Customer Reviews

Undertaking Betty

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie is a riot. Stumbled onto it 15 minutes into it, but was immediately intrigued and had to watch. Watched it again a week later with my husband, and we laughed our butts off. The plot is ridiculous, of course, but clever and very funny. The casting was superb, as was the acting. It's great to see someone like Alfred Molina, who was such a...jerk...in Chocolat play such a tongue-in-cheek role, and Brenda Blethyn, as always, has fantastic comedic timing. This is destined to become a cult classic, just like her film Saving Grace. And Naomi Watts is great. Didn't even recognize her because she's so different in every role, but she plays the diabolical mistress to the hilt.

Highly recommend for a break from a stressful day.

My husband & I saw this movie on a Princess cruise when it was titled PLOTS WITH A VIEW. I tried buying it after I got home, but it was not available in the US, until last year, with the title changed to UNDERTAKING BETTY.

It is rated "R", but I think it is wrong. There is no fowl language, but there are some scenes that young children shouldn't see. In this day and time, I would rate it PG-13.

I have watched it three times and I still laugh everytime I see it. It is a typical British comedy with hilarious situations.

In this age of teen lust and endless sex orgies, it's refreshing to see the love of a mature couple. UNDERTAKING BETTY is a lightweight, yet charming and oftentimes hilarious, look at a couple who have loved from afar for years. Played delightfully by Brenda Blethyn and Alfred Molina, they are a joy to watch. Alfred is a mortician whose rival is the impeccable Christopher Walken, who does some of his best recent work in this farce. When the couple decide to fake her death in order to run away together, all kinds of complications ensue. Versatile Naomi Watts plays the sleazy secretary to Blethyn's husband, and she is marvelous as always. Add Lee Evans as Walken's rather buffoonish aide, and you have a marvelous cast to enjoy. UNDERTAKING BETTY is one of those "little" films you stumbled on and are glad you did!

Death can be funny; at least it is in the small Welsh town of Wrottin-Powys, population 7,500. The town indeed has some zany and eccentric characters who seem to want to capitalize on our journey into the afterlife, not the least is big-haired eccentric funeral director Frank Featherbed (Christopher Walken) and his nerdy assistant Delbert (Lee Evans).

Frank and Delbert have a whole new angle going and have begun to offer to the townsfolk new types of funerals. Their latest catch is a "fantasy funeral" in which the deceased dream is realized in the service. One has a Star Trek theme because it was her favourite show, and another is a star on Broadway.

Alfred Molina's Boris Plotz is the rival undertaker who has been forced to hide his secret thirty-year crush on Brenda Blethyn's Betty Rhys Jones. They have always shared a passion for ballroom dancing, but the dutiful Betty's father insisted she marry Robert Pugh's self-important and arrogant Hugh, who was actually interested in Betty's money.

Seventeen years into their marriage, Hugh has become the town mayor, carrying on a sordid affair with his sexy secretary (Naomi Watts) while Betty is stuck caring for his terrible bedridden mother. But when her mother-in-law accidentally dies, Betty reunites with Boris, and they both fall in love again.

Just as Watt's mistress plots to poison the self-effacing Betty, Boris is persuading Betty to play dead so that they can run off together, concocting a plan to fake Betty's death, allowing the couple to run away together guilt-free - though the plan doesn't exactly go off without a hitch.

Undertaking Betty is unadulterated fun, charming and comedic, with a script that is full darkly humorous situations. The real charm however, comes from the actors, who end up turning in nice ensemble performances Instead of trying to upstage one another; they seem to be doing it to have fun.

Although Walken might seem a bit out of place as an American in this rather isolated town, his madness and bizarreness indeed complements all the irreverent shenanigans. Undertaking Betty is truly a terrific film, and it really works because it manages to deal ramifications of death in inadvertently funny ways.

Under Nick Hurran's direction, the cast has a good time indulging in Frederick Ponzlov's script that piles on the intentional and calculated silliness, but which also manages to tell a cute and very sweet love story. Mike Leonard September 06.

I found this movie to be one of those little surprising gems that has the right balance of black comedy, rich characters and a wonderfully eccentric and talented cast.

The best movie about the funeral business since Rod Steiger played Mr. Joyboy in The Loved One. It's labeled, at the outset, as a Fable and that enables a latitude of theme elements. Love, hate, revenge: it's all here with absolute comedic overtones. A terrific job of casting overall with the added presence of Christopher Walken, at his demented best, and Naomi Watts excelling with flamboyant greed and nymphomania.
Nothing R rated. Just a lot of fun with a happy ending.
Don't miss it.

great movie... saw it over in England. great cast, good plot.... some good twists in there as well... true love and a mortuary...a great movie for any collection. Walken is great... just don't let him plan ur funeral...

In what could have been a hilarious movie, Undertaking Betty fails to take advantage of a great idea with tons of possibilities, a well-rounded cast, and the always superb Christopher Walken. Instead, what's left is a few great lines and scenes with Walken shoved in between yawn-inducing drama and an uninspired love story.

In the small town of Wrottin Powys, there are two morticians: Boris Plots, the conventional, boring, and traditional option; and Frank Featherbed (Walken), a man with a vision. Featherbed wants 2-for-1 deals on funerals, casket of the month specials, super discount coupons in the papers, and all sorts of specialized burials. He wants theme funerals of Star Trek and Vegas showgirls; he wants the catwalk caskets, funerals nobody will ever forget.

When the opportunity presents itself for Boris to gain the love of his life, he devises a plan. Since his love interest, Betty, is married to a counselor (although she seems more like a servant) with a penchant for philandering with his gorgeous secretary (Naomi Watts), the only way Boris knows how to win her heart is to pretend it stopped beating - he must stage her death.

The rest of the movie is nothing but sight gags loosely borrowed from Beetlejuice and Weekend At Bernies. The two rivals must come together to teach bad people lessons and to ensure those who are pure and just get their rewards in life.

As Featherbed says, "The root word of funeral is fun", it's just too bad that the poor attempt at a sappy plotline ruined what should have been nothing but fun.

I wish Amazon allowed me to give 4.5 stars, because removing 1 star for a featureless DVD is a bit harsh to this charming caper comedy with a good-natured "plot", the kind you expect from pretty much anything that Brenda Blethyn decides to be a part of. An enterprising American funeral parlor owner wants to revolutionize the business by introducing theme parties, for instance, a Star Trek funeral for an old woman, replete with Dr. Spock ears. Some quirky competitive activity ensues. Funny twists of Cupid rear their head. The idyllic countryside is only a plus. Blethyn is a comic genius, in her own natural way, and even throws in an immaculate dance sequence in lacy chiffon. The surprise however comes from Christopher Walken, who sketches his slimeball businessman with insouciant timing. Naomi Watts is a pre-Hollywood one I suppose as her role is hardly worthy of a leading actress, but she, um, "fits" in well. One ruefully wonders whether this could have been a more popular film had things not gone so thick towards the end, but it's an entirely worthy rental if you're not looking for Hollywood histrionics and have been known to savor Steve Martin's romantic comedies, only set in the English countryside.

If you love Brit humour and can hack laughing at a serious side of life, this movie is a must see. In a similar vein to Waking Ned Devine, you'll laugh your heart out again and again and again.