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When the British Death at a Funeral debuted in 2007, the reception was only mild, with most of the comments addressing either the clever usage of black comedy or the awkward cohesion of the film in general. However, when the Hollywood remake of the film was announced, there was so much more hype about it, as per usual with American-made films. With director Neil LaBute, an all-star cast, and some time to work out the kinks of what went wrong in the original movie, the remake would be surely be a huge success, right? Unfortunately, the hype led to much higher expectations of the movie than necessary. Death at a Funeral proved to be different from its antecedent; whereas the original came off as sick and twisted, this film was slow and a bit awkward. While it wasn't necessarily the acting that attributed to this conclusion, the script — and thus, the storyline itself — certainly adds to the discomfiture of the movie.
Death at a Funeral follows the funeral of writer/tax accountant Aaron's father. Aaron (Chris Rock), who is the eldest of two sons, finds it incumbent upon himself to make sure that his father is guaranteed a dignified ceremony, though in the opening scene, this sentiment is foreshadowed to be nearly impossible when the morgue delivers the wrong body. Alas, everything that could possibly go wrong at a funeral actually does happen. Aaron's successful younger brother, Ryan (Martin Lawrence), proves to be very unhelpful in facilitating the process, as he chooses to flirt with an old family friend instead of easing the ensuing chaos. Also, it doesn't help that Norman (Tracy Morgan), a friend of the family, adds to the weirdness of the movie, at times appearing more like an insensitive, ignorant side character rather than the comic relief that he was meant to be.
Ironically, while the majority of the humor was expected from Rock, Lawrence and Morgan, the true gem of the show was in fact James Marsden (27 Dresses, Hairspray), who plays Oscar, the boyfriend of Aaron's cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana, Avatar, Guess Who). To ease his nerves, Elaine gives Oscar what she believes is Valium, but is actually a hallucinogenic drug that her brother Jeff (Columbus Short, Accepted, Stomp the Yard) concocted for a friend. In the end, the chaos subsides, and Aaron delivers a much-expected "profound" eulogy for his father.
Death at a Funeral was supposed to be a comedy that would have the audience laughing from the moment they sat down until the credits finished rolling. Instead, it was just 90 minutes of boredom, a handful of chuckles and pity-laughs, and a great deal of awkwardness.
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