To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

Infobox Film
name = To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

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image_size =
caption = Theatrical release poster
director = Michael Pressman
producer = David E. Kelley
Marykay Powell
writer = David E. Kelley (screenplay)
Michael Brady (play)
starring = Michelle Pfeiffer
Peter Gallagher
Claire Danes
Kathy Baker
Wendy Crewson
music = James Horner
cinematography = Tim Suhrstedt
editing =
distributor = Sony Pictures Entertainment
released = October 18, 1996
runtime = 93 min.
country = USA
language = English
amg_id = 1:136416
imdb_id = 0117924

"To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday" is a 1996 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes, Kathy Baker, and Wendy Crewson. It was directed by Michael Pressman. The screenplay by David E. Kelley was based on the play by Michael Brady. The original music score was composed by James Horner. The film's tagline is: "Some love lasts a lifetime. Real love lasts forever."

Plot summary

David Lewis spends most of his time swimming, dancing, and frolicking on the beach with the spirit of his dead wife Gillian. After Gillian's death due to falling from the mast pole of their boat, David made their summer cottage on Nantucket Island into a permanent home. He lives there with his teenage daughter Rachel, who is being neglected because her father spends so much time with her dead mother's ghost. On the second anniversary of Gillian's death, over Labor Day weekend, he invites Gillian's sister Esther Wheeler and Esther's husband, Paul, for the weekend.

David's in-laws bring with them a beautiful woman named Kevin Dollof, hoping that David's attentions will turn to her. But David ignores her and proceeds with his ritualistic celebration of Gillian's birthday, including a formal dinner, karaoke and building sand castles. After Paul makes passes at Rachel's young, sexy girlfriend (who encourages it), Esther and Paul re-examine their bickering marriage and find their relationship paltry compared to David's overwhelming passion for Gillian. Nothing can interfere with David's love for Gillian, but he comes to realize that he must be more attentive to his daughter as well. As he and Gillian's first rule was always "Rachel comes first."

Main cast

Awards

*Young Artist Awards: Best Performance in a Feature Film - Supporting Young Actress - Claire Danes

Trivia

* This was Freddie Prinze Jr.'s first big screen movie.
* David E. Kelley wrote the script for this movie, he is Michelle Pfeiffer's husband.
* Was both a critical and box office bomb, receiving a 15% on Rottentomatoes.com. as of April 2007.
* Was shot on location in Nantucket, Massachusetts, Kure Beach, North Carolina, and Long Beach, California.

External links

*imdb title|id=0117924|title=To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
*amg title|id=1:136416|title=To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
*rotten-tomatoes|id=to_gillian_on_her_37th_birthday|title=To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday