Being around your family this time of year can bring comfort and support, but Jeremy LaLonde’s film Daniel’s Gotta Die – which just made its premiere at Austin Film Festival – offers a reunion that can only bring danger.
Daniel’s Gotta Die is centered upon the Powell family, specifically the youngest son, Daniel (Joel David Moore), who decides to bring his siblings together after their rich and eccentric patriarch Edward (Iggy Pop) passes away. Right before he dies, Edward tells Daniel that he will be given the lion’s share of the fortune for his gratitude and altruism, and his greedy siblings will get whatever’s left. Daniel is still optimistic that he can work something out with his brothers and sisters, but his siblings have other plans.
The Powell family is made up of a brilliant cast of character actors – each one more hilariously brazen than the last. There’s Mia (Mary Lynn Rajskub) the high-powered businesswoman, Victor (Jason Jones) the erratic hedonist, Jessica (Carly Chaikin) the internet personality, and Lawrence the executor – played by Bob Saget in his final film role. Lawrence served as the deceased’s right-hand man for decades and feels he’s been cheated out of the will as well, so he and Jessica hatch a plan to take the money by any means necessary – unaware that Mia and Victor share the same idea. While Daniel excitedly makes dinner and picks out board games to play, his siblings brainstorm ways to end his life as swiftly and cleanly as possible – but the results are anything but.
A weekend at the family’s summer home in the Cayman Islands proves to be the perfect setting for a meeting of the maniacal minds, and ultimately, an inheritance battle to the death. Along for this bumpy ride are two of the only sane characters: Mia’s assistant Carter (Varun Saranga) and Daniel’s cautiously supportive fiancé (Chantal Riley), who tries several times to warn the painfully optimistic Daniel that his family may not have his best interests in mind. The perspectives of these two outsiders really heightens the level of ludicrousness on display, and only makes us root for Daniel more. The schemes taking place are malicious, but the execution of each of their attempted executions is hysterically thwarted every time.
Daniel’s Gotta Die is a bonkers and bloody dark comedy that doesn’t ask “whodunit?” but instead asks “who’s gonna do it?” This film tells its tangled tale with ease, and keeps you guessing and laughing from the moment it begins to the second it ends. Each character, no matter how scummy, was fully-realized and fully-beloved by this critic. It squeezes out every bit of charm and hilarity from its full house of dirtbags, and to see Bob Saget in his element once again was nothing short of delightful.
Mixed in with all of the madness and attempted murder and cynicism is a surprising amount of heart, and an irresistible brand of irreverence. Daniel’s Gotta Die is a parade of peculiarities and insincerities that might not be for the whole family, but it might give you a greater appreciation for the one that you were born into.
