Direction: Frank Oz
The actors were British. I could tell from the accent & by their stiff-upper lips which never moved no matter what. The movie was British. I could tell from the type.
Daniel played by Matthew MacFadyen, arranges his Father's funeral at which he gets a wrong casket delivered at first. His Brother, Robert played by Rupert Graves, who is a well known novelist in New-york travels 1st class to get to the funeralbut claims poverty when Daniel asks him to pay half the amount for the funeral. Daniel's wife, KeeleyHawes, stalks him throughout the film asking him whether he booked 'em a new flat after Daniel had once promised her that he would take her out of his mother's house. The reverend adds to Daniel's trouble when he asks him to hurry up with the details coz he has to be
some place else by 3pm. The most striking guest is the dwarf played by Peter Dinklage, who shows up uninvited.
The movie's best twist comes when Peter reveals that he was his deceased father's gay-lover & has photos of 'em in compromising positions as evidence which he threatens to show it to everyone at the funeral if he's not payed 15,000 pounds.In the chaos of tying up Peter & not giving him the money and keeping him a secret from other people, Peter accidentally bangshis head against a corner f a glass table and dies. The way they put him off is also fun.
In the meantime, Simon(Mr. Tudyk), Martha's(Daisy Donovan), going-to-be husband is drugged when Martha gives him Valium which actuallyis a illegal experimental hallucinogen found at her Troy's(Kris Marshall) place who is freelance chemist. This drug makes Simon laugh, go naked & threaten to jump off the roof at the funeral. This totally ruins Simon's plan f creating a good reputation in front f Martha's uptight father. Simon is brilliant in the film.
During this Troy looses the bottle f Valium which he carried & searches it
everywhere which creates quite a nuisance. Since all British comedies must have at least one cast member of Love Actually in the film (I think that’s an unofficial rule), Kris Marshall plays Martha’s drug-dealing grad student brother Troy.
Another character Justin who is madly in love with Martha & follows her everywhere even when she is dealing with drugged Simon. Daniel's best friend Howard(Andy Nyman), has a skin condition which he's quite concerned about and goes around at the funeral asking if anyone could provide a solution to his problem. Uncle Alfe(Peter Vaughan), is a bad word giving old-head who makes Howard's life miserable.
It was British comedy at it's best. The sometimes predictable script could, however, be tighter.
P.S. Still, in "Death at a Funeral," Oz has created a fun and well-made film, with a pleasant and oh-so-British vibe, transforming what could be the grimmest of situations into a jolly good time.
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