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To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

 
Movies:

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

  • Director: Michael Pressman
  • AMG Rating: starstar
  • Genre: Comedy Drama
  • Movie Type: Romantic Drama, Psychological Drama
  • Themes: Fathers and Daughters, Starting Over, Death of a Partner
  • Main Cast: Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes, Kathy Baker, Wendy Crewson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Bruce Altman, Laurie Fortier
  • Release Year: 1996
  • Country: US
  • Run Time: 92 minutes
  • MPAA Rating: PG13

Plot

In this story of obsessive and enduring love, David Lewis (Peter Gallagher) spends most of his time swimming, dancing, and frolicking on the beach with the spirit of his dead wife Gillian (Michelle Pfeiffer). After Gillian's drowning death, David made their summer cottage on Nantucket Island into a permanent home. He lives there with his teenage daughter Rachel (Claire Danes), 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 (Kathy Baker) and Esther's husband Paul (Bruce Altman) for the weekend. David's in-laws bring with them a beautiful woman named Kevin Danford (Wendy Crewson), 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 a pass at Rachel's young girlfriend, Esther and Paul re-examine their bickering marriage and find it paltry compared to David's overwhelming eternal passion. 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. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide

Cast

Freddie Prinze, Jr. - Joey

Credit

Michael Atwell - Art Director, Lynn Stalmaster - Casting, Deborah L. Scott - Costume Designer, Christine Larson - First Assistant Director, Michael Pressman - Director, William Scharf - Editor, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), Pilar McCurry - Musical Direction/Supervision, Happy Walters - Musical Direction/Supervision, James Horner - Songwriter, Linda Pearl - Production Designer, Tim Suhrstedt - Cinematographer, David E. Kelley - Producer, Marykay Powell - Producer, Timothy J. Eckel - Set Designer, Linda Pearl - Set Designer, Andrew Menzies - Set Designer, David Kirschner - Sound/Sound Designer, David E. Kelley - Screenwriter

Similar Movies

Always; Chances Are; Ghost; Heart and Souls; Prelude to a Kiss; Truly, Madly, Deeply; Under the Lighthouse Dancing; Life as a House; Till Human Voices Wake Us; Bereft; Catch and Release; P.S. I Love You
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Album Review: To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
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  • Artist: James Horner
  • Rating: StarHalf Star
  • Release Date: October 01, 1996
  • Total Time: 37:09
  • Type: Soundtrack
  • Genre: Soundtrack

Review

The emotional soundtrack to the comedy/drama To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday comes from composer James Horner. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track TitleComposersPerformersTime
A Far Away Time/Main Title James Horner (3:52)
The Boating Accident James Horner (2:15)
Gillian James Horner (3:58)
The Lighthouse James Horner (2:18)
Fond Hopes...Distant Memories James Horner (2:07)
Rachel's Dream/Gillian's Visit James Horner (6:48)
Decision to Leave Home James Horner (3:11)
Saying Goodbye/End Title James Horner (12:40)

Credits

James Horner (Conductor), James Horner (Producer), James Horner (Orchestration), Dave Marquette (Score), Shawn Murphy (Engineer), Shawn Murphy (Mixing), Andy Bass (Score), Patricia Sullivan (Mastering), Tracy Veal (Design), Bob Bornstein (Music Preparation), Jim Henrikson (Editing), Marc Gebauer (Score), Pilar McCurry (Executive Producer), Jay Selvester (Score), Happy Walters (Executive Producer), Mimi Haddon (Design), Kristen Smith (Score)
Wikipedia: To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday
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To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Michael Pressman
Produced by David E. Kelley
Marykay Powell
Written by David E. Kelley (screenplay)
Michael Brady (play)
Starring Michelle Pfeiffer
Peter Gallagher
Claire Danes
Kathy Baker
Wendy Crewson
Music by James Horner
Cinematography Tim Suhrstedt
Distributed by Sony Pictures Entertainment
Release date(s) October 18, 1996
Running time 93 min.
Country Flag of the United States.svg United States
Language English

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday is a 1996 film starring Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes, Kathy Baker, Wendy Crewson and, in cameo appearances, Michelle Pfeiffer. It was directed by Michael Pressman. The screenplay by David E. Kelley was based on the play of the same name by Michael Brady. The original music score was composed by James Horner.

Contents

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

Actor Role
Peter Gallagher David Lewis
Michelle Pfeiffer Gillian Lewis
Claire Danes Rachel Lewis
Laurie Fortier Cindy Bayles
Wendy Crewson Kevin Dollof
Kathy Baker Esther Wheeler
Bruce Altman Paul Wheeler
Freddie Prinze, Jr. Joey Bost
Seth Green Danny Green

Awards

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

Trivia

External links



 
 

 

Copyrights:

Movies. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Album Review. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday" Read more