Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Mild
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- whimsical
- warm
- lazy sunday
- comfort viewing
What critics said
Critics generally found the film charming, entertainingly cast, and sweetly enjoyable despite its deliberately silly, somewhat messy, and conventional execution.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Betty and Boris fake her death using an undertaker's expertise, making coffins, graves, and funerals central sources of comic romance.
The plot unfolds among Betty, her husband, the undertaker, a grave digger, and other local characters whose connections sustain the deception.
Betty collaborates with Boris to fake her death and run away from her unfaithful marriage.
Boris has loved Betty since childhood, and the fake-death scheme creates the opportunity for them to be together.
Films like Undertaking Betty, and why
Waking Ned Devine
shares a warm, eccentric small-town romantic comedy tone and colorful ensemble cast
Saving Grace
shares British romantic comedy sensibility, deadpan absurdity, and community-centered mischief
The Trouble with Harry
shares morbid comic premises, theatrical eccentricity, and romantic entanglements
Movie Details
- Director
- Nick Hurran
- Release Date
- 2002-12-04
- Runtime
- 94 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (118)
Cast
- Brenda Blethyn
- Alfred Molina
- Naomi Watts
- Lee Evans
- Robert Pugh
- Christopher Walken
- Jerry Springer
- Hannah Higgins
- Joshua Jenkins
- Shaun Phillips
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Undertaking Betty about?
- A betrayed wife and her lifelong admirer stage an outlandish death to escape marriage and pursue a morbidly whimsical romance.
- What is Undertaking Betty like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Undertaking Betty as brisk, its intensity as mild and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Undertaking Betty violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Undertaking Betty.
- What did critics think of Undertaking Betty?
- Critics generally found the film charming, entertainingly cast, and sweetly enjoyable despite its deliberately silly, somewhat messy, and conventional execution.
- Which films are like Undertaking Betty?
- Films with a similar feel include Waking Ned Devine, Saving Grace, and The Trouble with Harry.
- How long is Undertaking Betty?
- Undertaking Betty runs 94 minutes.
- Where can I watch Undertaking Betty?
- In United States, Undertaking Betty streams on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads.
