'Death at a Funeral' doesn't show any sign of life

'Death at a Funeral," a remake of the 2007 British comedy that made few ripples on this side of the pond, probably sounded good on paper: Replace the Anglo-Saxon cast with African-American comedians, move the setting to California, scrub the Britishisms from Craig Dean's script and you've produced a whole new film with minimal effort.

Unfortunately, the amount of effort shows.

The story, so thin it feels like a losing entry in a speed-sketch competition, centers on two brothers, Aaron (Chris Rock) and Ryan (Martin Lawrence), brought together for their father's funeral. They're surrounded by the usual wacky folks, including their domineering mother (Loretta Devine), gassy Uncle Russell (Danny Glover), and hypochondriac pal, Norman (Tracy Morgan). There's also a 4-foot-tall interloper (Peter Dinklage, reprising his role), whose relation to the deceased is closer than anyone suspects.

The humor is crass, stupid and worse. Only Rock refrains from shouting through every scene, while Glover sends his career literally into the toilet. It's barely worth taking offense at the sniggering gay jokes - you were expecting sensitivity?

Neil LaBute, a playwright-turned-filmmaker ("In the Company of Men," "Lakeview Terrace"), seems an odd choice as director, but he has done no worse a job than anyone would, given the source material. There's no way to bring "Death at a Funeral" to life.