DOUBLE FEATURE MOVIE REVIEW: Death at a Funeral (2010) & The Muppet Movie (1979)

Death at a Funeral is an unfortunate case of a missed opportunity. In this American remake, and in the same mold as the original, a dysfunctional family reunites at the patriarch's funeral, only to find the cracks deepen in their bonds as secrets, revelations, and mishaps drive them out of their minds. Although I had seen the original, and rather enjoyed it for it's quirky-yet-screwball blend of humor, I was willing to give the remake a chance since I felt it actually showed some promise: All-star cast of funny people and decent actors, along with the original screenwriter. What could possibly go wrong?

Well, I have no problem with re-hashes, as long as they're done right, like Home Alone 2, but this plays out more like a bad TV-movie remake of the original with shockingly bland crude humor. Like I said before, with the pedigree of the cast, it's disappointing that neither Chris Rock nor Martin Lawrence even bothered to bring their own brand of humor to the table. They along with the majority of the famous people in the cast seem like they're striving to play parts that are horribly underwritten for what they are normally capable of. And when it seemed like things were going blisfully silly for the first hour, the first of a few arbitrary gross-out gags happen, and it is gross. I won't spoil it, but I will say it involves Danny Glover, and feces.

All in all, I will warn anyone who enjoyed the original that they may be let down, perhaps unsurprisingly by the lower quality this American remake is. The cast tries hard, but their energy gets trounced by the awful script. However, I'll admit that I did laugh here and there, just not enough to satiate my level of expectation that I had for a "stupid-brainless-comedy", it's that, but very "blah" at the same time, too.

6/10

Living at home for the time being, I find myself with more leisure than I anticipated. Part of that involves these random moments of recapturing my childhood with things like movies I'll expect to still find remotely good as an adult. The Muppet Movie is one of those movies.

Part-road movie, part-musical. Muppet Movie deals with Kermit The Frog re-telling his big move to Hollywood from the swamp, how he got famous, and met his current friends and colleagues. A number of stars from the time the film was released make some hilarious cameos, as well. I had not seen this in quite a number of years, but in between that time and now, it still managed to make me laugh. There's something about The Muppets that makes them enjoyable for adults as well as kids, perhaps it's that they're still adorable and innocently-humored, but their naivete is something we can all relate to. Apparently, the powers-that-be have Jason Segal resurrecting them in a new movie due out later this year, and I hope it's going to be good. If I had any problem with The Muppet's first feature, it's that the story goes so quickly, the characters lose a little credibility in how their friendships started and relationships developed. But hey, they're The Muppets! And you can't necessarily expect Shakespeare when watching their stuff, either.

8/10

(Next review: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966))

Peace,
- Jon