The English may not be the greatest when it comes to the likes of cricket or rugby, but they are sure as hell masters of comedy. They also understand less is more, and know when a dog has had its day. After all how many British comedies ever jumped the shark?

Death at a Funeral, directed by Frank Oz, makes for a classic case in point. The story has a way of pulling its audience in for the ride right from the onset, to the point that when a character calls for everyone to “shut up”, during one of the movie’s many scenes of hilarity, we all abruptly stop laughing.

The film’s many and tangled threads are all elegantly smoothed out when Daniel (Matthew Macfadyen) finally delivers his (impromptu) eulogy for his deceased father.