AmateurMovieReviews.com

Rating: * 1/2 (Out of 5)

Nick Hurran's Undertaking Betty has a promising premise and opening, but slowly disintegrates into a forgettable goofball comedy. A first rate cast that includes Naomi Watts, Christopher Walken, Alfred Molina, and Brenda Blelthyn is largely wasted in the implausible plotline.

Set in a small picturesque Wales town (apparently the viewers need to be told where Wales is in the world), the film begins with a flashback to a school dance in the 60s. Young Boris was in love with young Betty, but he was too shy to ask her to dance. Years later, Boris (played by Alfred Molina) has inherited his family funeral home business, and he is still in love with Betty (played by Brenda Belthyn, although she is now married to Councillor Hugh Rhys-Jones (played by Robert Hugh). Her mother-in-law dies, and that is how Boris and Betty meet again when she goes to him to arrange the funeral. It is peculiar that they have not had more interactions over the years since they live in such a small town. In any case, Boris finally has the courage to tell Betty about his feelings, and he is delighted to find out that she is not happy with her marriage. Although still unbeknownst to her, her husband is actually having an affair with his secretary, Meredith (played by Naomi Watts). Boris comes up with a ridiculous plan to fake Betty's death, so they can run away together.

To complicate the matter, there is another funeral home business in town, run by an American, Frank Featherbed (played by Christopher Walken), who wants to buy out Boris' business. It is always fun to watch Mr. Walken, especially when his character is over the top crazy, like in this film. However, his character does not really belong in this film. The movie starts out with charm and then turns into a silly goofball comedy which does not work. Featherbed's philosophy is to put the "fun" into the funeral business. Mr. Walken's delivery is always enjoyable, unlike the many gags of crazy funerals. His sidekick, played by Lee Evans, is just plain annoying. I cannot recall one single funny scene with Mr. Evans, despite his many attempts. It is not funny anymore to see a slow witted man looking flabbergasted when he is a step slow in realizing something. If you are going to do it, do it in some creative ways. Mr. Evans' "old school" comedy acting is an insult to the audience.

As the fake death draws more and more trouble, Boris, who supposedly is deeply in love with Betty, continuously asks her to put herself in more and more danger. The story does not set up enough how really unhappy Betty is in her marriage that she would trust a man she has not seen in so many years to run away from it. She does not even know that her husband is cheating on her! The plot is simply unbelievable to say the least. Then there is a subplot of a little boy which does not add anything to the story.

Naomi Watts, who is such a terrific actress, has fun with her character. The character itself is one dimensional, but Ms. Watts makes her one of the more interesting characters in the film. It is also a joy to listen to Ms. Watts' Welsh accent.

Undertaking Betty was on the shelf for about three years before being released in the US. It is not hard to understand why. Despite a very good cast, the film fails to generate enough humor to fill its rather short running time (88 minutes). The film is light and inconsequential. This is the kind of film you forget immediately after you watch it.


Directed by Nick Hurran
Written by Frederick Ponzlov
Produced by Michael Cowan; Suzanne Lyons; Jason Piette; and Kate Robbins
Cinematography by Kevin Rudge and James Welland
Original Music by Rupert Gregson-Williams
Film Editing by John Richards

Cast:
Brenda Blelthyn . . . Betty Rhys-Jones; Alfred Molina . . . Boris Plots; Christopher Walken . . . Frank Featherbed; Robert Hugh . . . Councillor Hugh Rhys-Jones; Naomi Watts . . . Meredith; Lee Evans . . . Delbert Butterfield; Jerry Springer . . . Himself

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sexual content/humor
Runtime: 88 minutes