At zije neboztík

Long Live With Dearly Departed is a Czech comedy directed and co-written by Martin Fric. (I'm not sure why it has such a horribly translated title--I saw the movie referred to once somewhere as Long Live the Dead, which is much better.) The plot concerns a young playboy who lives only to drink, gamble and spend his uncle's money. His life gets complicated when a hospital mistakenly informs him that he only has 24 hours to live. It is the type of plot that can make for a good screwball comedy and this movie seems to be aiming in that general direction. But the pacing is too slow and while there are some amusing moments, the antics never reach the level of hilarity. The movie is mainly a vehicle for star Hugo Haas, which isn't surprising since he co-wrote it. Most of the other characters are there to serve as props or plot developments, with the exception of the actor who plays Baltazar, the manservant, who gets some nice comic moments of his own