Fireflies in the Garden

R

Released Oct 14, 2011

1 hr. 38 min.

Drama

List

21%

52 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Successful novelist Michael (Ryan Reynolds) visits his family in the Midwest, only to learn that his mother, Lisa (Julia Roberts), has died in a tragic accident. Along with his father, Charles (Willem Dafoe), a college professor, and his sister, Ryne (Shannon Lucio), Michael attempts to come to terms with his grief. Lisa's absence revives many old wounds, however, and the emerging tensions threaten to destroy the family just as they make an effort to come together and mourn.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Mar 14

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent Fireflies in the Garden on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Critics Consensus

Despite boasting a stellar cast, Fireflies in the Garden is just tedious, dull and predictable melodrama. Instantly forgettable.

Read Critics Reviews

Carole G

I don't undrstand the ending? So much trauma all forgiven because of one home video? Willem DeFoe gives a brilliant performance as a right pr**k but this is all undercut because of IDKW? Maybe there's a version withan alternate ending that makes sense... like DeFoe's character is exposed in a novel and goes to jail for child abuse.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

09/15/22

Full Review

dave j

Co-written and directed by Dennis Lee adapting from a poem by Robert Frost with Ryan Reynolds as Michael a novelist returning back to his roots back in small town to visit family. During his stay and him coming back he flashes back and forth between his clashes with his strict dad (William Dafoe) and his mistreatment to both his mother(Julia Roberts and to him as a young child.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

What a mess of a movie. WHY was the father such an abusive a-hole, just one of many questions that go unanswered as you try to follow the bizarro jumping back and forth and who is who. Showing once again that just because a movie has an amazing cast it can still be a bomb.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Une belle mais triste histoire qui te rappelle que l'on a tous une famille dysfonctionnelle...

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

Full Review

steve d

Despite its incredible cast the script does nothing with them, giving us an extremely slow moving film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I gave 5 stars because I think this film conveys a very genuine honest message, which is family is evolving, people are healing and forgiving. I don't understand why everyone is criticizing this film so much. I am not so much about the structure, the craftsmanship of the filmmaker, I am more about the content, story and the message its telling. The whole film is such a tender loving motion picture about this abusive dad growing old and powerless, and this severely emotionally/physically abused boy growing up hurt, trying to set standards for his own and trying to heal. I have a dad just like this dad in the movie, deep down I think he loves me, but somehow he is so strict and verbally abusive, I just felt shitty growing up rather than nurtured and loved. I felt the pain of the boy. I felt the difficulty of his adulthood trying to get over the pain and maintain a healthy relationship with everyone. The message is honest. The story seems real. The actings are all incredible. You could tell it is drawn from true events. It is a like a therapy to me, especially you see how in time, people behave progressively better and more tender towards the next generations. I see this family is trying really hard to rear the next generation in a loving, healthy way which gives you hope. The whole movie just echoed with my turmoil, disturbing, dysfunctional childhood home. It is something a person growing up from no abuse can never understand. I say it is a must-watch if you ever had hurt experience from parents who actually love you, yet you never understood them

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Dennis Lee

Director

Julia Roberts

Lisa

Ryan Reynolds

Michael

Willem Dafoe

Charles

Emily Watson

Jane Lawrence

Carrie-Anne Moss

Kelly

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

65%

50%

The Merry Gentleman

65%

73%

Things We Lost in the Fire

64%

81%

Reign Over Me

78%

41%

Genova

44%

58%

The Stone Angel

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Critics Consensus: Footloose is Toe-Tapping Fun

Five Favorite Films with Hayden Panettiere

View more photos

Deborah Ross

The Spectator

One of those dysfunctional family melodramas in which a dysfunctional family gets all melodramatic, and here is what I would say to this family if I could: "Get over it or, failing that, go away and bother someone else."

Aug 29, 2018

Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: C

Feb 18, 2012

Full Review

J. R. Jones

Chicago Reader

This histrionic family drama must have looked good on paper to attract such a big-name cast, but on the screen it comes off as glib, rushed, and underdeveloped.

Oct 20, 2011

Full Review

Nikki Baughan

Roll Credits

The strength of Fireflies in the Garden undoubtedly lies in its casting, although [Dennis] Lee directs his starry cast with confidence and flair and this should lead on to bigger and better things for the young film-maker.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 30, 2019

Full Review

S. Jhoanna Robledo

Common Sense Media

Uneven drama about unhappy family, including tragedy.

Rated: 2/5

Feb 29, 2012

Full Review

David Noh

Film Journal International

Julia Roberts plays ultra-sensitive artiste Ryan Reynolds' noble mother-and that should basically tell you all you need to know about this misguided soapy bunch of bollocks which somehow made its way off the shelf into theatres.

Oct 14, 2011

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Successful novelist Michael (Ryan Reynolds) visits his family in the Midwest, only to learn that his mother, Lisa (Julia Roberts), has died in a tragic accident. Along with his father, Charles (Willem Dafoe), a college professor, and his sister, Ryne (Shannon Lucio), Michael attempts to come to terms with his grief. Lisa's absence revives many old wounds, however, and the emerging tensions threaten to destroy the family just as they make an effort to come together and mourn.

Director: Dennis Lee
Executive Producer: Jere Hausfater, Milton Liu
Screenwriter: Dennis Lee
Distributor: FSI
Production Co: Senator Entertainment
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content|Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2011, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 7, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.6K

Most Popular at Home Now