The Pallbearer (1996) User Reviews

Simple, but nice

[rbverhoef · 6/10 · 16 February 2003]

The Pallbearer will be compared with The Graduate. A graduate (Tom, played by David Schwimmer), only one year later, has an affair with an older woman. She is the mother of a dead guy named Bill. Tom did not know Bill but the mother thinks he was his best friend. He plays along. The affair starts but Tom is really in love with a younger girl named Julie (Gwyneth Paltrow). So far this is a lot like The Graduate and in my opinion this wasn't a good part of the movie although it had its funny scenes.

The comparison with The Graduate holds on in the main plot-line may be, but The Pallbearer takes a different way in the way it is shown to us. I liked how the movie developed from that moment on. Especially the ending is well-chosen.

David Schwimmer was a better lead than I expected, he wasn't that bad. Most funny scenes were happening because of him. Gwyneth Paltrow was lovely and for me she made sure I liked the movie a little more. It is not very good but it has a couple of good laughs, a nice story and a nice chemistry between Schwimmer and Paltrow.

i liked it

[dsklodginski · 6/10 · 9 July 2003]

I wasn't sure what to expect about this movie. I remembered that it was a "bomb" when it appeared in theatres so I kept passing it by at the video store. It's often out but I'm glad that I took the time to watch it. I thought the characters were appealing & the situations they found themselves in rang true. A 25 year old floundering around, messing up with his friends was fitting. David Schwimmer isn't my favorite but the movie played to his strengths, and you can see that Gwyneth is due to break out as a star plus the rest of the cast is solid. I am especially glad that I didn't read the comments until I saw the movie. I see the negative points but if you approach the movie as a quirky romantic comedy with a dark twist you will be entertained & laugh & smile some too.

pulled in...

[wineguyroman · 6/10 · 24 November 2006]

I feel fairly certain that had i watched this movie on video or in the theater it certainly would have been better. Unfortunately i saw it on cable with commercials defiling all the tension built up by a dramatic scene.

***** spoiler ****** They almost lost me at the funeral scene. I simply could not get past the laugher of Tom's friends (aren't they in their 20's and NOT in their teens? ). I didn't find the scene funny but rather pathetic. Besides was Tom such a moron as to not be able to come up with any traditional things to say to the bereaved ? Perhaps its me, but I'm certain i could give a eulogy for anyone's funeral without problem while winging it the whole way.. Just think of positive adjectives (kind, caring, sweet, generous, thoughtful, smart, funny, witty, ...etc) then apply them to the deceased. And just take a pause to think between each set of compliments. Besides if he knew he was going to have do to this why not at least try to think of something ! The writers really dropped the ball on this one. Or they did a really good job of not being funny.

Fortunately Paltrow's pretty face kept me around to see more of the film. Overall i think some of the drama of the film made it worth watching. Ironically, it was billed as a romantic comedy because I'm pretty sure i didn't laugh even once.

6.5 stars out of 10

Not bad

[guilfisher-1 · 12 January 2007]

This 1996 flick was directed and co-written by Matt Reeves along with Jason Katims. A sort of serious romantic comedy. I loved Barbara Hershey in this. She never disappoints. Playing the mother of a son she lost, she turns to companionship to help heal the loss. David Schwimmer, Ross in FRIENDS, helps her out. Schwimmer does an admirable job as a young man, almost a virgin in relationships.

Then he meets the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and sparks begin to fly. So, the plot thickens when he's up against the two ladies in his life. Add another lady, Carol Kane, his mother, who does a brilliant job as she fawns over her son. She's a riot and brings what little comedy there is to the movie.

Friends to Schwimmer are played by Michael Rapaport as a groom to be, with advice for his friend, and Michael Vartan, who I have liked since THE NEXT BEST THING. They both add much to this movie.

Not really a comedy, as the acting is quite real and often touching, but enjoyable to watch the two stars in the leads and an excellent supporting cast.

Think of this movie as an old lady you find yourself stuck behind on the street...

[Howlin Wolf · 2/10 · 24 January 2005]

... You can't exactly shove her out of the way, because she's old; and if you were being charitable you might say that the ponderous gait she ambles along with isn't really her fault. Nevertheless, in these circumstances it's often difficult not to become irritated when you find yourself dragging your heels in her wake. So it is with "The Pallbearer", an attempt to do something 'different' with a romantic comedy that in this way is chiefly hamstrung because the venue is all wrong; sort of like showing off your 'breakdancing' skills at a grandparent's funeral.

To further extend the metaphor (perhaps unwisely!); like the old lady, one starts to feel with the set-up of the film that its demise cannot be far away. Sure enough, this particular 'death' is agonizingly protracted, slowly chipping away at our reserves of empathy in tiny little increments, as depressingly we come to the realisation that the proceedings are only headed in one direction: Downhill. Its laboured attempts at 'humour' can be seen coming a mile off - again, not unlike the grim inevitability of death!

Returning once again to the image of 'dragging heels', the main character, Tom, is shown to ceaselessly repeat this action throughout his life. If there are indeed degrees of 'pathetic', then this sap is possibly a good few notches ahead of Schwimmer's other - more famous - role. To find oneself in the awkward position of having to align audience sympathies with a character even MORE 'clueless' than Ross is certainly a tough ask even for as 'able' a comic performer as Schwimmer, but I guess he can find fault with himself for signing on to some seriously 'echoing' situations in the first place.

How will he ever escape his most famous portrayal if he's picking scripts where the characters could almost be 'interchangeable', even if the situations aren't? A man with a longstanding high-school crush on someone he hasn't seen for years. Sound familiar... ? Paltrow is nothing else if not bland in her 'Rachel' role, but all of this going over old ground would perhaps be forgivable if the noticeable DIFFERENCES present weren't so incongruous as well. Unfortunately, the romantic element is so well-worn it's threadbare, and the 'backdrop' is so inappropriate that it seems the best way to describe the resultant film is as something of a 'stiff'... ! 2/10.

Okay off-kilter slow mover.

[=G= · 5/10 · 31 May 2002]

"The Pallbearer", a schizophrenic cross-genre muddling of comedy, drama, and romance with idiosyncratic characters and a thin, marginally interesting story. Schwimmer is at the center of this slow moving, somewhat quirky flick about a young man who lives with his mother (Bosco anyone?) and courts a demure unassured girl (Paltrow) while having an affair with an older woman (Hershey). Most will find it difficult to get their head into this off-kilter story and its subtle tongue-in-cheek humor though it remains loyal to its purpose throughout...whatever that may be.

awkward false unfunny

[SnoopyStyle · 2/10 · 13 March 2017]

It's been a year since Tom Thompson (David Schwimmer) graduated but he's still struggling to start his career in architecture. He lives with his mother (Carol Kane) in Brooklyn. Ruth Abernathy (Barbara Hershey) calls telling him about his high school best friend and her son Bill's suicide. She wants him to give the eulogy but he doesn't remember him. He agrees to a pallbearer anyways. His friends Brad Schorr (Michael Rapaport) and Scott (Michael Vartan) don't remember Bill either. Scott's engaged to Cynthia (Toni Collette). At their party, she invited Tom's secret high school crush Julie DeMarco (Gwyneth Paltrow). Lauren (Bitty Schram) is Brad's volatile girlfriend.

This movie hits on a false note from the start. Schwimmer's pathetic persona is not always appealing. This time, he's something off. He needs to get rid of his hang dog expression and stop doing his Friends sit-com comedy bit. He's sad and a little creepy. It's annoying. Any attempt at humor only backfires to highlight the awkwardness of this movie. There are multiple issues including sleeping with Ruth. It makes an unappealing character even worst. I actually wish that Tom had brain damage which would explain him forgetting about being Bill's best friend.

Often overlooked, but delightful film

[rpbauer · 7/10 · 23 May 2005]

Maybe it was the great, eclectic soundtrack with the likes of Django Reinhardt, Herbie Hancock, Perry Como, Curtis Mayfield, Neil Young and Richie Havens, or maybe it was the dark and subtle bits of humor that pleasantly surprised me throughout the movie, but I really enjoyed this one.

We meet Tom, a forlorn twenty-something man-child still living at home and struggling to take control of his life, played by David Schwimmer of "Friends" fame. Tom gets a call from a woman who mistakenly believes he knew her recently deceased son. He goes along with it, presumably to save her the added grief of knowing her son had no close friends. Of course, Tom's accommodating nature backfires and he's asked to give the eulogy for a man he never knew. This sets up a scene with the kind of dark humor seen throughout the movie that audiences are either delighted with or immediately turned off by.

At the funeral, Tom meets Julie, his unrequited high school crush, played with genuine emotion and winsome grace by Gwyneth Paltrow. Thus begins two relationships that play out over the duration of the film --one with Grace, the bereft mother of the friend Tom never had, played by Barbara Hershey, and the other with Julie.

Yes, this movie owes much, in terms of plot and characters, to "The Graduate," with Hershey playing the counterpart to Anne Bancroft's Mrs. Robinson. But it turns out to be much more than just an update of the '60s classic. The audience really gets to know the inner turmoil both Tom and Julie are going through -- Tom, both for the guilt of becoming unwittingly involved with Grace, and for also being involved with Julie at the same time, and Julie, for being torn between striking out on her own to escape her overbearing parents and getting into a deep relationship with Tom.

There are a couple of sideplots going on with Tom's friends -- Michael Rapaport's character getting married to a woman his friends don't like, and Michael Vardan's married character, making a move on Julie, which obviously infuriates Tom. And Carol Kane as Tom's mom, is precious. In one scene, he is livid after she bursts into his room unannounced. After she receives a brief scolding for not knocking, she replies "I only wanted to see if you wanted some ice cream," to which he replies "A little."

Schwimmer nails the role, with his underplayed, tacit sadness about his so-far-failed attempt at making a responsible life for himself. And Paltrow, well, can she ever miss? Whether for the dark humor, spot-on acting, or superb soundtrack, this one is definitely worth a viewing.

Boring waste of time.

[DJ_Shilo · 3/10 · 9 May 2016]

May 4, 2016

I really wanted to like this picture since it's clearly inspired by the 1967 film "The Graduate." I like David Schwimmer but I didn't like "The Pallbearer." It's because the film is a heartache of characters that seem to be thrown into the film for no reason and it's too stupid to watch as the plot unfolds, we are left with nothing. It starts off promising but falls off the wheels very fast.

It's about a 25-year-old bachelor, Tom Thomson (David Schwimmer), who lives at home with his mom, Ruth Abernathy (Carol Kane) and sleeps in a bunk bed. One day, he receives a phone call from, Ruth Abernathy (Barbara Hersey) who is the mother of a kid that Tom went to school with. The kid, Bill has committed suicide so she wants Tom to be a Pallbearer and give a eulogy at the funeral. Tom easily screws up the eulogy and struggles to remember who Bill was in high school. Tom's high school crush, Julie DeMarco (Gwyneth Paltrow) re-enters his life and sends Tom worlds on a crash course for destruction when Ruth becomes attached to Tom and he must figure out who Bill is and keep Ruth off his back while chasing after Julie.

There were so many questions I had to ask myself during this picture and one of them was "Why does this film exist and what does it try to accomplish?" In answer, not a whole lot. There are multiple characters in this picture that don't work and they cause the plot to unfold in stupid ways. Julie re-enters Tom's life because the screenplay just told her to show up. Barbara Hersey plays a vixen who wants to sleep with Tom for some reason even though her son just killed himself. Carol Kane is wasted as Tom's mother and Michael Rapaport is wasted as, what I think is, Tom's friend. There's another friend in there as well. They act as though they are brothers but we never learn this.

Anyway, it opens promising with the character of Tom being an insecure and sluggish kind of person who looks like he has no clue what he is doing in life or with himself. He's never dated a woman, his only companion is her mother and he doesn't seem to know what to do in any situation. When he receives the call for the pallbearer task, he doesn't remember who Bill is. We don't learn who Bill was or why he died. We only learn Tom's name was in a will, supposedly. From here we start to question where this picture is going to go. Tom shows up at the funeral and makes an idiot out of himself because he can't tell Ruth that he doesn't remember her son. Soon after, the plot goes downhill and the film falls right off the tracks.

Ruth becomes infatuated with Tom and we never understand why. He ends up sleeping with her while attempting to fetch Julie in his own stupid way and the film because a love triangle of sorts that really spins out of control. Of course, Julie finds out and Tom is in hot water. This concept is stretched over the course of an hour and never really develops. We never learn what Ruth's agenda is or who she is. Maybe she ruins people's lives for fun or maybe she is a lonely woman? We don't know and that's the biggest problem this picture faces with any of the characters. It gets tiring very fast.

Julie's character is wasted as well. We learn nothing about her and she seems to act like she never went to high school with Tom either until she confesses "I remember you." Why does she tell him this 45 minutes into the picture? She is not developed either and the ending proves that she was a waste all along as well. I'm sure what the message they were trying to send out here but the film is all over the place and never stop to explain anything. She's a romantic prop that shows up in a few scenes and then disappears like she was never there in the first place. Her character is the one that was the hardest to figure out and by the second act, I just didn't care anymore.

I was quite disappointed when he ending came and I was saying to myself "Maybe they will explain this mess at the end?" and No, no, they didn't. The film attempts to end on a positive note which it does work. It's semi-conclusive but it doesn't explain the rest of the story and why everything happened and leaves us feeling very tired and exhausted from trying to figure this mess out. Matt Reeves and Jason Katims wrote this and that would explain at least one thing. Jason is a TV writer and I think this picture would have worked better if it were made as a TV series to explore everything it set out to tell. However, as a movie, its fails.

Very Watchable.

[wayofthecass · 7/10 · 13 January 2008]

'The Pallbearer' is a somewhat inoffensive film which most people could either take or leave. The film was Schwimmer's first attempt at non-'Friends' success but it bombed terribly at the box office and as a result remains unusual and unique in that so far it is his only attempt to carry a picture. I'm hesitant to call a it a star vehicle because it also features Gwenyth Paltrow but that is essentially what it is, or at least tries/was meant to be.

I actually like this movie but I would have found it ultimately forgettable if it hadn't been constantly shown on one of the more obscure digital TV channels late at night just as I was coming in from work for a 6 month period a few years back.

It has a good and recognisable cast which will put an audience at ease. Rappaport is as usual very funny and Schwimmer plays a very 'Ross'-esque character, given a ridiculous hair cut so that we can obviously differentiate from his 'Friends' persona. Paltrow looks cute and does what she does best.....pouts a lot.

The plot itself centres around Schwimmer's character attempting to negotiate a relationship beyond friendship with his high school crush (Paltrow) who he has not been in contact with for years, presumably as he has only recently returned from completing his college studies. This is somewhat hindered though as he has also become intimately involved with the grieving mother of a recently deceased local man played by Barabra Hershey who believes, wrongly, that Schwimmer's character was her departed son's best , and for that matter only, friend at high school. As he is looking for some excitement in life Scwimmer's character was more than willing to maintain this incorrect assumption in order to bed the vulnerable Hershey character but after peddling the deception to the point where he delivers the eulogy at her son's funeral (at which he is also a Pallbearer hence the film's title) guilt begins to catch up with him and the 'Graduate'-esqu style of excitement he had previously felt is replaced by regret. There is also the underlying feeling to which many can probably relate of a post graduate who is struggling to move on with his life. This of course summons further comparisons with the earlier mentioned 'Graduate' from which this picture obviously draws major though not overly obvious influences.Tom Thompson (Schwimmer) has achieved an architectural degree but is struggling to find employment in the field and is back living in his old bedroom at his mother's house which looks , and where he is treated, like he is still at high school. To make matters worse his friends who live near by are all in 9-5 jobs and have all moved on with their lives to the point they are either married or engaged and are considering starting families. The relationship with Hershey seems to give a feeling of maturity whilst the reemergence of Paltrow has allowed him to recall happier and simpler times in his life where he wasn't under so much pressure to grow up.

The story itself can be viewed as simplistic and not very exciting but it was matched by the slow pace. I myself actually appreciated it but maybe thats because I found relevance to my own life. Either way the audience can get some enjoyment out of the actor's performances and some sharp dialogue and set pieces. There are also some nice directorial touches though the film is not what you would call stylistic or a talky for that matter.

Shwimmer's dead-pan comedic tone and facial expressions worked as well here as they do in 'Friends'. I felt he was just right for the role and enjoyed his performance. Though I accept that he is not to everyone's taste and for that reason many people will probably not enjoy this movie. Being a Shwimmer fan here is not a necessity but it certainly helps.

On the whole this is the kind of film which works well at entertaining in a kind of personal way and in a subdued setting IE.- late at night in your living room with nothing else on or perhaps a rainy Saturday afternoon. It would have been an extremely unsatisfying cinematic event though and that is probably where most of the bad press for it comes from.

Definitely not perfect but none the less a decent film which is made all the more worth while if you approach it with low expectations like I did.

The underlying theme is about facing up to the difficulty of that crossroads in life when we realise that perhaps its time to move on from being a carefree youth to a mature adult. If that interests you then I guess this movie you will appreciate.

Not very funny and a pretty boring one.

[OllieSuave-007 · 5/10 · 21 February 2014]

This is a romantic comedy about a young man who is thrown through a roller coaster when he is asked to be a pallbearer at the funeral of a high school classmate he doesn't remember, and, in the process, runs into his high school crush.

As with many romantic comedies, in this movie, people meet, date, fall in love, make love, break-up and try to go on with their lives. There is a lack of suspense and intrigue in this movie, but some character development and heartfelt moments. The mediocre acting, though, made this a not-so-funny flick. If you're a fan of romantic comedies, it won't hurt to look for others.

Grade D+

Delicate soufflé of comedy and melancholy

[budikavlan · 9/10 · 17 November 2003]

The tone of this film is really difficult to convey on paper. It manages to successfully capture the elusive appeal that David Schwimmer has from time to time; it's easy for his sad-sack personality to grow annoying and pathetic, but this script managed to walk that line. The scenes of embarrassment and shame never seem overdone or cheap, and serve the story well. I especially like the down-to-earth, realistic beauty that Gwyneth Paltrow always brings to a role; she never seems like a movie star playing a real person. Because of Schwimmer's brief tenure as a star with buzz, this was seen as a box office failure, but it was never the kind of movie likely to rake in huge bucks. For what it is, a small, thoughtful, offbeat romantic comedy, The Pallbearer is a winner.

Nice Boy Nightmare

[Shaolin_Apu · 6/10 · 3 June 2007]

Pallbearer is a story about a guy who has not gained anything in his life and his future does not look promising either. Well, he is healthy and sane but incredibly unfortunate because he has probably been a too kind person: the life he was supposed to be living has slipped through his fingers. Turning now into latter part of his twenties he realizes that he's still a little boy and he should start doing something.

He will have a hopeless crush on a girl, and likewise a widow who has lost his son too will have a hopeless crush on him and that leads into a romance that is both tragic and comical. David Schwimmer makes a good performance as the guy who has to survive from many kinds of embarrassing situations, and Paltrow as the woman will do the standard Paltrow set. Nothing too surprising in the plot but the film is relatively good watching because of some well worked little scenes that faintly resemble Mr. Bean episodes.

Some movies are bad for the obvious reasons. Others are bad because you just don't like any of the main characters.

[mark.waltz · 3/10 · 12 August 2023]

There's no reason for sympathy for the David Schwimmer character here, lying (or just not revealing the truth) about the fact that he was friends with a high-school classmate who has just committed suicide, then sleeping with the dead dude's mother (platinum haired Barbara Hershey) while really in love with another classmates, Gwyneth Paltrow. He ends up seeing both Hershey and Paltrow at the same time, while trying to deal with intrusive mom Carol Kane.

Schwimmer's supposed to be the eternal geek that the audience is supposed to root for, but like modern musical theater geek Evan Hansen, he's not exactly likeable, living a lie and unknowingly causing lots of pain for others. Yeah, a real laugh a minute, feel good comedy, but at least Paltrow hasn't been over glamorized yet, looking quite real before deciding to alter herself beyond a normal human appearance. The situation is played like a comedy, hence its genre, but I never laughed, even at oddball Kane. Not hideous, but filled with characters I'd never want to know.

Ultimately disappointing

[sychonic · 30 July 2002]

Maybe you need low expectations to enjoy anything about this movie--I actually had very few at all except that I remember it being called a "dark comedy"at the time of its release. Well, dark comedies can be very well done and extremely funny, Doctor Strangelove and Harold and Maude come to mind. Unfortunately "The Pallbearer" doesn't deliver--there are some moments which are undeniably funny, though the eulogy mentioned in the tag line wasn't one of them. The plot is a little thin to hang a movie on, in fact it might have been better done as an episode of "Friends," about twenty minutes could have handled the whole thing.

There's an immense amount of filler here--long, excruciating shots of David Schwimmer and his goofy expression as he tries to pretend he knows the poor loser from high school, recently deceased, that he can't remember, but is asked to act as pallbearer for.

Everyone in this movie seems to be in one form of pain or another--Paltrow keeps repeating how she "has to leave," but really doesn't explain why, in fact part of the plot seems to be her inability to explain why. Those who like romantic comedies should stay away, for those who like just plain dark comedies might want to look elsewhere as well; question is whether a couple of funny moments in an otherwise dull bleak movie is worth the time.

This movie was disappointing at best

[candle-3 · 2/10 · 10 September 2000]

The interplay between the characters is a moral disaster. You end up disliking most of the characters and you don't particularly like any of them.

Even the two main characters played by David and Gwen are so badly written that you really don't care one bit about them. The movie has no plot, no direction and no purpose. The single redeeming quality of the movie was to treat it as a glimpse into the messed up lives of a few losers - and that's hardly stimulating even as an afternoon waste.

Below Par

[Sergiodave · 4/10 · 11 September 2020]

After watching this movie I have come to the realisation that the Actors from Friends cannot act, they just play themselves in every movie. As a leading man David Schwimmer is woeful, and I don't mean in the melancholy sense. Nothing decent to say about the movie except it stars Barbara Hershey, which adds 1 star.

Excruciatingly unfunny

[Rod-54 · 2/10 · 22 October 2000]

This film is advertised as a clever romantic comedy. It is neither clever nor romantic and it is definitely not an effective comedy. The fortunes of the well meaning yet pathetic character, "Tom", oscillate from one extremely embarrassing disaster to another. The only saving graces are the competent performance by Toni Collete and the frequency with which we glimpse Paltrow's pleasant face. Overall, to be avoided!

Surprisingly good

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 4 October 2020]

After watching the preview, I thought I was in for a silly comedy banking on David Schwimmer's popularity from FRIENDS. If anyone's about to pass it up because of that impression, think again. There's quite a bit of humor in the film, but it's not really a comedy. It's a portion of a young man's life as he flounders and searches for meaning. There's far more drama in the film than comedy, but, like life, lighter bits carry you through.

David is the only single one in his trio of friends, with Michael Vartan and Toni Collette married, and Michael Rapaport and Bitty Schram engaged. David still lives with his mother, Carol Kane, and feels left out of the flow of life. While parts of him are still immature, he wants to grow up and evolve. One day, he gets a mysterious phone call from Barbara Hershey, informing him that her son has committed suicide and she wishes David to be a pallbearer at the funeral. She's under the impression they were best friends, but David doesn't even remember who her son was.

There are parts of this movie that are so realistic, it's painful. David completely masters the look of humiliation, and he'll break your heart with each stumbling block. He applies for a job at the start of the movie, and when asked where he sees himself in five years, he makes a joke and says he hopes to be moved out of his mom's house. You can smell his desperation. When he moves in to kiss Gwyneth Paltrow after a double date gone wrong, they bump foreheads instead. She apologizes for sending the wrong signal, and the look on David's face is just heartbreaking. I know FRIENDS made him a very wealthy man, but I wish he'd made more movies. He has impeccable comic timing, and can also balance drama with startling realism.

Inane and motiveless

[Abby-9 · 4/10 · 24 September 2001]

Gwyneth Paltrow is absolutely great in this movie, but the story is, unfortunately, half-baked, and David Schwimmer's energy is sort of like cold mush. When he closes his mouth and gets serious for a moment or two there is a rush of what-might-have-been. Who thought 25-year-old kiddies would be entertaining?

A film the US does well

[imspartacus1 · 7/10 · 13 February 2009]

I watched this film for the 1st time last night and immediately thought, "how did I miss this one". The obscurity of the film was even mirrored by the fact that it doesn't even show in my timeout encyclopedia. Not being a huge "Friends" fan I used to be a little sceptical of Schwimmers talents but after seeing this film I must say that he's growing on me.

This is the type of film that I love to see Americans making. It reminded me of "Sideways" and "Nobody's fool". Great lines executed by a good cast. Hershey is very sexy and I wanted Tom to choose her over Paltrow, I know I would of.

I laughed a fair few times and would probably watch this again in a couple of years time on a rainy Yorkshire afternoon.

Can't think of a single good thing to say

[MeYesMe · 3/10 · 11 December 1998]

Let's see...I'm trying to practice finding the positive in everything, so what kind thing can I say about the Pallbearer?

I know! The performances were -- no, that won't work as they succeeded in draining all personality from Gwyneth Paltrow, usually so vibrant, and ended up creating caricatures out of Carol Kane and Barbara Hershey...

Oh - how 'bout the story -- nope. That isn't gonna fly either, as it was doze-inducing. What was the genre anyway? It wasn't funny, that rules out comedy. It wasn't interesting enough to be dramatic. Was that a romance between Schwimmer and Paltrow? I have to ask, as I can't be sure - let's just call it "losers in like." I'm sure those behind this film started with a vision, I mean, they must have had one to pitch to the studio suits, but I need help finding it.

Even if I were a patient person who could forgive the pure stupidity of the story, I couldn't in good conscience recommend a film that allows a guy to go into a professional job interview in a windbreaker and messy, fluffy, stupid hair. Speaking of hair -- are we supposed to be amused by the deliberate black roots and platinum locks worn by Hershey?

What am I doing? I already lost 97 irretrievable minutes in the actual watching of the movie -- I cannot devote any more time to this loser.

Very good film that has been incorrectly advertised as a light-hearted comedy

[mt0804 · 8/10 · 12 December 2005]

The DVD cover to this film describes it as "wildly entertaining." I find this characterization "wildly" inappropriate. Although it does have its comedic moments at the beginning (the funeral scenes are reminiscent of "The Big Chill" and the "Chuckles the Clown" episode of "Mary Tyler Moore, the film smoothly evolves into a poignant story of Tom Thompson's(Schwimmer)search for the meaning of his life. He is hindered in part by his inability to get past an unrequited love in high school (played by Paltrow). Schwimmers's body language is so in tune to the emptiness of his character. His journey reminds me, once again of another film - Benjamin Braddock in "The Graduate. Tom has three friends who give the appearance of having figured things out, but demonstrate their own frailties before the film is done. Barbara Hershey, in the role of the mother of the deceased, initially earns no sympathy, but by end of the film, there is more understanding, of if not empathy her character. (By the way, I mean no criticism in comparing this film or its characters to other film.)

Don't see this film if you're looking for a light-hearted comedy. It's not "Friends" or "Shallow Hall." It's a thoughtful film with an especially sweet performance by David Schwimmer.

Surprisingly good

[nightwishouge · 7/10 · 19 May 2021]

I had nothing to do yesterday and was looking for a disposable '90s comedy--it was overcast and rainy and what else do you watch on such a day, excepting perhaps a Tarkovsky movie? The Pallbearer was the first I came across. I remember the commercial for it playing on the TV Guide channel back in the day. (From what I remember the TV Guide Channel seemed to exclusively advertise comedies and romcoms. I still vividly remember the voiceover guy announcing titles like "Fools Rush In", "The Truth About Cats & Dogs", and, of course, the immortal "Three to Tango". Two decades later, chock full of '90s nostalgia, I have this nagging feeling that I need to see all of them.)

Anyway. The Pallbearer doesn't quite fit the bill for exactly what I was looking for because it's not really a comedy so much as a light drama. David Schwimmer plays an architect who still lives with his mother (the always delightful Carol Kane) because he hasn't found a job since graduating college. The funeral for a high school colleague he doesn't even remember brings his high school crush (Gwyneth Paltrow) back into town. He tries to reconnect with her while hiding his sad unemployed life, his relationship with the dead man's mother (played with wonderful vulnerability by Barbara Hershey), and his friends' marital discord. Needless to say, before the movie is over all of these things will blow up in his face.

The movie does have some levity, but asI said, it's not really a comedy. Nor is it bleak and depressing. It's mainly a character study about a man who hasn't yet gotten his life together. Things aren't so bad, though, that you begin to view him as an object of pity. The Pallbearer is a well-meaning movie, where every character is flawed but ultimately likeable, and they all mean well, even if they make bad decisions in the moment. I suppose, in that sense, I would call it a feel-good movie, though in a low-key way. There's no swelling music; no tearful hugs while onlookers applaud; nobody shouts declarations of love amidst torrential rainfall. There are just small realizations, course corrections, steps taken forward. Everybody is doing the best they can, and as long as they can be honest and come through for each other, everything is going to work out all right.

Occasionally funny but has a love story that just doesn't cut it

[Lily-29 · 1/10 · 21 June 1999]

The Pallbearer is a disappointment and at times extremely boring with a love story that just doesn't work partly with the casting of Gwyneth Paltrow (Julie). Gwyneth Paltrow walks through the entire film with a confused look on her face and its hard to tell what David Schwimmer even sees in her.

However The Pallbearer at times is funny particularly the church scene and the group scenes with his friends are a laugh but that's basically it. Watch The Pallbearer for those scenes only and fast forward the rest. Trust me you aren't missing much.