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Directed by: Michael Clancy Starring: Zooey Deschanel, Debra Winger, Hank Azaria, Ray Romano, Kelly Preston Eulogy is a black comedy slash satire of the modern family. I say black comedy because that's usually the safe-guard term people saddle unfunny comedies with. And I'm making a large assumption with the satire, too, because I don't know whose family life this is supposed to be lampooning. Writer Michael Clancy must think that 'dysfunctional family' is really just a synonym for 'petulent, overly-sarcastic, hateful, childish assholes'. Rip Torn dies and his family grudgingly reunites for the funeral. Getting everybody under one roof again predictably causes a bunch of zany antics, bickering, suicide attempts and exasperated soliloqueys from the quasi-Goth granddaughter played by Zooey Deschanel. She's been chosen by her grandmother to eulogize her grandfather. The only problem is, nobody in the family but her remembers him with any fondness, so she has no idea what to say. The family is a grab-bag of lame, half-baked gags. There's the loudmouth, control-freak daughter (Debra Winger) who's mean, noisy and causes friction for no discernable reason. There's a smug, wise-cracking son (Ray Romano playing his sitcom character) with insufferable kids who say rude things because it's hilarious when kids act like smark-rear end pricks. There's also a favourite son (Hank Azaria) that smokes pot over his failed career and recycles a bunch of voices from The Simpsons. And Kelly Preston plays the last sibling, a snippy lesbian--with Famke Jansson playing her mopey, worn-out lover. And they don't even get naked! These crappy characters drag from scene to scene like a two-legged dog, rehashing stupid jokes from sitcoms and hack stand-up. Ha-ha, the family fights at the dinner table. Why is this funny? Is this still considered a stinging apraisal of our lives? What is so goddamn funny about a grandma trying to O.D. on pills? Or about a bunch of adults sitting around smoking pot? There's even a scene where that dipshit hack Romano tries to tell his kids that he loves them, and then they get all uncomfortable. How lazy can you get? Eulogy is god-awful trash. The Butterfly Effect was about ten times funnier than this piece of poo poo, and it wasn't even a comedy. This movie doesn't get a theatrical release until October, so consider this fair warning. RATING: 1 PROS: I honestly can't think of any CONS: A relatively talented cast gets swallowed by terrible writing, Ray Romano sucks balls ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349416/
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Jul 18, 2004 03:22
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 09:20 |
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One of the more twisted and darkly funny movies I've seen this year and there are plenty of jokes to go around. I'm not going to get into any arguments with the original poster, just be aware that this movie might not be for everyone. I loved it but that doesn't mean everyone will. There were plenty of laugh out loud moments and sheer stupidity for me. Maybe you just have to be in the mood for it, but in any case, I give Eulogy a 4 out of 5. Witty, comical, yet not too dark.
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Jul 23, 2004 17:51
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I really enjoyed this movie. A lot. In my opinion, if Zooey Deschanel doesn't go somewhere big with her career in the next couple years, it will be a loss to everyone. I liked the cast, too. Ray Romano will only play a whiney parent because that's what he is, and that's all he can play. I loved Hank Azaria as the washed-up actor (because it suits him too). I liked the controlling sister because I know a lot of people who are just like that, and will probably be just like that when they're older. NADZILLA, I think you might have taken the movie too seriously. I didn't see it as a stinging parody of modern families, I saw it as a family of dysfunctional people that were little more than larger versions of kids. That's all they were, they were just as petty and childish as most kids. I think that was the point, that they hadn't grown up at all. Zooey Deschanel shone as the character trying to get the kids to shut up for a second and remember their dead father. I did feel that the "love story" between the main character and her long-lost best friend was a little slapped together, as was the "love story" between the loud-mouthed sister and her lesbian nurse, but neither of these was distracting enough to make a huge dent in the overall experience. I really liked the movie, and I think it was one of the best movies I've seen this year. 5/5
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Jul 23, 2004 18:06
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