Kaitlyn Dever Kills Her ‘Good Grief’ Cameo with a Hilarious, Inappropriate Funeral Speech

Kaitlyn Dever only has one, too-short scene in Good Grief, the new Daniel Levy Netflix movie that began streaming today. But what a scene it is. In fact, I’d say Kaitlyn Dever’s Good Grief cameo is the funniest scene in the movie.

To be fair to the other scenes, Good Grief is not a strictly funny movie. Written and directed by Schitt’s Creek star Daniel Levy, it tells the story of Marc Dreyfus (Levy), dealing with the aftermath of the tragic and sudden death of his husband, Oliver (Luke Evans). Oliver was a successful novelist, whose fantasy book series were being adapted into a film franchise. Thus, the film’s funniest scene takes place, ironically, at Oliver’s funeral, when the lead actress in the franchise (played by Dever) takes the mic.

Before she even opened her mouth to speak, Dever was making me laugh. Her character dons a tight, black strapless dress that barely stretches down to her mid-thigh. On her head, she wears a black pillbox hat with a lace veil. As she takes the stage, she ever-so-carefully crosses one five-inch heel pump in front of the other, assuming a red carpet pose. It’s truly inspired physical comedy.

She goes on to deliver a not-so-heartfelt speech about how dear Oliver changed her life by giving her the opportunity to star in a franchise. Credit to Levy for writing this hilarious monologue. Stand-out lines include: “I remember reading part of of the first Victoria Valentine book for my audition,” and “My heart breaks, for his family, and for our movie.”

Levy’s reactions to Dever’s antics are pitch-perfect; he gives her the patented David Rose slow blink and head tilt of derision. Then Dever brings it home in the speech’s final lines.

“He had so many more stories to tell,” she sobs, her voice cracking comically. “But life fucking sucks. And now we don’t know if we’ll end up shooting the fifth and sixth movies, because he was still writing them.”

At this point, Dever turns her head toward the heavens to address the late author directly. “Oliver, you little slut, I hope the studio green lights them in honor, and that we get to continue to tell your story for many years to come. Because we need them!”

Never have I ever laughed so hard at a funeral scene. Unfortunately, Dever never appears in the movie again. Immediately after her spiel, David Bradley (aka Argus Filch in Harry Potter) gives the audience emotional whiplash by delivering a genuine and heartbreaking speech. But though she’s on screen for less than a minute, Dever makes the whole film. Now that’s what I call talent.

Can we get this woman back in a comedy, please? It’s been nearly five years since 2019’s Booksmart. Clearly, she was born to make ’em laugh.