Indy Tuesdays: Eulogy

So on Tuesdays I have decided my blog will be dedicated to the independent film... you know the ones that fill the shelves up at your local video store. They are mixed in with the movies that you see previews for on T.V. These mostly overlooked gems, usually, in my opinion, are some of the best films never seen. Plus half the time actors you love are in them playing new characters that you haven't already seen them play, for example Bill Murry is the funny guy, but then you see him in something like lost and translation.. and whoa, he can act. This weeks indy pick is the 2004 film "Eulogy".
I first saw "Eulogy" this year actually by chance when it just so happened to be on IFC, the Independent Film Channel. What made me stop channel surfing and take a look was a scene with Hank Azaria's character working on a porno. As he's filming he gets a phone call only to find out that his father had pasted away and that his family was gathering at the mothers house. His daughter, played buy Zoey Deshanel, is then asked to give a eulogy at the funeral.
Now what made me stay for this film was all the characters and how different each one of them was. Micheal Clancy, the writer and director, wrote characters who were so incredibly different from each other that it was hard to believe that they were a family. I'm talking everything you could want the child actor brother, the lesbian sister and her lover, two motherless twins raised by the give up dad, the pissed off widow, and a sister who is so stuck up you to just roll your eyes. Plus a slew of supporting characters that just make the film better.
The films story line, is slow to get into until you have met all the characters, but when you do, you just can't believe the family stories, and the one liners. The twist at the end is so random, that if you listen to the dialogue carefully you will only at the end pick up the hints to it. I mean what is better than seeing all the siblings getting ready for the funeral, and when the grand daughter asks: "What are some of the things you remember about grandpa?" and one of the answers is "He some times called me Andrea, for no reason."
Some of the story is told in flash backs, which does both add and take away from the film. There is a part in "Eulogy" where they flash back to show how obnoxious the twins are to their mother that runs a little long. They interrupt some of the interesting moments, in my opinion, with easy to get a laugh moments, for example Deshanel and her love interest played by Jesse Bradford are interrupted by her grandmother falling on them from a moving vehicle.
The actor who was a stand out for me in "Eulogy" was actually Ray Romano. This is not your "Everybody Loves Raymond" character. Romano plays, Skip, the older brother, who was overlooked in the family, and to get attention, he had become the dirty minded one as well. He is the father of the twin boys, and has just given up on trying to be an authority figure. He teaches his boys to want exotic boob cakes for their birthday and encourages them to set things on fire. The part of the movie I just adore Romano in is when the family all arrives, he goes out on the deck for "afternoon happy hour" with his sisters girlfriend, then proceeds to ask her what lesbians do on dates. Only to hint at more. When Azaria tells him to stop bugging her and go see his mother Romano replies, "Oh, come on she's a downer." I laughed so hard, because the all talk no action character seemed to ignore whats going on around him to enjoy some dirty talk.
I would give "Eulogy" a 7 out of 10. It would be a dvd I would invest in if I could find it, but so worth the $3.99 rental free. if you like black comedies and crazy characters this film has it.