I remember that I first found Eulogy at Blockbuster, being drawn to it as the cast sounded phenomenal and I love a good dark comedy. This is one of the few films that I have bought without watching it first, I bought it on a whim hoping that it would be good.
This brilliant dark comedy stars Piper Laurie as the widow of Rip Torn who has recently passed away. Her kids include Hank Azaria (the not all there porn actor), Ray Ramano (the "responsible" lawyer and father of two insanely hormonal sons) , Kelly Preston (the gay one of the family), and Debra Winger (the anal retentive, over-analyzing bitch). Zooey Deschanel plays the main character as Hank Azaria's daughter, the one who has been chosen to give a eulogy at the funeral. Also Famke Janssen plays the role of Kelly Preston's lover.
The plot is that Rip Torn's character has recently passed away, so the entire family gathers to have a funeral and to comfort their mother. And just having all of these characters in one household has sparks flying everywhere. All the while, Zooey Deschanel has to give the eulogy; thus, she must figure out something to say about a man who was never around and didn't really have any great attributes.
The reason that I love this film so much is that unlike many great dark comedies such as War of the Roses, this film is jam-packed with moment after moment of dark comedy jokes, or things that you laugh at that in any other situation would not be appropriate. I came upon this realization this time of watching it; the movie is made this way by how each member of the family has such different personalities that collectively make it a very dysfunctional family .
One of the least influential characters but more there for support is Famke Janssen, Kelly Preston's soon to be life partner. She is new to meeting the family so she is mostly there to observe all of the wacky interactions of the family. Her only really bizarre attribute to the comedy is that she is a lesbian and is going to be committed to the sister of the family, a fact that nobody in the family will let them forget. Her best moment is when Debra Winger "apologizes" for criticizing their relationship and awkwardly asks her what they do for fun, with all sexual connotations implied. Famke just fires back with "triple-tonguing our cheese buds" giving Winger more than she had bargained for.
Famke's life partner and youngest daughter of the family, Kelly Preston is the fireball of the family that is always ready to fight back to any retort thrown her way, which happens frequently. Constantly trying to make her sister approve of her, she has to stand up for her sexuality and partner, all the while trying to get through to her. Her best moment is when Winger and her get into a fight about how Winger thinks its hilarious that two women can pretend to have what only straight couples can accomplish. After spitting insult after insult to each other, they end up rolling around on the ground fighting.
Ray Ramano plays the irresponsible lawyer and father of twins that have hormones shooting out of their nostrils, a matter that Ramano only fuels. With an awkward mustache that only propels his character forward, Romano is the brother who is constantly getting forgotten about, to the point where his father not only forgot that he had 4 children but also called him by another name. He, like his sons, cannot get his mind out of the gutter, getting him into many sticky situations. One of his best moments is when right after his kids are disappointed with their mom's cake that she made for their birthday, complaining that they had ordered an "erotic cheesecake." Ramamo walks in on his wife crying over a cake that has been mushed into two dismembered breasts, which he can only comfort her by saying that they could be two ass cheeks. It's no wonder that his wife leaves him and his sons.
The most accomplished and often praised son of the family is Hank Azaria, who is most known for doing a famous commercial when he was young, wherein he took a bite of peanut butter and said "there's something stuck to my tongue." Rocketing off from this celebrated start he landed himself in the porno making career that he and his late wife both held jobs in. He is also the one to get over the grieving process the quickest as he doesn't seem phased by the event, possibly from some many years of smoking pot. One of his most memorable moments is when his daughter Deschanel knocks on his bedroom door and he tries to get rid of the smell of the weed that he is smoking. Realizing that wafting isn't working, he tries to wave a pot of flowers around the room, only to dump dirt all over the bed. Thinking he's good he goes to answer the door, where Deschanel points out that the joint is still in his mouth. He opens his mouth in shock, only to have the joint fall down his shirt.
Zooey Deschanel is the central character in this film as she is not only the one who has to sum up some good ideas about her grandfather but also carries the romantic subplot with a childhood friend of hers. Although she is not that odd, she is the one who is constantly showing the audience how stupid things that are going on around her are. Even then, she has a hard time keeping her relationship with her childhood friend a secret as every time that they attempt to make out, it gets ruined either by a suicide attempt or by her "friend" accidentally injuring himself. Her best moments are any time that she makes sense out of a ridiculous situation, of which there is a plethora.
Piper Laurie being the recent widow is the darkest character of them all. Feeling finally out of the grasp of her late husband and having to fully interact with her family under one roof it all becomes too much of a strain for her. What follows is two suicide attempts that the family is luckily their to stop, with the help of medical assistance. Hanging on to her last thread, each member of the family tries to comfort her but all to no avail. Her best moments are her suicide attempts which catch you off guard but ultimately will make you laugh the hardest.
And last but not least, is the delightful Debra Winger that has something to say about everyone in the family, but no time to say something from her heart. Her husband and three kids are completely silent every time they are on screen, knowing that if they were to speak up that Winger would not allow what they would say to be of any significance. All the while, Winger is very proud of her family, feeling as though she has done the right thing as any normal member of society. Being a closeted homosexual herself, she brings out all of this frustration on her sister. Most of the conflict revolves around her as she not only has something to say but always wants to push people to their limits, finding joy in it. Her best moment is when she slips up by making out with another woman, something the whole family witnesses. This finally gives the family something to find her at fault for that she wouldn't be able to back down from.
It is not hard to see how this makes such a delightful dark comedy, much less a dysfunctional family film. The movie is well acted by a very cohesive and well-known cast. The script is full of laughs and ultimately has a great twist at the end. My biggest complaint for the movie would be that there are a few times when the action lacks pacing. But other than that this is one of my favorite dark comedies and one of the best dysfunctional family films.
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