Are Funerals Fun? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Four Weddings and a Funeral

Grant and Andie McDowell starred in the 1994 comedy, "Four Weddings and a Funeral". Their characters meet at a wedding, fall in love, and the other important events of the film take place for the most part at the other three weddings and the funeral referenced in the movie's title. The story ends well, with Hugh and Andie's characters vowing eternal love as well as never to get married.

The other three titles mentioned are all examples of Hugh Grant's work. "Comic Relief: Dr. Who - The Curse of Fatal Death" is a 1999 made for TV movie parodying the "Dr. Who" series in which Hugh Grant is one of four actors who plays the Doctor.

"Nine Months" is a 1995 movie comedy starring Grant and Julianne Moore in which the couple has to adjust to an unplanned pregnancy.

"Notting Hill" is a 1999 romantic comedy in which Hugh falls in love with a famous actress, played by Julia Roberts.

Answer: Michael Jackson

The King of Pop was on the verge of a comeback tour when he died suddenly in June of 2009. The doctor under whose care Michael Jackson was at the time of his death was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter. The world was shocked by Jackson's death, and his private funeral was televised from afar, with paparazzi documenting the arrival of the limousines carrying the mourners, family and friends, of the deceased.

The public memorial service drew the largest television audience for such a ceremony. Jackson was laid to rest in a gold-plated casket and given a star-studded send off by his children, parents and siblings, and by many famous entertainers and friends. Perhaps because of the content of the memorial and the people who took part in it (including Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Usher, Jennifer Hudson and Lionel Richie), it was often referred to as a "show" in the media. As with most memorial services, it was a combination of sadness and celebration, joy and tears.

The other three people mentioned also died in 2009, but their deaths were overshadowed in terms of media attention and public response by Michael Jackson's.

Answer: M*A*S*H*

McLean Stevenson played commanding officer Lt. Colonel Blake on the wildly popular sitcom "M*A*S*H*", but though his character was loved by audiences, he didn't want to play second or third banana to Alan Alda and Wayne Rogers' characters, Hawkeye and Trapper John. The show's producers reluctantly accepted Stevenson's resignation and had the writers design his irreversible exit from the show. Lt. Colonel Blake was discharged and on his way back home to the US when his plane was shot down over the Sea of Japan, killing Blake and all others on board. The cast itself did not know about the plot turn until the episode was filmed so that their real emotions were captured. Stevenson later realized the mistake he'd made in leaving "M*A*S*H*", and his career never bounced back.

The other shows mentioned were all '70s sitcoms as well.

Answer: Weekend at Bernie's

People either love or hate "Weekend at Bernie's", the 1989 black comedy in which two hapless insurance company employees try to hide their boss' death, not knowing that he has been targeted for elimination by members of the mob, who repeatedly try to kill Bernie again, every time they see that he is still "alive".

The other movies mentioned are all death-themed. "Harold and Maude" is about a young man who is obsessed with death and his elderly girlfriend whose only concern is to live what she has left of life to the fullest.

"Dead Like Me" is a comedy in which the main character dies by getting smashed by a toilet. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't get to leave this earth, but must remain as a reaper of lost souls.

"Death Becomes Her" is a black comedy about women who do no want to grow old, and whose quest for eternal youth blurs the lines between life and death.

Answer: Jesus Christ

The death of Christ and his subsequent resurrection is the cornerstone of Christianity. Modern celebrations range from the whimsical exchange of Easter eggs, bunnies and chocolates to celebrations lasting for weeks and punctuated by reenactments, processions, bonfires and other ceremonies.

The poem "One Solitary Life" was written by Dr. James Allan in 1926.

He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never traveled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three

His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind's progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life

Answer: Glee

Caustic anti-hero of the musical comedy "Glee," Sue Sylvester (played flawlessly by Jane Lynch), became more human when she had to deal with the death of her sister, Jean (played by Downs Syndrome actress Robin Trocki). Although Sue Sylvester is the nemesis of the Glee Club at the high school where she is the cheerleading coach, when Sue loses her sister, there is nowhere else she can turn for help with the memorial for her sister except the Glee kids. The episode, entitled "Funeral", was touching and gave Sue a bit of humanity and mellowed her character.

The other shows listed are all musicals/comedies from different decades.

Answer: Hamlet

Grief can take many forms, some of them not very pretty. While Hamlet's mother gives Ophelia a fitting tribute at her funeral, adorning the casket with flowers and saying "Sweets for the sweet," Hamlet himself is quite a boor, stamping on the grave, and challenging Ophelia's brother, saying that he loved Ophelia "more than forty thousand brothers" could.

The other plays mentioned are all Shakespearean tragedies as well.

Answer: Ambrose Bierce

John Mortonson's Funeral is a very short story, and a very funny one as well, in which the people behave barbarically and illogically, and the deceased's cat is the only one who acts with savage decorum, as can be seen from the last four paragraphs of the tale:

"When the minister had finished his eulogy with prayer a hymn was sung and the pall-bearers took their places beside the bier. As the last notes of the hymn died away the widow ran to the coffin, cast herself upon it and sobbed hysterically. Gradually, however, she yielded to dissuasion, becoming more composed; and as the minister was in the act of leading her away her eyes sought the face of the dead beneath the glass. She threw up her arms and with a shriek fell backward insensible.

"The mourners sprang forward to the coffin, the friends followed, and as the clock on the mantel solemnly struck three all were staring down upon the face of John Mortonson, deceased.

"They turned away, sick and faint. One man, trying in his terror to escape the awful sight, stumbled against the coffin so heavily as to knock away one of its frail supports. The coffin fell to the floor, the glass was shattered to bits by the concussion.

"From the opening crawled John Mortonson's cat, which lazily leaped to the floor, sat up, tranquilly wiped its crimson muzzle with a forepaw, then walked with dignity from the room."

The other authors all wrote at around the same time Bierce did, but never with Bierce's wicked wit and humor.

Answer: The Big Chill

Kevin Costner can still be seen as the corpse being prepared for burial at the beginning of the movie, but all of the other footage with him was cut from the film, due to concerns about its length. Director Laurence Kasden gave Costner his next break in the film "Silverado" and ended up working with him on "Wyatt Earp" and "The Bodyguard" too.

"The Big Chill" is often given as an example of realistic acting on the part of young adults who have lost a friend or faced another similar shared crisis or misfortune. The stellar cast achieved their believable results by living together for a few weeks before filming began and then remaining in character for the duration of the shoot.

Answer: True

Not three years after Michael Jackson's death, Whitney Houston also died under circumstances that were related to her use of drugs when she drowned in the bathtub of her hotel room on the day before the Grammys. Her funeral was attended by many in the music and entertainment world, though godmother Aretha Franklin was unable to perform as she had intended because she was too grief stricken.