Fireflies in the Garden

The story moves back and forth between the adolescence and present of successful author Michael Taylor and his extended family: domineering father, English professor Charles "Charlie"; his mother Lisa; his sister Ryne; as well as Lisa's much younger sister Jane (barely older than Michael – they act more like cousins, instead of aunt and nephew, since their childhood); her husband James "Jimmy"; their son Christopher and daughter Leslie. Included in the family mix is Michael's alcoholic ex-wife Kelly (Michael has told only Jane about the breakup).

Charles and Michael have always had quite a strained father-son relationship, with both pushing the other further away. In a flashback to a boyhood road trip, the younger Michael claims to have lost his glasses, knowing full well he has them in his pocket; Charles makes Michael walk home in the rain as a punishment. This tit-for-tat and rule-breaking continues with Charles imposing on all around him, including Jane, who is staying with them as Lisa is expecting a baby boy that later turned out to be a girl (Ryne). She, too, hates Charles' domineering nature and sides with Michael against him. When Michael embarrasses Charles in front of his colleagues by falsely claiming to have written a poem, Fireflies in the Garden, by Robert Frost, he is punished by having to hold his weighted arms horizontal. Later, unable to lift his aching arms, he lets Jane feed him. The conflicts escalate, with Michael eventually intervening in a quarrel between his parents, attacking Charles and forcing him to the ground.

Events in the present are driven by a catastrophe. While college senior Ryne picks up Michael at the airport, Charles and Lisa are driving hurriedly to Jane's house for a party in honor of Lisa's college graduation. Charles swerves to avoid colliding with Christopher (retrieving a ball in the road), and their car hits a telephone pole, killing Lisa and severely hurting Charles. The adult Ryne and Michael arrive moments later.

Michael attempts to cheer up Jane's children, telling them "Before your mother was a mom, she was my best friend." He takes them "fishing", exploding the caught fish with firecrackers, as he had done with Jane growing up. Concerned with what Charles and Jane will think, he encourages the children to lie to their mother about the firecrackers. Jane lovingly chastises Michael for making her kids lie, while Charles angrily chastises him for nearly everything he does. Michael having noisy sex with Kelly, who was notified by Jane about the funeral, does not help matters.

Christopher's guilt and anxiety over the accident cause him to run off one day. Michael sees him running through a field and assures him that he is not to blame for "Aunt" Lisa's death. Christopher insists on walking home alone after their talk. Christopher remains missing for several hours, Jane again blaming Michael, though he eventually deduces that Christopher is at the grave site. More revelations and recriminations ensue, as Michael discovers that his mother was having an affair with her younger professor Addison, and had planned to leave Charles following her graduation. Jane learns from Kelly that she is pregnant (explaining her recent sobriety) and that Michael doesn't know.

Michael has chosen the title of the Frost poem as the draft title of his upcoming book about his childhood. The book includes revelations of implied sexual misconduct between Charles and one of his students during Lisa's pregnancy. Charles' grief over the loss of Lisa, Michael's joy over his pending fatherhood, the happiness captured in a rare home movie with pregnant Lisa enjoying time with Charles, Michael and Jane help Charles and Michael begin to reconcile. No longer wanting to extend the harmful tit-for-tat with his father, Michael destroys the manuscript for his autobiography. Michael and Kelly then reconcile and they announce their news as soon-to-be parents to the family before they leave. While discussing baby names with Ryne and Kelly, Michael mentions that he likes the name "Max" for a boy; the name Lisa had intended if Ryne had been a boy.

• Ryan Reynolds as Michael Taylor
  • Cayden Boyd as Young Michael Taylor
• Willem Dafoe as Professor Charles 'Charlie" Taylor
• Emily Watson as Jane Lawrence
  • Hayden Panettiere as Young Jane Lawrence
• Carrie-Anne Moss as Kelly Hanson
• Julia Roberts as Lisa Lawrence-Taylor
• Ioan Gruffudd as Addison Wesley
• Shannon Lucio as Ryne Taylor
• George Newbern as James "Jimmy" Lawence
• Chase Ellison as Christopher Lawrence
• Brooklynn Proulx as Leslie Lawrence

The film was shot in Austin (including the University of Texas), Bastrop, and Smithville, Texas. Lake Bastrop was site of fishing scene. The historic T. A. Hasler House in Bastrop was used significantly in the film.

Javier Navarrete composed the score heard in the European release version, but when it was released in the US in 2011 in a reedited form it received a new score by Jane Antonia Cornish. Both scores received soundtrack albums, Navarrete's by Decca and Cornish's by BSX.

The film has received mostly negative reviews from critics. As of June 2020, it holds a 22% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 4.14/10. The consensus states: "Despite boasting a stellar cast, Fireflies in the Garden is just tedious, dull and predictable melodrama. Instantly forgettable."[2]

• Fireflies in the Garden at IMDb
• Fireflies in the Garden at Box Office Mojo