Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Death at a Funeral Blu-ray Movie Review

'Death at a Funeral' brings an offbeat brand of humor to life.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 24, 2010

This is not Burger King, you can't just mess up my order!

The joke usually goes something like this: in a Comedy that involves a dead person or a funeral, it's usually the stiff who's identified as the best actor in the movie. It was definitely true in Weekend at Bernies, but in Death at a Funeral? Not so fast. Not only is Director Neil LaBute's (Lakeview Terrace; would it be cruel to mention he also directed The Wicker Man? Since the following review will mostly be positive, yes, it probably would be. Wait...oops...) picture overflowing with quality name actors (not that that guarantees any sort of real success), but they're working off a script that's more often than not downright hilarious, a potent combination to be sure and one that works really well here. The movie's crude but not at all touching when it tries to be (yeah, it's another Comedy where there's a serious, solemn moment at the end; whatever, those rarely work), but Death at a Funeral embraces absurdity and never relents, sticking to its guns and never shying away from even the most tasteless verbal and visual gags.

Easily the best part of the day to come for the Barnes family.

The Barnes family has lost its patriarch, which can mean only one thing: a funeral and a family reunion. Some of them haven't seen one another in a while, some of them aren't on the best of terms, and some of them don't approve of some of the others' personal choices, but hey, that's life in a big family. Aaron, (Chris Rock, Dogma), a son, is delivering the eulogy; he's a wannabe writer with a 37-year-old wife whose biological clock is spinning faster than a Dead or Alive song, and he's strapped for cash as he and the misses are in the final stages of moving out of his mother's house and purchasing their own. His slightly younger brother, Ryan (Martin Lawrence, Blue Streak), is an established novelist who thinks he should give the eulogy. Elaine (Zoe Saldana, Star Trek), a daughter, is attending with her white boyfriend Oscar (James Marsden, Enchanted) and her brother Jeff (Columbus Short, Stomp the Yard). Elaine's ex-boyfriend Derek (Luke Wilson, Vacancy) is on his way, as is Norman (Tracy Morgan, First Sunday) and Uncle Russell (Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon), Duncan (Ron Glass, Serenity), and the mysterious Frank (Peter Dinklage, Underdog). Of course, there's the widow, Cynthia (Loretta Devine, This Christmas), who only wants to see the funeral take place without incident. How hard could that be?

Hooray for sophomoric humor taken to the extreme, and cheers for pulling off these kinds of gags in a movie that doesn't involve sex-crazed teens, college students, centerfolds, or dessert products. For sure, highbrow art this is not. Still, Death at a Funeral manages to showcase a pretty nice chunk of Hollywood elite and name actors and pile them into a movie that's downright vulgar and tasteless. How? It probably doesn't hurt that this is a remake of a well-received 2007 British flick of the same name that was directed by the venerable Frank Oz (The Dark Crystal, What About Bob?, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels). Unlike many second takes and Americanized flicks, Death at a Funeral holds its own and then some, even if there's really no substance or no purpose other than to make its audience fall out of their seats laughing. Neil LaBute makes sure that his direction not only keeps all of the film's characters and jokes in order, but he also stays out of the way of his cast -- which includes some heavyweight character actors like Ron Glass and Keith David intermixed with the big boys in the room -- as they do their thing and turn a pretty ordinary gross-out and tasteless script into Comedy gold. These sorts of movies don't really work well anymore; they're usually like those mentioned above, playing out with the same type of people and in the same sorts of places, and it's because Death at a Funeral goes in a slightly different direction -- better actors and a somewhat novel setting -- that it turns run-of-the-mill humor into a movie that's far better than it deserves to be.

Don't mistake the mistake, then, of believing that Death at a Funeral is the next great classic Comedy; it's not, but considering the genre's been in a rut for quite a while -- subjectively speaking of course -- this one stands out as one of the better efforts of the past few years at the very least, if not longer. Still, based on the scientifically-proven*, painstakingly analyzed**, and thoroughly-tested*** method of what should be the primary gauge of how successful or otherwise a Comedy is -- LPM (Laughs Per Minute) -- Death at a Funeral scores very high. The picture derives its laughs from a myriad of issues, including but not limited to family dynamics defined by sibling rivalry, age, health, weight, and race, not to mention drug-induced paranoia, nasty excrement-spreading, and blackmail. Pretty much anything that can go wrong does go wrong that remains within the boundary of R-rated bad taste. Sure Neil LaBute could have gone all hardcore and...well, thankfully, he didn't. Yeah, yeah...someone's got an overactive dirty mind. The film's biggest missed opportunity? Danny Glover delivers his trademark "I'm too old for this $#!+" line, but he doesn't say it just as he's pooped all over someone helping him out of his wheelchair and onto the toilet. Boo.

*=Not.
**=Psych.
***=LOL.

Death at a Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Death at a Funeral's 1080p, 2.40:1-framed transfer is a pleasure to behold. Though it's light on grain, it retains a fabulous cinematic appearance, with incredibly high levels of detail and wonderful color reproduction. Both interiors and exteriors are awash in imagery that reveals even the slightest nuances of every texture, whether faces, walls, decor, clothes, or any other objects seen throughout the movie. Additionally, the image is incredibly clear and razor-sharp with no instances of a scene going inexplicably soft or in some way mushy or unattractive. Meanwhile, colors are stable and honest, maybe just the slightest bit warm but certainly eye-popping and true without any bleeding or over- or underdeveloped hues. Flesh tones are excellent, and black levels, whether in background shadows or on dark suits and dresses, look fabulous. There's no visible print damage and annoyances like banding, aliasing, and blocking are nonexistent. Only some minor contrast wavering mars an otherwise perfect transfer from Sony.

Death at a Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Sony attends Death at a Funeral and brings to the services a fine DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. No surprise for a soundtrack accompanying a Comedy, this one's fairly routine, but it does "routine" very well. The music found throughout the movie enjoys a fair sense of spacing across the front with a strong surround support element. It never sounds as positively clear, natural, and effortless as the very best tracks, but it's certainly a solid, spit-and-polished presentation. Dialogue, too, never misses a beat, and in only one scene did it seem to struggle to stay above some slight background din. Additionally, the track delivers a fine ambience both outdoors and indoors; chirping birds, rustling leaves, light breezes, and in a few early scenes, traffic all play very well to help create a subtle but effective atmosphere. Meanwhile, ambience during interior scenes is a little less noticeable, but those shots and places that require it are handled about as well as can be expected. Certainly, Death at a Funeral isn't some action-packed and hard-hitting killer soundtrack, but fans should be pleased with Sony's laid-back and effective presentation.

Death at a Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Death at a Funeral delivers several extra features. Things begin with a commentary track with Director Neil LaBute and Actor Chris Rock that's dotted with some funny moments while covering a pretty standard array of information, including the casting process, the film's music, anecdotes from the set, the film's rating, the work of the crew, who probably gets free drugs in Hollywood, and other serious and not-so-serious observations. This track isn't a must-listen, but it's also not going to bore anyone to death. 'Death at a Funeral:' Last Rites, Dark Secrets (1080p, 20:11) is a pretty basic behind-the-scenes piece that features cast and crew discussing the original 2007 film, the similarities and differences between the two versions, Chris Rocks' dual credits as actor and producer, the work of Director Neil LaBute, the casting and work of the ensemble cast, the film's humor, shooting locations, and more. Family Album (1080p, 10:59) features cast members discussing their characters; the interview pieces are intercut with numerous clips from the film. Death For Real (1080p, 5:55) features cast and crew discussing the deadly-serious topic of death.

Also included is an assortment of seven deleted scenes (480p, 7:13); a gag reel (480p, 2:37); BD-Live functionality; MovieIQ connectivity; and 1080p trailers for The Karate Kid, Grown Ups, Stomp the Yard: Homecoming, The Back-Up Plan, Bad Boys, and The Other Guys. Disc two of this set contains two digital copies of Death at a Funeral. The first, a PSP version of the film, was sampled on a PSP Go. Visually, it's noticeably superior to iTunes digital copies, with better detail and colors and far less in the way of distracting blocking. Audibly, it's fine; music is clear and well-spaced between the two headphone channels, and dialogue reproduction never misses a beat. The second, an iTunes-compatible copy of the movie, was sampled on a second-generation iPod Touch. The result: a fairly typical digital copy, with a good, well-spaced, and fairly crisp soundtrack and a video presentation that's nicely detailed, strongly-colored, fairly flat, and containing the usual amount of unsightly compression artifacts.

Death at a Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

To recap: Death at a Funeral was directed by the dude who's responsible for The Wicker Man. No, no, put the torches, pitchforks, AK-47s, and Bat'leths down and take that finger off the nuclear launch button. He's redeemed himself with this one. Death at a Funeral not only works as a PSA against the dangers of being on hallucinogens while at a funeral, but also as a pretty darn funny Comedy with an A-list cast and a script to die for...or maybe not. The humor's usually raunchy and extreme, but that's why it works, at least with this cast and this setting. The laughs come regularly and the movie goes by quickly. What's not to love? Shoot, even Sony's Blu-ray is pretty darn solid. Boasting a gorgeous 1080p transfer, a good lossless soundtrack, and some extras, Death at a Funeral's a great choice for after the kids go to bed. Recommended.