Undertaking Betty

I have always been a fan of Britcoms and Nick Hurran's 'Plots With A View' is another hilarious addition to that list. It's sort of a funeral comedy that tells an unusual story of love, competition and revenge. The screenplay is wonderful and the film provides dozens of laugh out loud moments. The locations are refreshing and breathtaking. The cast is exceptional. Robert Pugh, Alfred Molina, Brenda Blethyn, Naomi Watts and Christopher Walken are like never seen before. Pugh is superb as the jerk of a cheating husband. Alfred Molina is the perfect gentleman/mortician. Blethyn beautifully downplays the part of the simple, slightly naive and lovable Betty. Naomi Watts plays the sluttish bimbette secretary and is overdone with makeup and props which makes her stupendously suitable for the part. Both she and Walkens prove their flair for comedy. Walken, well, I do not want to give away much. One just has to watch and see. 'Plots With A View', while being an immensely amusing comedy, pays tribute to ballroom dancing. The dance numbers are well executed. There's one with Walken and Evans and two or three with Molina and Blethyn. All of them performed fantastically. Molina and Blethyn actually prove to be quite good dancers. If one is looking for something to laugh then 'Plots With A View' is definitely the movie to recommend.

Only the Brits could make a film like this and have it be so tastefully charming! Betty (Brenda Blethyn) wants something more out of life, but she doesn't know what, when she realizes she is in love with her childhood friend, Boris (Alfred Molina), who owns the local funeral parlor. Meanwhile, an American mortician (Christopher Walken) who "wants to put the 'fun' back in funerals" moves into this small Welsh community with his assistant (Lee Evans) and wants to give Boris a run for his money with flashy, themed funerals. (Star Trek funeral, anyone?) Brenda and Boris decide to stage Brenda's death and funeral, with hilarious results. A very enjoyable film - if you're a fan of British comedies such as "Waking Ned Devine", you'll love this.

Once again seeing this kind of movies turns me more and more into English humor, not too often seen on screen since the days of Monty Python and Man About The House. Too bad.

Brenda Blethyn (Who I first saw in Saving Grace early in the year, another must see by the way.) just excels, as Alfred Molina does. The rest of the cast, while virtually unknown to me, turns on great performances too. The film starts slowly and gradually gains in pace and amusement - midway I had tears in my eyes from laughing.

All in all, a funny English movie, a thousand times better than the supposedly 'funny' garbage that comes from Hollywood.

Very lovely love story between Brenda Blethyn and Alfred Molina. The whole story is very bizarre and funny. An undertaker (A. Molina) loves a married woman (B.Blethyn). They try to fake her death to escape her husband and the village. A scenario of strange situations starts. As good as SAVING GRACE and LONG LIVE NED DEVINE.

I just saw Lots with a View as a surprise advance premiere (or: sneak preview) and it was quite funny. Yeah, it was actually a very good movie. I just read another user comment on it that it's hard to deal with the subject of Death in a comedy movie. It indeed is. And I'm still battling with myself over the question if they did a good job.

On one had, it was funny. On the other hand: it comes as a slap in the face for everybody who has (just) lost a loved one. Willie's talk about his mother broke me; a dying wife or grandma may break you. And would Dr. Spock die, no real Star Trek fan would ever be able to watch this movie.

For everybody else: you'll have an exquisite laugh.