Daniel interrupts the ensuing uproar by delivering an impromptu, heartfelt eulogy, declaring that his father may have had secrets, but he was a good man, who loved his family, and that everyone at the funeral could do worse than to follow his example.

Their conversation is interrupted when Jane tells them that Uncle Alfie had a panic attack over seeing what he thought was Peter's dead body, so she gave him some "Valium".

The website's critical consensus reads, "Death at a Funeral is a rousing British farce, with enough slapstick silliness to overcome its faults.

[6] Ruthe Stein of the San Francisco Chronicle said the film is "in the tradition of those classics, in black-and-white and starring Peter Sellers or Alec Guinness, in which disasters keep piling up, each one more drolly funny than the last.

"[8] Sid Smith of the Chicago Tribune called the film "lethal farce, combining hints of The Lavender Hill Mob, doses of Joe Orton and a smidgen of the Farrelly brothers' scatology in its mix."

He added, "The sibling rivalry/resolution meant to give the movie its sweet, heartfelt thread is weak, and there are stretches in which the comedy sags or settles for the predictable.

Expert pacing and delivery, as well as the abundance of hyper-articulate, over-educated, effervescently British character types, ratchet up the cringe factor accordingly.

But for Mr. Oz, finger-snap pacing and an expert cast (surely familiar to any BBC America viewer) bring this Death to giddy life.

"[10] Philip French of The Observer said the film, "in which a fine British cast is wasted on feeble material, is directed by Frank Oz in less than wizardly form.

This sort of sub-Alan Ayckbourn trawl might work on stage but never on the big screen, where all the deficiencies of the form are thrown into sharp relief.

In 2009, a Hindi remake of the film, entitled Daddy Cool, was released starring Sunil Shetty, Aashish Chaudhary, and Rajpal Yadav.

Also in 2010, a Kannada remake of the film, entitled Rangappa Hogbitna, was released starring Ramesh Aravind, Sanjjanaa Galrani, Sihi Kahi Chandru and Sathish Ninasam.