace)

Run Time:  1 hour 32 minutes

As with the recent "Clash of the Titans", another movie remake is being released by Hollywood.  This time, it is "Death at a Funeral," a remake of the british comedy of the same name.  It is very odd and curious to note that the original movie is only 3 years old, being released in 2007.  This marks one of the quickest Hollywood remakes in recent memory.  As I will do with all remakes this summer (and there are a whole slew of them coming soon), I will review the film from two viewpoints:  the film on its own and the inevitable comparisons to the original.

Comparisons to the original.  It is really a rare situation that a movie would not only be remade only 3 years later, but also that both films are written by the same person (Dean Craig.)  The plot remains the same, overall chaos ensues amongst a family, with an outrageous plot surrounding their father's funeral.  The original film was funny if imperfect, and contained many memorable moments, such as when the family discovers that the wrong body was delivered in the coffin.

(Left:  Scene from 2007 "Death at a Funeral", Right:  2010 "Death at a Funeral")

The new film suffers from from the "been there, done that" syndrome, where jokes such as this and many, many more are simply lifted from the original and re-planted here.  For some of the film, I would suspect that if you did not see the British version (many have not), maybe the film holds up slightly better than those who have seen these jokes before.  Peter Dinklage is funny, and appears again as a mysterious friend of the father (as he did in the original), bridging the gap between the two films.

Dean Craig misses a golden opportunity to tighten and reshape his original script though.  Each scene is nearly a shot-for-shot remake of the original film, and mostly the changes consist in the dialogue.  I bashed Clash of the Titans for being too far from the original material, and here it is the other extreme opposite.  This film could have been better if it would have deviated slightly from the original, and not just be a complete re-tread.  Perhaps it's not possible for a remake to add some originality?

The film on its own.  The movie itself contains a few hits, but mostly misses.  The all-star cast does what it can, but I believe was horribly mis-cast.  Martin Lawrence is a funny comedian, but every scene he is in feels forced and tragically unfunny, as if he was completely phoning this one in.  Chris Rock as the straight-man and Danny Glover as the old coot seem odd choices for these roles, which go to limit the comedic potential of their talents.

As mentioned, the original script was imperfect, so again here many characters and situations are those that we have seen before.  I must admit though, I thought James Marsden was hilarious throughout, as the daughter's boyfriend who accidentally takes a hallucinogen prior to the funeral.  Again it is a cliched role, but he shows a side of himself we haven't seen.  The joke does grow old though as the movie goes on, as does the overall tone of the movie.  You won't laugh out loud in this one, maybe a chuckle or two if you enter the theatre in a good mood.  By the end you will be exhausted and ready to go home.

In conclusion.  Film critic snobs tend to always be harsh on comedies, but when a comedy is done well (think Hot Tub Time Machine or City Island) the genre can garnish much-deserved respect.  But Death at a Funeral is just un-inspired junk featuring a very talented but misused cast.  If you've seen the original, by all means skip this new film, as it will only anger you that this film will probably be seen by a wider audience than the original could ever dream of.  If you haven't seen the original and want to invest 90 minutes of your time, go rent it, and skip this one as well.

"The Year of the Re-make."  For those of you scoring at home, that's 0 for 2 so far on my recommendations for 2010 "The Year of the Re-make."  Next up on the calendar?  Re-makes of Nightmare on Elm Street, The Karate Kid, and Tron, as well as movies based on well-known characters we've seen before in Robin Hood, MacGruber, The A-Team, and yes even Marmaduke...Did I mention that 2010 also will see the sequels Iron Man 2, Sex and the City 2, and Shrek Ever After?  Well at least Weekend at Bernie's 3 has yet to be announced...

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