In the right hands, death can be a laughing matter.

Frank Oz's very British black comedy of secrets from beyond the grave harks back to those glorious farces of the 1940s and 50s, with a distinctly modern sensibility: narcotic-fuelled hallucinations, gratuitous nudity and illicit sexual dalliances.

Upper lips are suitably stiff, though sadly not the drinks, causing the not-so-merry widow to defer the umpteenth offer of Earl Grey and sympathy.

The humour errs towards the predictable and there's a whiff of desperation in the middle section of the film as screenwriter Dean Craig engineers increasingly loopy set-ups for laughs, almost severing any ties to reality.

Having unleashed chaos, the temptation to neatly resolve various emotional crises proves too great.

The resolution, like the copious cups of soothing hot tea, is excessively sweet.

When their father dies, Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) and his successful novelist brother Robert (Rupert Graves) rush to the side of their mother, Sandra (Jane Asher), who is barely clinging onto her sanity.

Cousin Martha (Daisy Donovan) and her American fiance Simon (Alan Tudyk), and Daniel's wife Jane (Hawes) lend invaluable support while hypochondriac pal Howard (Nyman) discusses the newfound pigment mutation on his extremities and cantankerous wheelchair user Uncle Alfie (Peter Vaughan) kicks up a stink.

The sombre mood is shattered when a stranger called Peter (Peter Dinklage) discloses a shocking secret about the deceased that threatens to tear the dysfunctional clan apart.

Death At A Funeral opens with an obvious visual gag that sets the tone for the rest of the film, before introducing each of the characters and establishing their personal ties.

Scriptwriter Craig generously shares around the one-liners, but some of the cast invariably embellish with scene-stealing abandon, including Nyman as the twittering worrywart and Vaughan as the elderly grouch.

However, they all pale next to Tudyk, the sole American in the cast, who is the butt (quite literally) of the film's more outlandish twists and turns.

It's certainly not a performance of great subtlety or nuances but you have to admire Tudyk's bare-faced cheek(s) as his character startles the guests with another wide-eyed gesticulation and surreal outburst.

Daniel and Robert's father makes an unexpected appearance before Macfadyen, the film's straight man, seizes his moment in the spotlight to deliver a tender and moving eulogy.