THIS IS ONE SAD FAMILY.

As Aaron Barnes (Chris Rock) is preparing for the funeral of his father, it is gearing up to be a disaster. Only three years after Frank Oz’s hilarious British comedy comes the American remake, directed by Neil LaBute who’d already made a mess out of the Wicker Man remake in 2006. As it is very close to the original (now with a largely Black cast), it’s interesting to compare films and see how well Oz staged gags – and where LaBute utterly fails. Still, not without amusing moments… although you need a better actor than Rock to carry the straight-man part.

2010-U.S. 92 min. Color. Widescreen. Directed by Neil LaBute. Screenplay: Dean Craig. Cast: Chris Rock (Aaron Barnes), Martin Lawrence (Ryan Barnes), Tracy Morgan (Norman), Danny Glover, Zoe Saldaña, James Marsden… Loretta Devine, Peter Dinklage, Luke Wilson, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart.

Trivia: Dinklage played the same character in the original.