According to the book, “Gigi and Nate” has a fail-safe formula designed to keep you in tears and warm your heart, as long as the feel-good drama continues. The film tells the true story of an 18-year-old who became quadriplegic after contracting meningitis while swimming in a lake. Nashville-based Nate (Charlie Rowe) can’t eat, sleep, or do his daily tasks without help, and he’s stricken with pain. Nashville-based Nate (Charlie Rowe) struggles with depression until Gigi, a capuchin monkey, changes his life.
But Nick Hamm’s bloated film, packed with subplots, characters, and gimmicks, cuts short the tender bond between the titular pair. After an overlong prologue depicting Nate frolicking in the water on his 4th of July with his brothers and friends, the movie begins with a quadriplegic until he wins Gigi. Roughly jump through the years of his life.
Despite the film’s aggressively understated score, Gigi’s influence on Nate is touching. Flip, help with physical therapy, and infuse him with a new zest for life. There are also some hijinks involving college parties.
These antics have angered local animal rights activists. They show up at Nate’s house wearing ape masks and splatter fake blood on the walls. When the battle between these cartoon villains and Nate is brought to court, the writing becomes painfully banal, real controversy surrounding the domestication of intelligent primates. Rather than offer insight into the difficult choices faced by disabled people, “Gigi and Nate” chooses to fulfill whimsical wishes by stripping the film to its powerful emotional core.
Gigi & Nate
Scenes featuring seizures are rated PG-13. Running time: 1 hour 54 minutes. at the theater.