A funeral service is held for the father of Aaron and Ryan. Aaron, the older son, and his wife Michelle live at his parents' home. Aaron and Michelle have been trying to buy their own home and have children but have been unsuccessful. Aaron envies his brother because Ryan is a successful author, while Aaron has not yet had his novel published, and resents him because Ryan would rather spend money on a first classairline ticket than help him pay for the funeral expenses. Aaron and Ryan's cousin Elaine and her fiancé Oscar are on their way to pick up Elaine's brother Jeff before heading to the funeral. To ease Oscar's nerves, she gives him a pill from a bottle labeled as Valium. Jeff later reveals to Elaine that it is a powerful hallucinogenic drug he has concocted for a friend. Chaos ensues when Oscar hallucinates that the coffin is moving. He knocks it over, and the body falls out of the coffin. Aaron is approached by an unknown guest named Frank, who reveals himself to be the secret lover of his late father. Frank shows Aaron photos as proof and threatens to reveal them to Aaron and Ryan's mother Cynthia unless he is paid $30,000. While in shock, Aaron relays the situation to Ryan, who suggests Aaron to pay the money because Ryan claims that he is in debt. When Aaron and Ryan meet with Frank to pay him, Frank starts to deride Aaron's ability as a writer and Aaron refuses to pay. Frank turns violent, but Aaron and Ryan subdue him, tying him up to prevent him from leaving. Family friend Norman enters the room, giving Frank several doses of what he also believes is Valium to try to calm him down. Jeff also enters the room, telling them that it is the same hallucinogen Oscar took earlier. When Jeff and Norman, who are supposed to be watching Frank, get distracted by Uncle Russell, Frank releases himself from his bonds and is knocked unconscious upon falling over and hitting his head on a table. With Aaron, Ryan, Jeff and Norman believing that Frank is dead, they plan to put him in the coffin. While everyone is outside watching Oscar, who is on the roof naked and threatening to jump off the roof because he has seen Elaine's ex-boyfriend Derek kissing her, Aaron and Ryan put Frank in the coffin. Elaine tells Oscar that Derek forcibly kissed her and calms him down by revealing she is pregnant. With everyone back inside, they continue the eulogy. While Aaron awkwardly tries to give his speech, Frank starts banging on the coffin, then suddenly forces it open and emerges. The pictures fall out of Frank's pocket, while Cynthia sees the pictures and screams at Frank, attacking him. Aaron yells for everyone's attention as he delivers a moving and impromptu eulogy, saying that his father was a good man with flaws like everyone else. Aaron and Ryan say goodbye while Ryan gets a ride to the airport from Martina, whom he had been trying to seduce all day. Aaron and Michelle are finally alone when Aaron asks where Uncle Russell is. Michelle tells him that she gave him what she believes is Valium to calm him down, shocking Aaron. Uncle Russell sits on the roof naked, like Oscar had been, complaining about how "everything is so green."
Review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes reports that 42% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 137 reviews, with an average rating of 4.98/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's amusing and it assembles a talented cast, but Neil LaBute's surprisingly faithful remake of the 2007 Frank Oz dramedy ultimately falls short of the original." Another review aggregator, Metacritic, gave the film a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film out of 4 stars, believing it was better than the original. He wrote, "here's the best comedy since The Hangover... a lot of Death at a Funeral is in very bad taste. That's when I laughed the most."
