Death at a Funeral

Director Neil LaBute's remake of Frank Oz's 2007 British comedy of manners finds dutiful Aaron (Chris Rock) organizing his father's funeral in Southern California with no help from his older brother Ryan (Martin Lawrence), a successful novelist and prodigal son who flies in from New York to attend the services, but makes it clear that he won't share the expenses. While the siblings' alienation and the delivery of the wrong corpse to the funeral offer comedic fodder early on, these storylines are eclipsed when a stranger named Frank (Peter Dinklage, who played the same role in the original) reveals that he was the deceased's secret gay lover and threatens to show the weeping widow, Cynthia (Loretta Devine), compromising photos unless the family pays him blackmail money. In the meantime, cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) is dodging an infatuated ex (Luke Wilson) while coping with the antics of her fiancé (James Marsden), who has unwittingly ingested acid and is perched, naked, on the roof, enjoying a full-scale hallucinogenic trip. Within this scattershot ensemble, Marsden garners the most laughs, while the others (including Danny Glover as a foul-mouthed uncle who suffers from a gastric disorder) bring scant depth to their characterizations. Overall, this lifeless redo serves up little more than coarsely sexual humor and scatological slapstick. A strictly optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Neil LaBute and star Chris Rock, a “Last Rites, Dark Secrets” behind-the-scenes featurette (20 min.), a “Family Album” cast featurette (11 min.), deleted scenes (7 min.), a “Death for Real” segment (6 min.), a gag reel (3 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “movieIQ” track and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a disappointing remake.] (S. Granger)