The film follows Dunphy as he interviews his family members to figure out why his father, Mark, and his grandfather, Bob, did not get along. The story is told in a vignette style with a mix of animated flashbacks and home movie footage. The first half of the short depicts the estranged nature between the Dunphys and Freemans (his father’s side of the family) at Bob’s funeral. To contrast the tense relationship between Mark and Bob, Jack talks lovingly about his other grandpa, Larry. Larry is a funny personality in contrast to Bob’s sternness. The estrangement of the two families reveals Bob’s cold nature towards Mark and his siblings. Mark’s siblings refuse to give answers for the cause of the estrangement. In between the drama are animated sequences depicting embarrassing and funny moments throughout Jack’s life.
Jack Dunphy appears in Bob’s Funeral by Jack Dunphy, an official selection of the U.S. Shorts Program at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
The short’s second half shows Jack’s relationship with his father. Mark was a talented man, an aspiring writer. He is kindhearted, yet he has his demons due to Bob’s abusive nature. This portion of the film is the emotional center for understanding why Mark was an important figure in Jack’s life. There is the shocking revelation that Jack’s father is diagnosed with stomach cancer. As an audience, we hear about what made Mark special from his friends and family members. Jack contrasts the upbeat energy of his father’s funeral as his aunts and uncles open up in their eulogies versus the restrained nature of Bob’s memorial service. Dunphy’s film does a solid job of capturing the subtleties of a loved one’s death. Home movie footage makes it more personal without becoming too raw. Thankfully, it avoids the impersonal nature of realist cinema. The crude humor in the animated sequences may be too raunchy for some viewers, yet he balances it out by letting his family members guide the story. A memorable scene that personifies the film is when Jack captures his father dancing to “Play That Funky Music.” It is a feel-good moment, which makes Mark’s death even more poignant. Bob’s Funeral taps into the viewer’s emotional state by capturing grief in both a positive and negative way. Bob’s Funeral screened at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
