Death at a Funeral was one of those unsung comedies in the summer of 2007 that got trounced by Superbad and, of all things, Mr. Bean’s Holiday. Now Chris Rock puts his own spin on the classic U.K. yarn. Both Sawitz and I championed how great Frank Oz’s comedy was, and it starred Mattew Macfayden, Peter Dinklage, and Alan Tudyk. This new version features Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Tracy Morgan, Danny Glover, James Marsden, Luke Wilson, and Zoe Saldana. Peter Dinklage reprises his role from the original.
What’s It All About: A small funeral ceremony turns into a comedic debacle of exposed family secrets and misplaced cadavers.
For this remake Neil Labute sits in as a director. The playwright (In the Company of Men, The Shape of Things) turned director has become a director-for-hire, still trying to overcome the disastrous Wicker Man remake starring Nicolas Cage. (See the “Greatest Hits” montage here.) Dean Craig, who penned the original Death at a Funeral supplied the script of this urban remake. Sony Pictures will release Death at a Funeral in theaters beginning April 16, 2010.
