Death at a FuneralMovie Reviews

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So-so

Avg. Critic Score: 51 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 16+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

88

Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert
I laughed all the way through, in fact. This is the best comedy since "The Hangover," and although it's almost a scene-by-scene remake of a 2007 British movie with the same title, it's funnier than the original. Read full review
83

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
Reveling in mess and homegrown multiracial mayhem, Death at a Funeral finds a new lease on life. Read full review
63

Boston Globe | Ty Burr
The new version is completely unnecessary and sloppier than it should be. It's also still funny, partly thanks to smart casting in a few key roles and partly because farce this ironclad cannot be denied. Read full review
50

Washington Post | Ann Hornaday
Still, if for the most part Death at a Funeral is as tame as the tasteful parlor where most of its action takes place, it manages to explode one taboo, in casting mostly black actors in roles originally played by whites. Read full review
50

The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt
But nothing taps his own particular talents to unsettle audiences with truly edgy material. Funeral gets no more edgy than a potty joke and a corpse tumbling out of a coffin. This is nothing more than juvenile slapstick. Read full review
50

USA Today | Claudia Puig
The only death at this funeral was that of a good movie. Read full review
50

Los Angeles Times | Betsy Sharkey
The movie version of karaoke. It sings the same tune as the 2007 British underground hit, but it's a little, and at times a lot, off-key. Read full review
50

The New York Times | Stephen Holden
Think of Death at a Funeral as a comic quickie. As it presses buttons, a few laughs come out, but that's all there is to it. Read full review
30

Variety | Justin Chang
This slavishly faithful update... fails to tap into anything culturally specific or uniquely funny in its Pasadena setting or its theoretically looser, livelier black cast. And because the characters are so flat, we couldn't care less about the blows to their sense of propriety. Read full review
25

San Francisco Chronicle | Walter Addiego
You can get away with almost anything in a farce except failing to be funny, and that's what kills Death at a Funeral. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Death at a Funeral on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Over-the-top funeral comedy digs into sex and potty humor.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this remake of a 2007 British comedy leaves no subject untouched in its quest to make its audiences laugh, including death, deception, and drugs. The humor's pretty adult, including a secret about a relative's sexuality, although the film has a fair helping of potty humor (thanks to Tracy Morgan) as well. There's plenty of swearing (including "s--t," "f--k" and "asshole"), and some of the movie's most pointed humor comes from the consequences of popping hallucinogenic pills. Though all played for laughs, the sibling rivalry, blackmail, and insults don't make for the best humor for impressionable kids.

Families can talk about why gatherings such as funerals, births, and holidays bring out the best and worst in families. What is it about these moments that drive people to unbox old grudges and reveal secrets?
What was so funny about the drug use in the movie? Was it realistically portrayed? What are real consequences of taking drugs like they do in the movie?
The movie's a farce, clearly, and yet it has some universal truths about families in it. What do you think they are?

The good stuff

Positive messages: While the takeaway is that life is too short for passing judgements, holding grudges, and not reaching out for your dreams, these messages are mixed in with plenty of drug use, swearing, and juvenile behavior (by adults).
Positive role models: A few of the characters aren't on their best behavior, including an insulting, elderly uncle; a condescending ex-boyfriend; a hypochondriac; a blackmailer; and more. But for the most part, everyone pulls together in the end and puts their best foot forward to honor a man's life and his family.

What to watch for

Violence: A few mildly violent moments, but all played for laughs, including: an old man aggressively poking a relative with a cane and constantly berating him; two brothers who regress and start wrestling each other because they're upset with each other; former lovers arguing loudly; a guest at the funeral accidentally drugged and thrown around.
Sex: Sexual innuendos fly; a guest shows compromising pictures of him and a lover (the audience doesn't see anything explicit, but the reaction from the characters imply that one of the pics is); references to a sexual position; a character strips while he is on drugs; another character discusses how she needs to be intimate with her husband to get pregnant; an older man hits on a younger woman.
Language: Frequently pungent: everything from "moron" to "bastard" to "damn," and "s--t," "asshole," and "f--k." Also, several uses of "Goddamn," "Oh my God," and "Jesus Christ" as exclamations.
Consumerism: A few brands name-checked, including TMZ and Valium.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: A pharmacology student hides his stash of homemade pills made from mescaline and LSD into a bottle labeled "Valium," which is then mistaken for the name on the bottle and is ingested by at least two of the characters, causing mayhem.

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