Movie Review by Susan Hodgetts
Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Keeley Hawes, Kris Marshall, Daisy Donovan
Director: Frank Oz
They might be holding a funeral for the death of spontaneous comedy in the latest from Frank Oz, more interestingly known in past lives as Yoda. Featuring a who’s who of Brit TV this attempts to be quirky but unfortunately comes off as a laboured one trick pony.
Daniel’s father has died. His hugely successful brother Robert (Rupert Graves) flies home from LA to attend the funeral at the family pile, where all the relatives gather and edgy secrets are bound to be revealed. Mix a midget with some naughty chemical pills and you basically get the recurring premise of the whole film, which could have been promising had director Oz not contrived so woefully hard to make it funny, or relied on the same joke time and time again.
There were a couple of laughs, but generally the whole film just reeked of stupidity. What enticed the cast must have been the chance to spend a few weeks having a jolly good laugh together. The closing credits showing each actor laughing during filming as their name appears alongside says it all and is stupidity personified. And showing everyone it was funnier behind the scenes is never a good idea.
A positive mention must go though to the fragrant Jane Asher, who still looks amazing. Who said cakes were bad for you.
