Here's what I think: Death at a Funeral

Death at a Funeral, a hilarious British comedy that debuted as an independent film in 2007. Back then (all the way back three years ago in 2007) the Varsity Theater was still open in campus town and brought us these wonderful films that never made it to our "mainstream" Movies 12. My boyfriend is somewhat of a movie buff and both of us are fans of British comedy so when he told about this film we went at the first opportunity and definitely weren't disappointed.

Death at a Funeral is an hysterical account of a family mourning their father. Chaos ensues when a man (Peter Dinklage) tries to expose a dark secret regarding this dysfunctional family patriarch. The film also stars Matthew Mcfadyen who co-starred in Frost/Nixon. The cast was perfectly chosen and the humor was so very dryly British.

While seeing a recent release at the Movies 12, imagine my surprise when a trailer came up for a new movie starring Chris Rock. I was perplexed by the sense of de ja vu that I got when familiar scenes and lines came up. My boyfriend and I looked at each other in realization about half way through the trailer. A remake of Death at a Funeral is in the works for a 2010 release. And not only have they Americanized the film and switched the white British cast to an almost exclusively African American cast with the exception of Peter Dinklage (apparently the only little person actor) who is reprising his role from the first film.

Is this really necessary? Yes, Death at a Funeral is a funny screen play, and yes it will translate to other races and nationalities. But the original was in it self pretty near perfect. Why remake a good thing just three years after the original release? Three years! And what kind of integrity does Peter Dinklage have to agree to play the same role with the same lines! Could they not find another little person to play the role? Was Gary Coleman unavailable?

Needless to say, I will elect not to see the "new" version (with the same jokes and lines as the original).

If you want to see are really funny British comedy, go out and rent the 2007 British version of Death at a Funeral.