FILM-FORWARD.COMReviews of Recent Independent, Foreign, & Documentary Films in Theaters and DVD/Home Video
EULOGY
It takes a much more
dire
occasion than a holiday to force the Collins family together. The
death of Grandpa Collins (Rip Torn)
finally brings the embittered family members
under the same roof. Kate (Zooey Deschanel) and her has-been actor
father (Hank Azaria) find themselves stuck with Uncle
Skip (Ray Romano), a sleazy lawyer who has raised
two sons so equally vulgar that their own mother has
abandoned them. His sister Lucy (Kelly Preston)
arrives with her lesbian lover Judy, announcing
they’re to wed; this sets off uptight Aunt
Alice (Debra Winger) on a rampage. The family’s bickering turns into an
all-out brawl, with every possible insult and betrayal
coming out of the wood work. And as if the constant
feuding weren’t enough, Grandma Collins (Piper Laurie) seems bent on
offing herself with increasingly creative methods. By the time the funeral rolls around the plot
has taken dozens of
bizarre twists.
Rich with laugh-inducing dialogue and eccentric
characters, this is a madcap comedy at its
blackest. Ray Romano proves to be funnier as a slimy
creep than as his nice-guy sitcom persona, and deadpan Zooey
Deschanel shines as the film’s central character. The
cast as a whole makes the careful balance of comedic
timing and delivery seem like second nature.
While the film often falls short on logic,
it succeeds in laughs. Adrienne Urbanski
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