Juno at a Funeral

Two more movies last night. First was a British comedy called Death at a Funeral, though the title is a little misleading. It’s a farce set around a funeral that involves hallucinogenic drugs labeled “Valium,” a 4′ tall blackmailer, a guy who won’t take no for an answer, a foul-mouthed senior citizen in a wheelchair and various other family intrigues. The only actors I knew were Alan Tudyk affecting a British accent (though for most of the movie he’s high as a kite and could have been forgiven for any mode of speaking) and Peter Dinklage, the aforementioned mini-blackmailer. Directed by Frank Oz. Hilarious—almost breathlessly so at the time.

I’ve been wanting to see Juno, since, like, forever. Did it stand up to all the hype? Not many movies could, and I do think this one was a little overhyped, but it was a fine film all the same. I had a geeky moment when I saw a People’s jewelry store in the background in the mall scene and knew the movie was filmed in Canada. The music didn’t quite work for me (except when they played Mott the Hoople’s “All the Young Dudes”). The ending didn’t go the stereotypical route, and we were well pleased with the film when it was over.

Another day nice enough to BBQ in the back yard, though the heat index is near 100° I’m also getting a lot of work done on novel revisions and might actually have a rough cut first draft to send to my agent by the end of the month. Here’s hoping.