The Pallbearer

The Pallbearer is a comedy set in Brooklyn, where Tom Thompson, a recent architecture graduate, is drifting after college. He cannot find work, still lives with his mother, and has carried a crush on Julie DeMarco since their school years. His routine is interrupted by a phone call from Ruth Abernathy, who tells him that a former classmate named Bill has died and asks him to take part in the funeral. Tom barely remembers the man, yet he agrees, partly out of confusion and partly because the service might bring him back together with Julie. What follows is a series of misunderstandings, as Tom's friends doubt that Bill ever existed and Ruth's interest in him becomes increasingly forward.

The film was released in 1996 and runs 97 minutes. Matt Reeves directed it, his first feature, from a screenplay he wrote with Jason Katims; J.J. Abrams and Paul Webster produced. David Schwimmer plays Tom, with Gwyneth Paltrow as Julie, Michael Rapaport, Toni Collette, Carol Kane and Michael Vartan among the credited cast of thirty.

Made for a reported 8 million USD, it returned about 6 million USD worldwide, a modest result against its cost. Ratings on IMDb and TMDB both sit at 5 out of 10, and a critics' rating of 5.2/10 from 21 reviews places reviewers close to the audience scores. Reeves went on to direct Cloverfield, Let Me In, two Planet of the Apes films and The Batman.