Dead tired

A funny premise isn’t enough to
save dark comedy Just Buried

by CHRISTOPHER SYKES

Just Buried was one of a handful of films showcased during the Just for Laughs Film Festival last week, almost a full year after it premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival. First-time director Chaz Thorne is getting a chance to make a name for himself as his dark comedy set in small town Nova Scotia opens across Canada this week.

Jay Baruchel (who was hilarious in Knocked Up and calls Montreal home) plays Oliver: a slightly off-kilter nerd suffering from an iron deficiency and a host of allergies. After the death of his father, Oliver unexpectedly inherits the debt-laden family funeral home. Fortunately, he is also left with mortician Roberta (Rose Byrne from Marie Antoinette) and accountant-cum-groundskeeper Henry (played by the ever-dependable Graham Greene) who plan to help Oliver get the funeral home back in the black.

After enjoying a couple of drinks to get better acquainted, Oliver and Roberta find themselves in a pickle when they accidentally run over an ornery Swiss man out on a late night walk. Instead of fessing up, Roberta talks Oliver into arranging a cover-up; Roberta is not only the local mortician but the district coroner as well. This starts a zany chain of events in motion as Oliver’s financial problems are found to be remedied by a series of rather brutal “accidents” orchestrated by the duo.

Whereas the premise sounds promising, Just Buried unfortunately digs its own grave thanks in large part to a horrendous, awful score (seriously, go easy on the accordions) and writing that the otherwise solid core of actors simply can’t save. It’s witty in places, but falls far short of full-on funny. Too bad, as Byrne stands out as the morbid mortician/love interest.

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