To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
David loves his wife, Gillian. Unfortunately, she died two years ago. David deals with his grief by continuing his romance with Gillian during walks with her "ghost" on the beach at night. While David lives in the past, other family problems crop up in the present in the real world....
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- Cast:
- Peter Gallagher , Michelle Pfeiffer , Claire Danes , Freddie Prinze Jr. , Seth Green , Laurie Fortier , Wendy Crewson
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Reviews
Best movie of this year hands down!
It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.
This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
Have you ever had someone very close in your life, perhaps loved, and then that person was suddenly removed from your life forever through an accident? Were you so attached, that you couldn't move on, that you still felt that person close to you? What if you still saw that person, would it be a ghost, or a figment of your imagination. This sets the strong foundation for To Gillian, a movie that means well, but that's about it. Strong performances from the leads, however, the emotional level that this is taken to is about the only strong point of the movie. Everything else, including the story line, is incredibly weak, and unfortunately it brings down the rating for me. It's a shame, because I really liked the movie, however, there are just too many weak points in the film to bring a rating any higher then a 5 for me.
David Lewis (Peter Gallagher) lost his wife Gillian (Michelle Pfeiffer) two years ago in a boating accident. He is now angry and won't get over her. It's the traditional weekend Gillian's birthday bash, and they're still carry out the tradition. Her sister Esther Wheeler (Kathy Baker) and her husband Paul (Bruce Altman) wrangle Kevin Dollof (Wendy Crewson) to join them. Meanwhile her daughter Rachel (Claire Danes) brings her sexy friend Cindy (Laurie Fortier) to the beach house, and catches the attention of mystery boy Joey Bost (Freddie Prinze Jr.)Adapted from a play by David E. Kelley, this has the feel of a talkative play at times. The great thing in this movie is the great actors involved. They bring the characters to life. The only exception may be Wendy Crewson who seems to be overwhelmed and underwhelming. The weakest part of the movie is actually the conversations with Gillian. They're bland and drags the movie down. It's better to not see the conversations and just imagine them. It would be so much better to see him walking around talking to himself. It would elevate the mental illness angle, and make the danger of losing Rachel even greater.
OK, I know that this movie is based on a play, but still, does the main idea expressed by Peter Gallagher need to directly reflect a line said by John Cage on Ally McBeal 3 years later? Gallagher's character says that while he experiences this "fantasy", he is happy, happier than he is in the real world. John Cage tells Ally that you can't find happiness in the real world, and that is why she is only happy in her imaginary world. Hmmmmmmmm.... This seems a little redundant to me, but as long as we don't see the ghost of Happy Boyle on Ally McBeal, I can forgive DEK.As for the overall movie, I give this movie an 8 out of 10 stars.
There's a pivotal scene in this movie in which a sexy teenager tries to seduce an older, family friend. She says he's the type who always looks but never acts on his impulses. She's right, because he refuses her advances. Too bad. This movie needed some excitement. The characters are so whiny, so self-absorbed that you just want to slap them and say, "get over it." The main character is a widowed man, played by Peter Gallagher. His wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) died in a boating accident, but she appears to him on the beach. Can you say, "Ghost"? Unfortunately, there's no Whoopi Golberg to provide comic relief. There's no whoopi at all. There is Claire Danes. I love Claire. She's going to win a few Oscars over her career, but not if she keeps picking weepy stories like this one. Claire also walks along the beach in a thong bikini, and I'd like to thank her, and the producers for those moments. I think that's why the slo-mo button was invented for VCRs. That's it for the spice. Then everyone starts whining again, and you start checking your watch to see how much longer you have to endure these annoying people.