Blu-ray Review: DEATH AT A FUNERAL; Entirely unneccesary, disposable remake
On paper, the UK comedy 'Death at a Funeral' wouldnt immediately announce itself as a contender to be remade by Hollywood - it didnt make head-turning money or feature a break-out, outstanding performance. In fact, if you ignore the darker subject matter, it could quite easily slot in next to Brit-coms like 'Confetti' and 'Beyond the Pole': character lead stories featuring a raft of British comedy talent that punched roughly at their weight.
And yet, here we have Hollywood's version of the very same story, lead by stellar comic talent in the shape of Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence and Tracy Morgan. What appealed, quite refreshingly was the story-line. Rock apparently saw the British version and decided it deserved the chance to find a wider audience, rather than seeing the original's financial success and presuming that a bigger budget redo would mean a bigger box-office return (a trap that catches many an eager remaker).
And so, the wheels were set in motion for the genesis of one of the most painful "comedies" of the year, which is now available to buy on Blu-ray and DVD.'Death at a Funeral' is the most disposable of comedies, combining off-tone fraternity jokes with an even more off-kilter attempt to establish serious character archs for some of the characters and some dramatic tension. It is hugely difficult to relate to any of the serious crises of identity when they are constantly undermined by some silly joke or other that fails to raise anything more than a pained grimace. In turn, the seriousness robs most of the usually high-energy comics (Rock, Morgan and Lawrence) of the tools of the trade they are most comfortable with. In a monumental fuck-up of casting, Rock plays the straight man, Lawrence plays his smooth, lothario of a brother and Morgan plays a bumbling. moronic oaf. Had they switched around and matched past performances to characters, the effect may well have been a little easier to take- the actors might have looked more comfortable in their roles as well.
But then, on those past performances I wouldn't necessarily accept that any of those actors were particularly talented. Lawrence had it once, but too many fat-suits and a lack of artistic finesse has lately meant he is more of a joke than the lazy toilet humour of one tasteless scene in particular involving an incontinent Danny Glover's bowel movements. Morgan meanwhile has never lived up to the hype attached to his '30 Rock' performances - the films I have seen him in - 'Cop Out' and now 'Death At a Funeral' have shown up the fact that he is only as strong as the script he reads from.
And then there is Chris Rock - the man is simply not an actor (apart from reasonable voice-work on 'Madagascar' and 'Everybody Hates Chris'), and should really go back to stand-up, or even documentaries, considering how much I enjoyed his involvement in 'Good Hair'. I simply do not believe any of his characters, and fundamentally question whether he is capable of the technical skills required to create a convincing performance, largely due to the difference between what he usually does on stage and the restraint required to act on screen.
The story that worked far better in the Brit version is thrown away with reckless abandon in the American in favour of a more slapstick tone that does not measure up to the serious aspirations that certain of the plot-lines aspire to. The script doesn't help either; none of the characters are written out well, and the actors - and Rock in particular- stumble through the movie wearing their characters like badly-fitted suits. Because of the wandering tone it is very difficult to empathise with any of the characters- it is obvious that we are supposed to feel most for Rock and Zoe Saldana's characters, because they are kept slightly removed from the more farcical elements of the comedy, but they are not fleshed out sufficiently, or acted well enough to make anyone care enough about them to carry that responsibility.
The one high-point of the acting on show, and indeed the only vaguely redeeming factor in the whole film is James Marsden's turn as the accidentally drugged fiance of Zoe Saldana's character. Marsden's wide and wild-eyed comic turn puts everyone else to shame, though even then it criminally undermines the semi-interesting racial tension sub-plot that centres on their relationship. That serious aside is pretty much forgotten as Marsden's character gurns his way through every one of his scenes, stealing focus from everyone else as he goes. Further proof, after his excellent performance as the oh-so-Disney Prince Charming in 'Enchanted' that Marsden is more than capable of taking on comic roles alongside his more straight choices. Sadly, he can't do anything to resurrect the fortunes of this particular problem film.
Overall, 'Death at a Funeral' is an entirely unnecessary and disposable comedy remake, proving that even with the best intentions the Hollywood remake machine cant always strike oil. It's also a story of an end-product not weighing up to its components- Rock and Lawrence are both excellent stand-ups, showing great observational skill on stage, but massively stifled by a clunky and unfunny script, and a cast that includes Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover and Zoe Saldana should never be this bad, surely?
Quality
In stark contrast to the quality of the actual film, the transfer is very impressive indeed. Though a little light on grain, the high-definition transfer retains an incredibly level of detail and texture and some wonderful colour reproduction: almost everything is perfectly done, from the excellent black tones and skin tones, to the image clarity and excellent sound track.
Extras
The usual fare for a comedy, there's a commentary track from director Neil LaBute (who also directed the appalling 'Wicker Man' remake and the not-quite-as-bad-but-still-not-very-good 'Lakeview Terrace') and Chris Rock, followed by some seven deleted/extended scenes, a reasonable but brief gag reel and a self-serving 20-minute making-of that offers little extra to the viewing experience. There is also a featurette called Death for Real where members of the cast discuss their own thoughts on death, which feels a bit odd in all honesty.