The Pallbearer

THE PALLBEARER
USA 1996

Love stories either get interesting or they get weird. And sometimes they get downright odd and with an unusual sense of humor. In the middle of it all there are moments that come through.

This film is one of those, that one wants to like, but all in all, it comes off flat. Trying to be serious with actors that don't know how to be serious can undo a film, and this somewhat black comedy at the start could use a British makeover to get it going.

A man has died, and the widow calls for one of his school buddies to come to the funeral. The wrong man comes to the funeral and, the widow, a bit later takes a liking to him. She imagines him to be the friend that she has never met. Ladedaaah. Next moment another woman appears, and she seems to have a connection to this man, although we are never told anything, or ever really hinted. The wrong man ends up falling for her.

Eventually the right man is found, and introduced and the two parties that have fallen for each other finally get together, but unfortunately, the girl has made up her mind to move on to another place... end of story.

Satisfying? No. One might like the story to live on. But the film appears to have many holes that anyone can walk right through. It strikes me as a film trying to be meaningful but the story is not decided on, but the cast is here anyway.

With some rather amusing moments, but not enough of them to make this film worth while and valuable.

3 GIBLOONS

DIRECTOR: MATT REEVES
CINEMATOGRAPHY: ROBERT ELSWIT
MUSIC: STEWART COPELAND
CAST: David Schwimmer, Gwyneth Paltrow, Michael Rapaport, Tom Collette, Carol Kane, Michael Vartan, Billy Schram, Barbara Hershey

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