Death at a Funeral (2007) (Blu-ray)

Last Rites... And Wrongs

A dignified send-off for a loved one erupts into uproarious chaos when romance, jealousy, in-laws, hallucinogens, dark secrets, life-long yearnings and a spot of bold blackmail all collide graveside in the irreverent British comedy, Death at a Funeral. Directed by Frank Oz and featuring a cast made up of the cream of Britain’s crop, the film mischievously explores what happens on the day when a typically divided family is finally forced to come to terms with each other’s bad behaviour, outrageous faults, skeletons in the closet and all.

On the morning of their father’s funeral, the family and friends of the deceased each arrives with his or her own roiling anxieties. Son, Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) knows he will have to face his flirty, blowhard famous novelist brother, Robert (Rupert Graves), who’s just flown in from New York, not to mention the promises of a new life he’s made to his new wife, Jane (Keeley Hawes). Meanwhile, Daniel’s cousin, Martha (Daisy Donovan) and her dependable new fiancé, Simon (Alan Tudyk) are desperate to make a good impression on Martha’s uptight father – a plan that literally goes out the window when Simon accidentally ingests a designer drug en route to the service, leaving him prone to uncontrollable bouts of delirium and nudity in front of his potential in-laws.

Then comes the real shocker: a mysterious guest (Peter Dinklage) who threatens to unveil an earth-shattering family secret. As riotous mayhem and unfortunate mishaps ensue on every front, it is now up to the two brothers to hide the truth from their family and friends and figure out how to not only bury their dearly beloved, but the secret he’s been keeping.