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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Lions Gate
Salesrank: 8782
Released: February 8, 2005 |
| Our Price: $4.42 |
| Used Price: $1.88 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
One dead patriarch, one deliciously dysfunctional family, and one wickedly funny irreverent comedy! When three generations of a deliciously dysfunctional family gather to bury the family patriarch, the beloved granddaughter of the deceased is given the task of delivering the eulogy. In the days leading up to the funeral, family secrets are revealed, old grudges resurface and the household erupts with renewed vigor. Eulogy is ultimately a heartwarming portrait of a houseful of misfits celebrating the strangest and most enduring bond of all.
Description of Eulogy:
A spirited ensemble cast keeps things cooking in Eulogy, a black comedy about a gathering of the dysfunctional Collins family following the death of its prickly patriarch (Rip Torn). Zooey Deschanel plays granddaughter Kate, struggling to fulfill the old man's last wish that she write his eulogy. Meanwhile, her dad (Hank Azaria), a has-been actor, smokes pot in the dark and referees battles between his seamy brother Skip (Ray Romano), lesbian sister Lucy (Kelly Preston) and her lover Judy (Famke Janssen), caustic sibling Alice (Debra Winger), and suicidal mother Charlotte (Piper Laurie). Confused about her loyalties, poor Kate alternately runs to and from best friend Ryan (Jesse Bradford), who wants to become her lover, while Alice--super-critical of Lucy's sexuality--fails to keep secret her own fling with a nurse (Glenne Headly). Eulogy never quite reaches full boil, but there are many funny moments, and Deschanel, Romano, and Preston are particularly watchable. --Tom Keogh
Eulogy Reviews:
Horrifically dumb, contrived 
2008-12-31 - These rave reviews must have been written by the director's family, as this film is truly terrible. Google any standard review, and you will get the real picture.
This ensemble cast is shamelessly wasted, and they cannot hope to save this absolute wastebasket of a script, where the old "fighting siblings" and "dysfunctional family" routines are stereotyped to the bone, and the comedic lines are close to something found in a 1980s sitcom writer's room shredder.
I actually felt sorry for some of these top quality actors, but cannot for the life of me understand why most of them would ever accept such idiotic roles unless it was as a favor. It only proves how famished Hollywood must be for stories.
This film pulls out every stale joke in the book and manufactures fake tension via almost wholly unlikable characters, save for the actor dad, his daughter and the lesbian couple - and make no mistake, the gay women are there only as an easy joke target. The story is 15 years behind the times in this respect.
The dinner table scenes are grating-on-the-nerves annoying, and the writer/director would have done better to burn his script and let the actors improvise. The Debra Winger character cannot decide if she is angry and uptight, or just a taunting moron, and the brat twins are not even close to devilishly bad in a funny way, but rather one dimensional punks in a stupid way.
Famke and Zooey: hope to see you again - in work that you deserve.
The "i's" have it
2008-12-28 - Insulting. Idiotic. Insipid. Inane. I endured sitting through this DVD just waiting for, hoping for, one glimmer of a cohesive script, or an entertaining storyline. With its fractured scene changes, its offensive overuse of swear words, even by the child actors, its clumsy attempts at forced humor, "Eulogy" would best be laid to rest in a deep, dark grave of its own.
Over the top but likeable 
2008-07-22 - DVD is the best thing since slice bread because if you missed a movie cause you're too busy you can always catch it on DVD, and Eulogy is probably one of those movies that people won't go out of their ways to see in their local theather but can appreciate on DVD. It's an over the top treatment of a disfunction American family with a funeral thrown in. The only sane, respondsible character is grandaughter Kate(Zooey Deschane-looking like a younger version of Winger) who tries to keep waring aunts, kooky grandma, divorced/oversexed uncle and pot smoking dad from killing each other while trying to compose a eulogy for her much loved grandfather(Rip Torn). The movie doesn't hold back in the insanity department, everyone is crazy and off the chain, even the lascivious 12yr twin nephews and the poor widowed grandma who with acute depression, can't seem to off herself properly. It gets better at the funeral when Debra Winger walks to the piano seeming like she was gonna sing something funeral-like apropriate song, but instead she sings "I am not in love, but I'm open to persuation, east or west where's the best for romancing with a friend, I can smile" ofcourse this is dedicated to the Glenne Headly character, a friend from high school, which she sorta re-kindles a long ago "romance " What's it got to do with a funeral? I don't know but it was funny. What a crack up! You might not like the whole movie but a lot of parts are pretty funny. I laughed.
It is funny but not great
2008-04-16 - This movie has its funny moments. The acting is great giving it four starts. The story could of used more touch ups and some parts just seemed silly but hey it is a movie about a dysfunctional family and it plays that card well. All the characters make this movie work. I recommend this if your looking for a good rental but when it comes to adding to your movie collection it will just build up dust since its just going wear massivly after a couple of watches.
Diffently worth watching even though its only going to be funny the first couple times you watch it. Diffently not even close to a classic.
Funny!
2007-12-22 - If you like irreverant, dark, understated humor, get this film -- it's hysterical!
Great performances including Kelly Preston and Ray Romano.
