Will Chris Rock's "Death at a Funeral" remake keep the gay material?

The British comedy Death at a Funeral opened in 2007, but it's never too early for a remake — The Hollywood Reporter says Chris Rock has committed to star in, produce and co-write a remake that Sony's Screen Gems division will release.

Our question is whether the remake will retain the original's gay elements...

One of Funeral's interesting twists was the surprise reveal that the dearly departed husband and father, whose memorial service is the center of the film, had a secret gay lover (played by Peter Dinklage) who shows up at the house to make trouble.

Rock's version will be transferred to an African-American milieu, so it will be interesting to see if the dead man in this new movie has some DL action on the side.

If the lover's still going to be a little person, let's hope that they cast Tony Cox (seen at the left in Bad Santa) and not a computer-generated Wayans brother.

Did anyone catch the original film? If so, any thoughts on this rapid remake?

Alonso Duralde's blog

Submitted by

Alonso Duralde

on Mon, 2008-11-10 16:21.

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I love the original. I can't

Submitted by

frenchjr25 (30 points) (6 posts)

on Mon, 2008-11-10 17:00.

I love the original. I can't see why anyone would want to remake it. It is not a overly british movie and plays wonderfully in the US. No one is going to be able to beat the performances by the movies american actors Alan Tudyk and Peter Dinklage. Remaking this movie so soon is a huge mistake.

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Death At A Funeral

Submitted by

giovannif7 (1684 points) (355 posts)

on Mon, 2008-11-10 17:05.

I saw the original on DVD, and was not impressed. The gay content is not terribly positive, but then again, none of the characters in the film come across well. The script is very dark comedy mixed with over-the-top slapstick. If you've seen the nude pictures of the Alan Tudyk online, you've seen the best part of the film. Frank Oz films can be hit or miss, and for me, this one was definitely a miss.

I'm not sure what Chris Rock sees in this messy concept that he feels calls for a remake, but if he thinks he can improve on the original, more power to him. I doubt I'll see it whether the gay content is kept or cut.

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I saw the original and didn't care for it either

Submitted by

David Ehrenstein (7505 points) (1662 posts)

on Mon, 2008-11-10 17:20.

Maybe Chris Rock can find some humor in it. And Tony Cox is an excellent casting idea.

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seriously?

Submitted by

Tess (277 points) (64 posts)

on Mon, 2008-11-10 17:31.

I loved the original, and I think remaking it is a huge mistake, no matter how much time has passed. But then, I generally dislike Hollywood's obsession with remaking films and TV shows from other countries. Is it some kind of latent xenophobia? 9 times out of 10, the original is vastly superior and the remake falls flat, and yet the trend not only continues but if this is any proof, is growing. Regardless, I predict that this remake, should it happen, will be a shocker.

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