Taking place over the course of a week, Funeral Kings follows the lives of Andy (Dylan Hartigan) and Charlie (Alex Maizus), two Altar boys who work funerals and are anything but holy. When one of their friends gets sent off to Juvi, he’s replaced with a new kid named David, a seemingly full blown momma’s boy and actual movie star. Determined to show David (Jordan Puzzo) how to take advantage of their altar boy system and actually have a little fun, Andy and Charlie take him along on their escapades. Around the same time as David’s arrival, the juvi-bound altar boy gives Andy a locked chest to hold onto, the contents of which are unknown. From that point on the movie becomes an adventure which includes exploiting David’s fame, unlocking the contents of the chest, discovering disturbing secrets and, most importantly, hunting down and impressing as many ladies as possible.
To me, the movie comes off more like an appropriately immature summer comedy rather than one based during the school year since we find our leads carelessly gallivanting around town, staring at boobs, hanging out at their campsite or causing trouble at the video store, since they don’t have to return to class after holding funeral services. I think there is only one moment where we actually see them in a classroom, which I found pretty funny for a teenage film set during the school year.
The easiest film to compare Funeral Kings to is Stand by Me as both are R rated features chronicling the adventures of foul mouthed teenagers leading up to an emotional and touching climax. But it is at that point where the similarity line is drawn since one is clearly a comedy and another is a drama. I almost felt like Funeral Kings was the middle school version of Super Bad, both having a trio of characters, two of which have similar personalities, who then get into some situations you wouldn’t expect.
To be honest though, my favorite part of the film was the soundtrack. It was straight up thug and a perfect backdrop for the personalities of our leads and the lifestyles they were living. Underground hip-hop may not seem like the right choice for white altar boys but when it’s played out on screen it totally works (you can listen to it/download it here). I have to give the writer/director duo Kevin and Matthew McManus props for their selection.
I did have a couple issues with the movie. There were a few times where I felt the humo
r was being forced upon me. The kids seemed to curse just to curse and would say ridiculous things in an attempt to get a rouse out of the audience rather than having the dialogue feel natural and authentic. It could have something to do with the actors’ delivery, something which I also found to be pretty dodgy at times. There was also a significant lack of humor come the second half of the movie which instead focused heavily on the dramatic elements. In the end the comedic and dramatic elements balanced out but they felt uneven while I was watching it.
Funeral Kings, simply put, is a film about young boys trying to act older than they are but at the same time not completely willing to give up their youthful innocence just yet. Though the performances and dialogue felt forced from the amateur actors, there is no denying that Funeral Kings has a dirty and vulgar charm to it that you’ll find hard not to enjoy. Overall, the McManus brothers have found a nice balance of crude and sweet humor with a good mix of drama to keep the story interesting and engaging.
Rating: Super Bad meets Stand by Me in this innocently vulgar indie comedy (6.4/10)
Recent Comments