“Death at a Funeral” mayhem is a joke but family funeral violence is bloody for real

Men in sharp suits carry a well-lacquered coffin into a fancy suburban house. “Who is this?!” screams Chris Rock, when the lid is cracked. The body is supposed to be his father but there’s been a mix-up, inside is an Asian-looking man.

Thus begins “Death at a Funeral”, a slapstick movie released last week that stars Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence and Luke Wilson. It tells the story of a family funeral that turns into mayhem. The fiancé of a foxy niece accidentally takes mescaline and her jealous ex-boyfriend shows up to win her back. An invalid and irascible uncle goes off the deep end, two competitive brothers brawl beside the coffin and a suspicious dwarf in a leather jacket is demanding money and packing heat.

“Death at a Funeral” pulled in $17 million last weekend but some reviewers weren’t so fond of the edgy aspects of the flick. For others the film’s violence is hilarious, but in many funerary tiffs the blood is real.

Two years ago, a funeral in the Bay Area turned deadly in what began as a booze-fueled altercation. Emotions were running high and many guests were drinking heavily, a lawyer involved in the case later said. Two close friends, Darien Munson and Derrell Woods, got into a loud argument outside the funeral home. Munson passed out and later awoke to the sound of yelling, two women had gotten into a fist fight. Munson, still in a stupor, grabbed a large World War II collector’s knife from inside the funeral home and sprinted outside like a madman. He thrust it into Woods’ stomach; his friend died later that day.

At a funeral home in Martinsville Indiana, a fight broke out last month between brothers who were putting their mother to rest. Eulogies had been given and the coffin was in the ground when “out of nowhere” Eddy and Dennis Nail began beating the hell out of each other. “My concern was that if somebody would hit their head on a monument,” said the funeral director. The police showed up with stun guns to find a barroom-like brawl. Both brothers and one of their wives were arrested on the charge of disorderly conduct.

A 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal about violence at funeral parlors provides insight into the trend. “I’ve been in this business 42 years and I’m jittery now,” says a Cincinnati funeral home director named Clarence Glover. On at least two occasions he says that gunfire at grave sites has forced him to dive into the dirt. He recently installed a surveillance camera in the chapel of his funeral home and now regularly hires security guards. Often, before a wake he will brief staff on who potential trouble-makers might be.

The article describes a funeral in Louisville Kentucky for an elderly man named Frank Sherley Jr. who had died of natural causes. It was “a perfect day,” remembered one funeral home employee, “there was no expectation of violence.” Suddenly two gunmen appeared in the parking lot and began firing. One attendee was killed and four others were wounded.

Another incident involved funeral home director Carl Swann Jr, whose family has been in the business for a century. He expected trouble from the beginning for the funeral of Raeshaun Hand Jr., an ex-con who had continued to deal drugs after being released from prison and was also wanted for murder. Hand was murdered himself, inside his car. His family tried to keep the funeral private but word got out. Once inside mourners guzzled booze and smoked in the church bathroom. Just as the lid was coming down on the casket a group rushed in and pinned the undertaker. They clocked Swann in the face then attacked Hand’s father and brother. “I started fighting back, throwing punches,” says Swann. “This wasn’t in the job description.”

But with funeral violence showing no signs of slowing up, self-defense just might have to be added to a funeral director’s job description. “Death at a Funeral” certainly makes it seem like fights are a requisite. By the end of the film nearly the entire cast has gotten into some sort of violent argument. But the tone stays light, quite a few of them have also accidentally ingested mescaline.