The Film
British humor is something that you usually get or don't. There is often little middle ground, and many films, whether playing for cheap laughs or with too dry wit, just don't translate to America. This explains why some imports land with a thud - the American version of TV's Coupling being a classic example, but as The Office has proven, sometimes humor can be revamped for America and be quite good. This is also the case with Death at a Funeral, which puts a new spin on things by featuring a cast of mostly African-American actors.
The new 2010 version is almost a scene for scene remake of the 2007 version, albeit with a few not so subtle additions. Instead of being dry humor with quite restrained British attitudes (which made the use of the colorful language all the more humorous), the dialog goes up a notch and then some thanks to the somewhat expressive cast, which includes Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan. Even supporting player Danny Glover gets to utter his trademark line from the Lethal Weapon series. Interestingly Peter Dinklage reprises his role from the former version, possibly wearing the exact same leather jacket! And while this might sound like it is all too much, credit director Neil LaBute for keeping it in check, enough that this one puts the fun in funeral.
For some other final words on this film, check out David Kempler's review.
The Picture
"Everything is so green." That line, which is uttered by a character who unwittingly ingests some extremely powerful hallucinogenic drugs could also be used to describe the look of the scenery in this film. The 2.40:1 presentation is free of any noticeable distractions, while the colors seem quite alive and clear. As the gross out factor goes up in a few short sequences you could almost say things look a little too real.
The Sound
There is usually a lot of somber moments at a funeral, but when you have a blackmailing midget, the aforementioned drugged out character and lots of other mayhem there isn't going to be a lot of silence or quiet subtlety. All of this exceitement is presented reasonably well with the 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. There is nothing particularly notable, so this is far from a reference disc for home theater demos, but it sounds good from beginning to end none-the-less.
The Extras
Many of the extras are really just promotional filler and are good ego boosters for the cast. These include "Death at a Funeral: Last Rites, Dark Secrets," "Family Album," and "Death for Real," and while worth a peek these don't make or break the package. There are also some humorous deleted scenes, but it is understandable why these were cut as they veer far from the original film, plus there are less humorous outtakes (unless you find actors flubbing lines to be funny), as well as commentary with director LaBute and Chris Rock. It is actually a shame more of the cast didn't take part in the latter.
Final Thoughts
It is usually British dramas - State of Play and Traffik for example - that survive best when crossing the pond, but Death at a Funeral shows that a bit of sophomoric humor and foul language from trash talking actors in America can be a reasonable substitution for dry wit. About the only thing that would have really made this package would have been a two-disc set on Blu-ray that included both versions of the film - because, frankly, when is Peter Dinklage going to get another chance for a box set?
Product Details
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