Just over two years ago I saw the 2007 British movie of the same title. I gave it a rating of 8 out of 10, it is a funny and interesting take on a family funeral that turns into a family crisis. It was funny without being "dirty." Meanwhile, I read that this movie was being re-made with an American take, set in Los Angeles, and with American actors and American sensibilities. Reportedly the producers were impressed with the British movie and wanted to re-make it so that a wider American audience would get to see it.
So, curious, I got the DVD of this new movie from my public library, and I watched it yesterday with Natalie, a college student who incidentally has the DVD of the British movie and watched it again just last week.
In quick summary, this American version is nowhere as good or as funny as the British version. The characters' names are changed, and of course the location, but other than that it is pretty much the same movie, but with more toilet humor and more profanity thrown in, neither of which help make it a good movie. Both Natalie and I agreed on this point, and both of us observed that this one doesn't "flow" nearly as well as the British original. The scenes are the same, but the story doesn't flow as well from scene to scene.
So, while the British "Death at a Funeral" is inventive and funny, this American "Death at a Funeral" is just disjointed and profane. Unless a viewer just wants to see a predominantly black family movie, the British movie is superior in every way.
So, curious, I got the DVD of this new movie from my public library, and I watched it yesterday with Natalie, a college student who incidentally has the DVD of the British movie and watched it again just last week.
In quick summary, this American version is nowhere as good or as funny as the British version. The characters' names are changed, and of course the location, but other than that it is pretty much the same movie, but with more toilet humor and more profanity thrown in, neither of which help make it a good movie. Both Natalie and I agreed on this point, and both of us observed that this one doesn't "flow" nearly as well as the British original. The scenes are the same, but the story doesn't flow as well from scene to scene.
So, while the British "Death at a Funeral" is inventive and funny, this American "Death at a Funeral" is just disjointed and profane. Unless a viewer just wants to see a predominantly black family movie, the British movie is superior in every way.