Movie Review # 551: Gigi & Nate (2022)

Ladies and gentlemen, there’s been a slight change of plans. I know that I said that I was going to review another film right before reviewing this one. However, circumstances occurred that had me reschedule watching that film from last night to maybe sometime this week, or in the next week, or two, sometime like that. That being said, we will go ahead and review Gigi & Nate now in that movie’s place. So, let’s discuss Gigi & Nate!

Plot: During the 4th of July weekend, an impulsive teenager named Nate Gibson (Charlie Rowe) gets bacterial meningitis after diving into a lake. The family must now move from the fictional Happy Days, North Carolina to Nashville, Tennessee, where he can be helped due to him now becoming quadriplegic. Although initially becoming suicidal, he, and his family discover an organization that has service animals for those with disabilities. After adopting a Capuchin that could be helpful for Nate, will these two become best of friends, and will Nate have the desire to live again?

So, after seeing this film, I found myself wondering, why was Gigi & Nate given a PG-13 rating instead of say at least a PG one? Was it because there were a couple scenes that involved drinking? Was it due to there being one, or two inappropriate scenes? Or was it because of the subject matter being a little heavy handed for young children? Well, you got me. All I know is that not only could teens, and adults, enjoy this film, but young kids could potentially also enjoy it, at least minus a couple of the drinking scenes, and a couple other ones. Yes, the subject matter could feel rather adult, and heavy handed. Still, what kids wouldn’t enjoy seeing especially a Capuchin monkey onscreen, you know? The movie is also very funny, especially when you have either the monkey, the family dog, Banjo, or other animals involved. The storyline is also really good overall. I mean here you have a family who ends up going through some rather big changes in their lives. Not only that, but some of the family members end up either becoming more humble, end up learning to change their priorities in life, or, sometimes, even all of the above for reasons that I won’t go into to avoid spoilers. The characters are surprisingly also well thought out. Sure, there were one, or two that could have maybe had more screen time, but still very well-written other than them. It was also very surprising to learn one of the ways in which one could become quadriplegic in the first place. Oh, and the relationships are also well-handled, whether it be Nate with his parents, Nate, and his siblings, or any other relationships that he has over the course of the film. It was also nice to have a movie in which some of the characters actually take responsibility for their actions rather than playing the blame game when certain mistakes were made, or bad situations would come up. Seeing as a lot of movies, and TV shows have allowed characters to play the blame game instead more often than not, a film like Gigi & Nate proves that we need more films just like it with more humble characters who will take responsibility when necessary. The only other downside to this film, aside from one or two characters feeling a little underdeveloped, is that the climax, one could say, if this film could have maybe been rewritten a little differently than it was in the end. It wasn’t bad, b it could have still been a little better.

And that’s my review for Gigi & Nate. I didn’t realize that this film was INSPIRED by a true story. Well, either way, I would highly recommend this film. I would say show it even to kids, but have them leave when certain adult scenes come up, and have them come back into the movie theater, or room after that. Gigi & Nate provides some great lessons about being humble, taking responsibility for his/her own actions, and lessons like those. If you haven’t seen Gigi & Nate yet, then do so when you can. The film serves as proof that we need more films just like it, especially in this day and age.

Final Grade: A-