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While Eulogy isn't the funniest film out there, it definitely isn't the worst. Riding somewhere in mediocre-town the major issue that I had with this film was the fact that it would not "go the distance". Let me explain. Here you had this film that carried some pretty big names in their own respective careers and a story that was actually emotionally and humanly interesting, but unfortunately director Michael Clancy just didn't push himself to the full extent of this project's potential. There were so many times during this film that I was prepared for a huge laugh from Romano or Azaria or even Winger, but somehow it just didn't come. The sad part is that the build up was there, but there was no delivery. It was as if it was planned to have a bigger moment, but either due to sloppy editing or just a poor sense of humor, it never happened. The ending is the perfect example. Here you have one of the weakest endings to a film imaginable. What could have been actually quite hysterical fell to the wayside of cliché and predictable. I wasn't happy at all with the ending to this film because it just didn't fit with the overall tone of the rest of the film. It had the markings of a very dark comedy, but yet it never went fully dark. It seemed to side with lightness, and it just didn't work.
Outside of this dismal aspect, I would have to say that the rest of the film was very good. The actors were exceptional. I found myself laughing more at Romano during this film than I did when he was in Welcome to Mooseport. This just was more unlike his Everyone Loves Raymond character that it was very appealing to watch. Winger was also directly on cue with her character, keeping us on edge while making us chuckle at the same time. Sadly, it was her character that suffered the most by the ending. Her moment is left semi-visionary that just didn't work in my book. Azaria does his job with the greatest of ease while bringing some (just not a lot) of layers to his character. Zooey was one of my favorite characters just because it was enjoyable to see a sane one in the group. She is the one that really is the central focus of this family, and the one that helps bring about the final climax. She has a hefty character with big responsibility and pulls it off very well. These were my favorite characters of the film. While there were others, I thought that these four deserved the most recognition due to their offbeat humor and impressionable characters.
It wasn't until after I watched this film that I realized the Death of a Salesman references. They were abundant throughout the entire film (through direction mentioning and smaller innuendos), but it wasn't until Rip Torn appeared on screen that I fully understood what director Michael Clancy wanted to do. I saw this film as a modern loosely adapted version of Arthur Miller's play. From the salesman that couldn't sell to the child that found success early, it became very clear that Miller's play had a big influence on Clancy's project. I would watch the film again just to catch more of the references, but it was this "oh yea" moment when you realize the truth that really brought this picture closer together. It was a perfect match for this film and while I cannot credit much to Clancy, I can give him partial credit for creativity. He mixed current culture into Salesman and crafted a very poignant picture that presses on the fact that children will always be children no matter what kind of family you have.
Overall, I liked this film, but felt that it could have been much darker. If only Clancy would have taken it one step further, he would have had an instant cult classic. Looking back on it now, I hated the ending. It left this sour taste in my mouth that tarnished the rest of the film, but after realizing the Death of a Salesman connection, I think I would go back and watch it one more time. I do not think that it is one of the greatest films of the year, but it had potential. I am grinding my teeth thinking about the moments that could have been literally hysterical if only Clancy would have gone further. He cheapened out, and sadly I cannot forgive him for it on this film. He had the right elements, he just never used them. Eulogy was the perfect example of a good film, but with bad delivery (and packaging
what does the fishbowl on the box have anything to do with the film?).
Grade: **** out of *****
score 8/10
film-critic 23 February 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1026825/ |
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9-3-2021 18:05:15