Shilo May 4, 2016I 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.

samwzhang Heartfelt as much as it is real, this movie reminds me of "the graduate". David Schwimmer does an admirable job, although I cannot say the same about Gwyneth Paltrow. (since I've watched this movie almost five years ago and I don't even remember her role ). Memorable performance with some of the cast, especially Carol Kane's role as "Tom's mother", brings forth such grace and texture to a role whose character requires no less complexity (which makes Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate" look almost two-dimensional). It remains a mystery to me why this movie was rated so lowly on IMDb, and in general. Still gold has to shine and I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone who does not hate the "Ross (as in Friends)personality, and is tired of comedies that try too hard.

wayofthecass '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.

pips55 Upon first viewing of this film at release I wasn't much impressed, but upon a recent second viewing (and because I liked it so much a third viewing as well) I have decided that this film is not only well written and well acted (despite what characters the actors may have played before, it works) it deserves to be in my personal top ten. Gwyneth Paltrow plays a 24 year old in search for identity, and it may just be my generation's quintessential "I've had a job for a few years and hate it" "I've just graduated and can't find a job" "Everyone I know is still living with their parents" "Dealing with best friends getting married" movie. Sure, it's heartwarming, but that doesn't take away from wonderfully crafted scenes with perfect poignancy and a good soundtrack to boot. There are also good performances by Toni Collette, Michael Vartan and Michael Rapaport. I highly reccommend seeing this film.