That's good advice. Don't fry them whole for someone the first time. Fillet them and make it easy on them.
It depends on your wife's personality, but if she is willing to try deer and duck, and give it a fair shake, her friends opinions may actually help you out. If she goes into it with low expectations, and you fix the crappie up right, she will be pleasantly surprised. At least that's the way my wife is. It's all about expectations with her. On the other hand if your wife has the kind of personality where her opinion is tainted by her friends and she won't give it a fair try, then you've lost the battle already.
I also agree that if she ate bream and liked it, she ought to like crappie even better.