The 2010 remake of the British 2007 comedy “Death at a Funeral” from Screen Gems was directed by Neil LaBute with the screenplay written by Dean Craig. Starring: Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Loretta Devine, Peter Dinklage, Ron Glass, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Columbus Short, Luke Wilson, Regine Nehy and Keith David.
Funerals affect people in strange ways as brothers Aaron (Chris Rock) and Ryan (Martin Lawrence) discover when the family gathers to say goodbye to their father. Being together is not easy for them because they are as different as night and day when it comes to their lifestyles. Ryan is the wildboy who just loves the ladies and Aaron is the responsible guy, married to Michell (Regina Hall) who organizes the services and being the oldest, prepares to deliver the eulogy.
Aaron and Michelle have been a difficult time with their attempts to buy their own home and start a family. Meanwhile Ryan has become a successful writer and is living the good life. Aaron is not too thrilled about making all the funeral arrangement and handling his nervous mother Cynthia (Loretta Devinne) at the same time.
But things don’t really get crazy until after their cousin Elaine (Zoe Saldana) arrives with her fiancée Oscar (James Marsden) who has unwittingly taken a hallucinogenic drug made by Elaine’s brother Jeff (Columbus Short) and a stranger named Frank (Peter Dinklage) who is a little on the short side shows up claiming that their father had a secret life. Much to Aaron’s dismay, Frank has the pictures as proof. Now Ryan and Aaron have to think of a way to get $30,000 so that their mother will not find out the truth about their father.
Unfortunately the negotiations with Frank don’t go well and he starts for the door to leave and tell Cynthia. Aaron and Ryan tie him up, leaving him on a coffee table to finish the eulogy. As soon as they are out of sight, Frank falls off the table and is knocked unconscious. But Oscar now is feeling the full effect of the drug he took earlier and when Ryan and Aaron return they find everyone trying to talk naked Oscar off of the roof. Now all Aaron and Ryan have to do is find a way to get Frank out of the house and they might be able to finish the funeral.
