Death at a Funeral

"On April 16th, no-one will rest in peace.”

2010’s ’Death at a Funeral’, was an outlandish comedy; hosting a powwow of comedians that surprisingly and easily flipped the meaning of a melancholic funeral ceremony. This amusing tale brought us from one preposterous moment to the next and if anything can go wrong during this difficult time, everything does! 

Written by Dean Craig and directed by Neil LaBute, this film was crammed with secrets and fun characters our viewers loved to see. ‘Chris Rock’ who played our main character Aaron, tried his best to keep serene in an ever-increasingly deranged and exasperating situation. Peter Dinklage, Loretta Devine, Danny, Glover, Kevin Hart, Martin Lawrence, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Luke Wilson, and the beautiful and funny Regina Hall all came together to make this story an unforgettable one. 

Rated R for language, drug content and sexual humor this film isn’t suitable for children. Every family has mystery, but this one just happens to take the cake! 

Boomerang

Yes, it’s true. I only recently saw this film for the first time. Hard to believe seeing how much I enjoy Eddie Murphy films. In my defense in 1992 I wasn’t allowed to see Rated R films. With an estimated budget of $40 million USD, this comedy/drama/romance raked in a cool $70 million at the box-office.  It received one win and 4 other nominations. 

Written by Eddie Murphy and developed into screenplay by Barry W. Blaustein and David Sheffield and directed by Reginald Hudlin. This was the standard case of the importance of ‘doing unto others, as you would have them do unto you’; or in other words, ‘the player’ who get’s ‘played’. Eddie Murphy stars and does a fine job as usual, and black beauties Robin Givens, Halle Berry and the provocative, unique and talented Jamaican Grace Jones join in on the fun. 

Tables turn quite easily and so it’s important to do the right thing and be careful how you treat others; the audience learned the unrest, pain and trauma that can be caused when one does the opposite and they instantly became empathetic for our main character when he’d learnt his lesson.

It was a joy to recognize beautiful and talented legend Eartha Kitt on screen with her distinct voice and elegance as I’d first had the pleasure while watching the 1958 film called ‘Anna Lucasta’. Chris Rock, Tisha Campbell-Martin, Martin Lawrence and David Alan Grier also performed exceptionally and comedically bringing the giggles consistently. 

2 Days in New York

This 2012 comedy was incredibly entertaining and seemed very 'Woody-Allenesque' with clever, witty and large amounts of dialogue. Written by French friends and actors Julie Delpy, Alexia Landeau, and Alex Nahon and directed by Julie Delpy; this film gave a hilarious insight on what 'happily ever after' really looks like, as well as the pros and cons of marrying/dating within different cultures/races.

With a run-time of 96 minutes and enjoyment from beginning to end, it's hard for me to understand why it didn't do well at the box-office. Chris Rock who co-stars as character Mingus and Julie Delpy who plays Marion, both had believable chemistry and delivered their dynamic relationship in the most hilarious way. Delpy's father Albert Delpy, Alexia Landeau and Alex Nahon who played father, sister and ex-boyfriend respectively also gave a romping, outrageous and absurdly good performance!

Although rated R, I found the humour to be considerably tame as compared to others who made it big at the box-office like 'Bridesmaids'. All-in-all, I enjoyed '2 Days in New York', not because of New York, but perhaps because of the little things that sometimes become quite serious, and that it works out in the end always; so all the anxiety and un-necessary worry is just that…un-necessary, and looking back, everything seems funny! :))