‘The Estate’ Review: Toni Collette And Anna Faris Scheme In Outrageously Tasteless (But Funny) Farce
You may hate yourself in the morning, but if you are in the mood for a completely un-pc, morbidly amusing farce about the need for greed, the new comedy The Estate may be right up your alley.
Quite frankly if you know the work of its writer/director Dean Craig, the British filmmaker best known for both English and American remake versions of the over-the-top farce Death At A Funeral, as well as his directing debut Love Wedding Repeat, you will know what you are in for. Subtle comic wit and three dimensional human beings are not his specialty. Neither is restraint. The Estate, shot in New Orleans, will not disappoint, and in fact his penchant for completely politically incorrect situations and comedy is – so sue me – something of a tonic in the increasingly woke obsessed world in which we find ourselves. It has, as the ad line for the...
Quite frankly if you know the work of its writer/director Dean Craig, the British filmmaker best known for both English and American remake versions of the over-the-top farce Death At A Funeral, as well as his directing debut Love Wedding Repeat, you will know what you are in for. Subtle comic wit and three dimensional human beings are not his specialty. Neither is restraint. The Estate, shot in New Orleans, will not disappoint, and in fact his penchant for completely politically incorrect situations and comedy is – so sue me – something of a tonic in the increasingly woke obsessed world in which we find ourselves. It has, as the ad line for the...
- 11/5/2022
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The sweet animated opening credits sequence of Dean Craig’s “The Estate” introduces two nice sisters who run a café. It’s a classic misdirect: a warm overview of sweet, caring Macey and sharp, smart Savanna under the guidance of their father, running a neighborhood joint replete with hot coffee and cozy regulars. Once the credits fade to real life, as it were, we learn that the sisters are in over their head and way behind on their payments, with no feasible financial solution in sight.
The Macey and Savanna of the cartoon prologue do not resemble the Macey and Savanna of “The Estate.” Macey (Toni Collette) is vaguely empathetic but weak-willed. Savanna (Anna Faris) is impulsive and possibly a sociopath. In order to save their precious café, one the audience never actually sees them working in, they’re going to have to butter up their dying, miserable Aunt Hildy...
The Macey and Savanna of the cartoon prologue do not resemble the Macey and Savanna of “The Estate.” Macey (Toni Collette) is vaguely empathetic but weak-willed. Savanna (Anna Faris) is impulsive and possibly a sociopath. In order to save their precious café, one the audience never actually sees them working in, they’re going to have to butter up their dying, miserable Aunt Hildy...
- 11/4/2022
- by Fran Hoepfner
- The Wrap
We all make mistakes, even Toni Collette. Fans of the fearless and versatile Australian actress can take solace that she isn’t alone on this one; a whole host of beloved talented people cast their lot with the same sinking ship that is the cringe comedy “The Estate.” in her final days. The most consistent comedic thread in “The Estate” involves a pushily flirtatious cousin, and it’s not nearly as fun as “House of the Dragon” made it look.
In an odd couple pairing, Collette and Anna Faris play sisters Macey and Savanna, who are struggling to keep their family business afloat. When they learn that their wealthy and childless Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) has taken a turn for the worse, scheming Savanna suggests they ingratiate themselves to her in the hopes of securing their inheritance. Though kindhearted Macey has reservations at first, the threat of losing her first...
In an odd couple pairing, Collette and Anna Faris play sisters Macey and Savanna, who are struggling to keep their family business afloat. When they learn that their wealthy and childless Aunt Hilda (Kathleen Turner) has taken a turn for the worse, scheming Savanna suggests they ingratiate themselves to her in the hopes of securing their inheritance. Though kindhearted Macey has reservations at first, the threat of losing her first...
- 11/3/2022
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
If, as the old actor’s maxim goes, dying is easy while comedy is hard, comedy about dying is the most high-wire act of all. Get the balance right and it’s intensely, savagely funny; when it doesn’t land, it’s a bit icky for all concerned. In 2007, British screenwriter Dean Craig mostly pulled off the trick with the self-explanatorily titled “Death at a Funeral,” which was broad and crass but frequently very funny indeed — sufficiently so for Craig to pen an inferior U.S. remake three years later. Now directing as well as writing, he attempts a similar coup with frantic coffin-chasing farce “The Estate,” getting ahead of the game by setting it in the States to begin with. This time, the results fall largely flat.
On the face of it, it’s hard to see why. The premise — hard-up chancers attempt to scrap and claw their way...
On the face of it, it’s hard to see why. The premise — hard-up chancers attempt to scrap and claw their way...
- 11/3/2022
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
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