0 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - ]]A
Dry Brits save
dark comedy
By JENNA PARKS
Daily Arts Writer
Painfully awkward situations
compounded by delightfully dry
characters are the bill of fare for
the British comedy "Death at a
Funeral." Frank Oz ("Bowfinger")
steps far outside
the bounds of
"The Muppets"to ***
tackle the uneven
topics of death, Death at a
drugs, blackmail, Funeral
homosexuality
and, of course, Atthe State
accidental blud- Theater
geoning (every-
one's favorite). MGM
Holding the
funeral of his
father in his home, Daniel (Mat-
thew Macfadyen "Grindhouse")
must host a bevy of dysfunctional
friends and relatives equipped
with unique sets of follies and
flaws. Forced into politely coex-
lacing for one grave event, the '
funeral attendeesdevolveintto
various states of mayhem that end
up colliding as Daniel attempts
to deliver his lackluster eulogy. A
stranger in the crowd manages to
throw the congregation into fur-
ther chaos when he starts bring-G
ing skeletons out of the deceased's
closet.
Thoughthe earlymoments drag
- despite the whole film being What's in the achet?
only 90 minutes long - a bizarre
plot twist sends the cast into a the living room.
tumult that only the British could the mucg ofe n
conduct. The crescendo of ridicu- While much of the plotine is
bous larks culminates abu1ad predictable, and the running gags
abruptlyand seem like cheap replacements for
the guests go their separate ways new material, the rich characters
while the audience is left exhaust- make these excusable offenses.
ed and uncomfortable. Despite all Throughout the film threatens to
of this irritation, "Funeral" leaves be pushed over the edge of com-
little time to breathe through all edy into complete absurdity, but
the laugh-out-loud moments. As somehow manages to keep its
each character devolves into their feet firmly planted on the ground.
own most hilariously embarrass- Being able to laugh at what you
ing selves, the body of the family's know you shouldn't is an impor-
patriarch lies mocking them in tant skill to have when entering
LEISURE
From page 5A
its informal side. Summer func-
tions such as these often bypass
the standard procedure that usu-
ally gains access to art. When
there are no tickets required (or
free tickets), the mood and the
demographics change. When the
form is open and more impromp-
tu, such as a street fair or a
parade, the content is often less
narrowly defined.
In public forums - those
places outside of the gallery
and concert hall that vet by
admission fees and the like
- artists and performers have
access to viewers they might
not otherwise. Some grab that
seasonal opportunity and pres-
ent riskier product, trying to hit
several bases at once. Summer
art reaches out to profitability,
aesthetics, diatribe. When your
audience consists of vacationers
in a generous frame of mind, art
can be both weirder and more
marketable.
As the academic year gets
going and leisure time becomes
scarce, art competes more fierce-
ly for people's free time. Art
that's more dependable, more
structured and more plannedcan
take a prime-time spot; on those
couple of evenings that working
stiffs can dedicate to leisure, the
opera hall, the solemn museum
and the plush-seated climate-
controlled theater will be wait-
ing and ready.
So it takes more planning to
make Ann Arbor's art offerings
part of your week -butrnot
that much more. Cheap rush
tickets are almost always an
option, and since events during
the year are often detailed on
events and venue websites, it's
actually easier to know what
you're getting into (and when,
how and why).
With public summer art, the
stakes are low and the partici-
pants are often up for anything.
It can be hard to ride the wave
of summer into the world of aca-
demic and work demands, but
a hard-earned break at the end
of your week is the best place to
try.
COURTESY OF MGM
the theater for "Death at a Funer-
al," since no feelings are spared in
a comedy centered on such a sober
gathering.
Though certainly not without
humor, "Funeral" is at times so
traumatically uncomfortable it
leaves the stomach in a constant
state of knotted exhaustion. But
it still manages to fulfill the roll
of a sardonic and sharp British
farce while reminding us it could
be worse - it could be you in the
casket.
JOIN DAILY ARTS
Mass meeting. Thursday at 8 p.m. 420 Maynard St.
Nothing but a series
of dropped'Balls'
By BLAKE GOBLE
DailyArts Writer
Balls.
That's the joke in "Balls of
Fury." Getting kicked in the balls.
Punched in the balls. Getting hit
with a paddle in the balls. Euphe-
misms about balls. But most
important, lots of ping-pongballs.
Balls, balls,
balls.
If that's your * o
kind of comedy,
great. No judg- Balls of Fury
ment.Ping-pong
is an inherently Atthe
funny game of Quality16 and
spastic motions Showcase
and silly anger Ro
over little white glae
plastic spheres.
But other than that, there's noth-
ing else in this new ping-pong
thud, where nothing - and I
mean nothing - is too cheap.
A lazy man's mash-up of
"Dodgeball" and "Enter the Drag-
on," "Balls" is an imagined land-
scape where secret international
underground ping-pong is king.
Kind of funny. It must be infiltrat-
ed by former golden-child player
Randy
Daytona (Dan Fogler, "School For
Scoundrels") whose love for Def
Leppard and long-forgotten tal-
ent makes him an unlikely candi-
date for this mission. In his way
stands the tourney's organizer,
Feng (an uber-campy Christopher
Walken), a Fu Manchu with noth-
ing but eccentricity to guide him.
Also pretty funny.
The finished movie is just not
funny. Way too many esoteric
references to the 1980s, hammy
chauvinistic acting and ball gag
after ball gag. Poor Christopher
Walken's obvious talents are
wasted for a series of awkward
phrases, which will surely be
swapped between frat boys the
world over soon enough lest I feel
the need to repeat them.
Written, produced and direct-
ed by "Reno 911!" stars Robert
Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon
(Dep. Junior and Lt. Dangle, in
that order), "Balls of Fury" suffers
from the same problems as their
last effort, "Reno 911!: Miami,"
wherein the jokes are so stale and
overused that it seems like these
people might not know what's
funny anymore. Sure, getting hit
in the balls is funny, but getting
hit 100 times in 88 minutes? Go
watch "America's Funniest Home
Videos" instead. It's free.
COURTESY OF ROGUE
Um, wow.