tdrish 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.

Geoffrey DeLeons I was hoping to give a 7 or an 8 to this movie, because of the sensitivity and caring that it embodied and illustrated. The acting was good from the entire cast. Everything was going along fine until David's daughter, Rachael, changed her mind and decided to go live with her aunt and uncle. That was an extremely cruel, unexplained and unwarranted twist in the plot that came with no warning.If the producer of this movie wanted to play that black card at the end of the movie, they needed to supply some context...Some reasons why. We see no real reason for the young woman to make this decision: Leaving her dad all alone at a time when he he needs her the most. Indeed, she should have known that her leaving could bring on another suicide attempt by her father.Her going to go live with that "bee with an itch on the end" was unacceptable to me, and ruined a perfectly good movie and one that could have been great. The young lady should have fought for her dad tooth-and-nail. She should have believed him that he does indeed commune with the spirit of her mother.The scene that re-inforces the absurdity of the final decision by Rachael is when Wendy Crewson's and Kathy Baker's characters are on the beach one night and The former defends David's behavior and opposes the latter's intrusiveness: Kevin: Imagine him losing his daughter for taking long walks on the beach.Esther: It's not just that.Kevin: Then what is it? Is there something else you're not telling me?Esther: NoKevin: Then I don't see his crime.I have a philosophical objection to the movie, as well: Nowhere in To Gillian is it even suggested or hinted that there is a possibility that David might be perfectly sane and that spirits of loved ones are sometimes able to communicate with us. When his daughter selfishly drop-kicked him like that with no warning or reason (while she was hung-over), I just wonder what could have been.The movie could have had a great ending with the daughter urging her dad to allow her to go along with him on his beach walks so that the mother's spirit could come through to her, too. The daughter should have fought with the aunt.., physically, and thrown her out of their home. Instead, we get a very black and disturbing ending to a movie that had so much potential.

Python Hyena 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

SnoopyStyle 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.