HOLLYWOOD —“Death at a Funeral” is hilariously dark and comical. However, I hated the film. It seemed to go on forever, never ceasing in one-liners and although I’m generally a fan of Chris Rock, I now realize I can tolerate his humor in small doses, not continually for 90 minutes. Rock’s performance starts out almost plausible, then the implausible plot takes hold and what is supposed to be a sophisticated awakening turns into nonstop bathroom humor, jokes that fell flat by the end of the film and amazingly that’s the good thing I can say about the film.

Luke Wilson and Martin Lawrence are perhaps the intriguing actors and characters in the film, but there is far too little of them to save the picture. I was thinking that Danny Glover and Loretta Divine could salvage the film, but I was sadly mistaken and the two don’t seem to add any credibility to this over-the-top comedy that seemed almost a brazing comedy horror flick. Peter Dinklage is often used for humor in the film, though it fell flat with each one-liner a character had to make about him. The film had no redeeming quality other than that it had a lot of comedic names attached to it, and possibly that will bring in enough viewers to make the film successful.

The thinly based plot includes, “A funeral ceremony turns into a debacle of exposed family secrets and misplaced bodies.” However, you know things are not going to go well with a film that the studio tagline says, “This is one sad family.” One thing I cannot agree with more.

Save your money, go see “Clash of the Titans” or take your kids to “How To Train A Dragon.” If you are in town, prepare to be dazzled by the TCM Film Festival starting this weekend where classic films still have the ability to entertain.

“Death At A Funeral” gets One of Five Stars.