Gigi & Nate (2022)

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

• Movies with animals and humans forming a beneficial connection to one another always have a built-in audience. Gigi & Nate plays to that audience.

• An easy watch, a film that could easily run on a loop for weekends, for years, on cable television.

• Capuchins are kind of awesome. Also, the (not-so) subtle political leap the film takes will please a particular portion of the audience.

NO

• Predictable, obvious, and shamelessly grabs at viewers emotions,

• Loses its way with a final act that is needlessly political and sabotages any kind nature it exhibits ahead of time.

• Do not look for any depth in understanding the disabled person’s daily existence or exploration into the true psychological impacts a situation like this can bring.

OUR REVIEW

Though well-intentioned, the inspirational family drama, Gigi & Nate, is a lumbering, heavy-handed tale of a capuchin monkey saving the life of a 20-something quadriplegic. Inspired very loosely on an alleged true story, the film doesn’t organically try and pull the heartstrings - it straight up tries to rip them out of your chest with largely ineffective and middling returns.

That is not to say that Gigi, as a character and performer, is not a winner - she absolutely is. When using the real-life monkey, Gigi just takes over the film. She’s wonderfully expressive and full of curiosity and warmth. The less said about CGI-Gigi the better.

Unfortunately, Charlie Rowe, her co-star who portrays Nate, is less so - struggling with the constraints which come in playing a quadriplegic person learning how to find a quality of life worth living. Rowe never seems completely comfortable in the role, once he becomes chairbound.

Initially, Nate is a vibrant, active 18-year-old on the cusp of college. At a family Fourth of July celebration, he takes a huge leap into a swimming hole and splashes for a bit. He then heads into town and makes a connection with fireworks stand attendant Lori (Zoe Margaret Colletti). Later that afternoon, he falls violently ill. His mother Claire (Marcia Gay Harden) rushes him to the ER, he ends up the hospital, and is diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.   

Director Nick Hamm balances the melodrama okay in these initial scenes, the film appropriately tense and heartbreaking. Once Nate returns home and we surge ahead four years, a last gasp of sorts to manage his depression and waning desire to live comes in the form of acquiring a service animal.

When Nate settles on the capuchin, the film shifts into a bounding, almost lilting family film. Paul Leonard-Morgan’s musical score changes from dramatic to youthful, with the “Awww…” factor going way up as Nate and Gigi fumble around and try to build companionship. Sweet as that may seem, perhaps the biggest problem with Gigi & Nate is that once we set up the story, we know pretty much where this is all going to go.

Movies need conflict, and just as Gigi becomes comfortable and settled with Nate and his family, Nate goes viral for all the wrong reasons. Invited to a college party, Nate, with Gigi on his shoulder, gets wasted and that results in the fictional Americans for Animal Protection getting involved. And if you assume that the organization is led by a mean, scowling, inconsiderate woman (Welker White), then head to the prize booth and pick up your winnings because, yes, Gigi & Nate becomes that movie where animal activists have the temerity to destroy a special bond between human and monkey.

You see, it is not enough for Gigi & Nate to simply tell its story. Hamm and screenwriter David Hudgins decide to slather on political overtones pretty thick. We end up in court. We have picketers. It is made very clear that anyone advocating for animal protections/animal rights are thinking only of themselves and never what’s in the best interest of the people involved. 

And honestly, that’s a weird flex for a film that spends a considerable amount of time trying to underscore the importance of advocacy in general. So, apparently advocating as a parent is acceptable - advocating for the potential abuse of those who cannot speak is not.

Cool. Just, um, who gets to decide these rules though?

By the time the movie postures into super seriousness, the preceding moments of heartfelt melodrama and saccharine-sweet comedy turn foul. Even with an unrelentingly soft and kind look and appearance, Gigi & Nate never quite decides if it wants viewers to be inspired, angry, or both.

CAST & CREW

Starring: Charlie Rowe, Marcia Gay Harden, Josephine Langford, Hannah Alligood, Jim Belushi, Diane Ladd, Zoe Colletti, Welker White.

Director: Nick Hamm
Written by: David Hudgins
Release Date: September 2, 2022
Roadside Attractions