Review: Death At a Funeral

Chock-full of scatological humour and slapstick buffoonery, the screenplay revolves around the funeral of the patriarch of a wealthy family, writes Rashid Irani.

Death At a Funeral
Cast : Matthew Macfadyen, Rupert Graves
Direction : Frank Oz
Rating : ***

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Here’s a frantic British farce that’s fitfully amusing while it lasts.

Chock-full of scatological humour and slapstick buffoonery, the screenplay revolves around the funeral of the patriarch of a wealthy family. Set almost entirely within the confines of the dead aristrocrat’s country estate, the sombre send-off erupts into chaos when a mysterious mourner (Peter Dinklage) fetches up at the ceremony. The diminutive stranger, who possesses compromising snapshots of the dead man, strives to blackmail the family.

An assortment of loopy English types merely adds to the mayhem. Count among them an incontinent old uncle (Peter Vaughn), a lovesick cousin (Ewen Bremmer), not to forget a prospective son-in-law (Alan Tudyk) who runs around stark naked after ingesting a hallucinogenic tablet.

Director Oz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) handles the cast of eccentric characters fairly competently. As the bereaved siblings, the Pride and Prejudice heartthrob Matthew Macfadyen and Rupert Graves, add to the appeal of this comedy of errors that at least, returns the smile to our faces.