1998 Bonneville seems like its not getting gas.?

Hi, my brothers 1998 Bonneville doesn't seem to be getting gas. He got the car about a month ago, and he told me that sometimes it wouldn't start right away. Last night his girlfriend got stranded when the car wouldn't start at all. They went back 2 hours later and it started right up. Tonight, I was driving it to see what was going on. We parked and I shut it off for about 15 minutes. When I went to start it back up, it cranked over, and started to putt. I tried giving it gas, but it seemed to do nothing at all. In fact, sometimes when i hit the gas pedal, it seems to almost stall the car out. The car ended up stalling, and I couldn't get it to start again. I can hear the fuel pump turn on, but its very, very quiet. I almost can't hear it at all. And i turned the key forward without turning it on, to allow the fuel pump to send some fuel. I did that 3 or 4 times, and still couldn't get the car to start. It cranks every time, and wants to start, but it seems like it just isn't getting gas. And when my brother tried starting it 4 hours later, he said it started right up. However, he said that a lot of smoke came out the exhaust for a couple seconds, and then it cleared up. Any ideas? I have a couple, I just wanted to hear some other opinions on it since its not my car, or my money that will be repairing it. Thank you in advance!