It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Boring

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday (1996): Dir: Michael Pressman / Cast: Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes, Kathy Baker, Bruce Altman: Confusing film starring Peter Gallagher whose wife, played by Michelle Pfeiffer dies in a sailing accident. After a year he begins to see her image leaving those around him to voice concerns on his parental rights. Pfeiffer appears numerous times including a confusing dream sequence. Miserable screenplay with an uninspiring ending. Directing by Michael Pressman is dreadful with Pfeiffer completely wasted in a role of no given goal. What is she attempting to prove here? Perhaps messing with her widowed husband is some sort of kick. Why not do something positive, like leave the film and find somebody elses birthday to screw up? Gallagher is the one sensible casting seeing that he plays a guy struggling with the death of his wife. The downfall is that he is screwed over by his greedy pig-headed so- called friends. Claire Danes has nightmares and does other weird sh*t that involves appearing in this film. Kathy Baker plays one of those friends that you do not invite back again. She desires to take child custody away from Gallagher because he is grieving. What kind of selfish tyrant does that? Theme regards dealing with death. Someone should send Gillian a decent screenplay for her 38th birthday. Score: 2 ½ / 10

This is actually a good case study for people to see everything that could be done wrong being done in one place :-) Not kidding at all. If you can realize how and why is this movie ridiculous and at least a few things that should have been changed pop up at you you'll learn something from Kelley's failure - and Brady's, since the play is not exactly stellar on it's own.Like the lack of a real antagonist (Esther could have been that but that requires some writing spine and ideas), the lack of a real dramatic reversal, watering down left and right (starting with long "karaoke" sequences), making all characters lukewarm and mediocre to the point that there are no clear leads, a "ghost" talking about her own non- reality akin to a spineless, self-doubting pseudo-intellectual and loosing even a trace of a mythical etc. etc.The audience for live theater plays may tolerate some of these things for all kinds of reasons and theatrical directors sometimes do have more spine and artistic bravery to tear a mediocre play apart and bring out some sharpened characters and stronger tension and emotion. In general, theatrical talking heads require some brave intervention in order not to be plain boring.So this is a rare confluence of a mediocre play, completely spineless adaptation and equally spineless direction. The sole mystery is whether Michelle Pfeiffer did this to make her husband happy of whether he was writing lukewarm to make her happy :-) One of them has to be the principal culprit.

DVD from my public library. Claire Danes really was a 16-year-old that she plays, and all the adults were really about 37 to 40 that they play.Peter Gallagher is David Lewis, BU literature professor who claims he is hanging out at the Nantucket summer home to write a novel. But there isn't any novel. Exactly two years earlier, on her 35th birthday, his wife died in a tragic accident while sailing. He has not gotten over it by any means, and still meets her on the beach at night, they talk, they embrace, it all looks very real. But she is dead.His wife is Michelle Pfeiffer as Gillian Lewis. His daughter is Claire Danes as Rachel Lewis. Per tradition, family comes over to celebrate Gillian's birthday, and the annual sand castle competition. Kathy Baker is Esther Wheeler, Gillian's sister, David's sister-in-law, Rachel's aunt. They want David to let go, they bring along a surprise, a single 40-ish lady, Wendy Crewson as Kevin Dollof. (He was told 'Kevin' was coming, he thought it was a man.) This surprise adds a layer of drama that may not have been necessary. The core issue in the story is whether David is fit as a parent, with his reclusive lifestyle and inability to move past his wife's death, Esther thinks Rachel would be better off living with them, and she is prepared to take the issue before a judge if it comes to that. Freddie Prinze Jr., still a teen, has a small role as Joey Bost, who takes Rachel out on a date.I enjoyed the movie. The actors were well-chosen and most of the situations believable. SPOILERS: Near the end David comes to the realization that Esther is right, and Rachel confirms that, she would be better off living with the aunt. But as they are boarding the ferry to go back to the mainland, David comes to his own realization, he decides to board up the house, move back and get his old job back at BU.

What a dutiful wife won't do for a husband. David E Kelley succeeds in making wifey Michelle rather bland in this McBeal-esque drama. It was okay. I could watch it. Claire Danes is as usual totally charming. Self-effacing, well-mannered hottie that she is. Freddie Prinze has bad hair and worse piercings. Kathy Baker is appropriately grating. Peter Gallagher is vague and irritating. Overall, it passed some time pretty harmlessly.