Funerals are normally solemn occasions, filled with a combination of grief for the death of a loved one, joy at their passing into a “better place” in the afterlife, and fond remembrances of what the deceased meant to each of those in attendance. But for the family at the heart of the wildly funny new comedy “Death at a Funeral,” there’s no such luck for a dignified event.

First, the body in the casket is an Asian man, and the family are an enormous African-American clan. Once they fix the little problem of having the wrong body delivered to their house, they still have to contend with the lifelong feud between brothers played by Martin Lawrence and Chris Rock, as well as the nasty attitude Rock’s mom gives Rock’s wife for not producing a grandchild fast enough.

Add in two Caucasian beaus fighting for the attention of Rock’s cousin (Zoe Saldana) – one (Luke Wilson) who’s a straight-arrow beloved by her father (Ron Glass) and the other an irresponsible goofball rendered helpless for the event by an accidental dose of psychedelic drugs (James Marsden, in a stunningly funny performance that should make him the next Jim Carrey). (more…)

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Director Spike Lee’s third film, “Do the Right Thing,” hasn’t aged a day since its 1989 release. The film’s misguided views on violence were wrong-headed the second it hit theaters. And the election of President Barack Obama surely puts some of the film’s victimization subtext in fresh perspective. But as sheer entertainment, “Thing” remains a blistering experience, the culmination of every one of Lee’s unique gifts as a filmmaker.

The film’s re-release on DVD June 30 reminds us Lee hasn’t come anywhere close to matching “Thing’s” raw power in the intervening years.

“Thing” stars Lee as Mookie, a disinterested pizza delivery man working on the hottest day of the summer in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn. Pizza shop owner Sal (Danny Aiello) is thoroughly old school, and his bickering sons (John Turturro and Richard Edson) are hardly paragons of virtue. But Sal doesn’t have hate in his heart for his customers, who are almost all black. His food has fed them for years, he says with pride. (more…)