Gigi & Nate

A saw " Gigi and Nate" today during Cinema Day. I knew the basic premise of the film, but didn't do any further research, and I am happy going in naked on this one.

We meet Nate, then 18 years old, cliff diving. He does a fall, walks it off, but days later with family celebrating Independence Day receives major pain and diagnosis that paralyze him for good. We do a time jump, Nate tries to kill himself in the family's koi pond, and dad, played by Jim Belushi, saves his life.

Mom realizes her son needs a companion; she gets a helper monkey. Everyone at first is not really fond or accepting of Gigi, but.as soon as Gigi starts to help out, he is more accepted.

I'm giving this a 10 star, but, and a huge but, I was not a fan of the lead, Nate. The parents and sisters were acted great, but Nate, Charles Rowe, under impressed for me. I was more taken away by Jim Belushi's performance and the young women who played his sister's. In fact, I was watching this wondering why Belushi does not do more of these roles. He can truly act, and , I just felt he is being under used.

I felt every emotion. I cried. I smiled I laughed. I shrieked. Even if the story does not sell it for you, see this for the monkey. The monkey made the sweetest faces and the fact he developed this bond with Nate was charming.

The ending, I am not saying, but was perfect. It came full circle.

I really had no expectations when stepping into the theater to see Gigi & Nate. Other than reading the blurb on my local theater's site I had no idea what this movie was about! I am so happy I saw it!

What a heartwarming story and really impressive acting! I wasn't expecting such good acting and really all of the cast did well (my favorite performance was Diane Ladd, but Charlie Rowe was impressive)!

Based on a true story and fits well in the turmoil of today's politics but on a much lighter note. Take tissues and enjoy this surprisingly beautiful story of a man and his service animal...sweet enough for the whole family to experience!

I do not often see such an honest portrayal of a physically challenged person on screen. Having a son about the same age as Nate, made this hard to watch! The story is often sad but also frequently humorous and at times I even felt angry.

The acting is solid. Charlie Rowe did an amazing job with both the physical and emotional requirements of playing a young man in the prime of his life who suddenly finds himself unable to use his arms and legs and dependent on others for his daily existents.

Marsha Gay Harden was believable as the strong Mama bear determined to advocate for her son. And Diane Ladd was precious as the feisty Granny - she had some of the best lines in the film!

I appreciate that they kept this film "family friendly" because I think the message is important for tweens as well as adults.

Some say this movie is based on a real young man and his helper monkey. I prefer the term "inspired by" because so much of the story is changed for this movie. The one constant is that the young man was accidentally paralyzed and an organization that trains service animals provided a capuchin helper monkey. In this movie she is named Gigi. But names, family dynamics, locations, and method of paralysis are all fictional, as are most of the interactions portrayed.

But none of that matters in appreciating the movie. It deals authentically with a real subject and the difficulties of a partially incapicated person. Including military veterans, some featured in the movie, who were wounded, many with missing limbs.

Also the last parts of the movie, depicting the protests and the hearings to see if legislation will be advanced to prohibit use of monkeys as service animals. Today the organization, Helping Hands, no longer trains capuchin monkeys mainly due to pressure from animal rights groups, as well as concerns over health and safety. These factors resulted in federal and state governments changing the laws to make it difficult or impossible to have a monkey as a service animal. In 2010, a revision to the Americans with Disabilities Act stripped capuchin monkeys of their status as service animals.

My wife and I enjoyed this movie at home on BluRay from our public library.

I loved the movie. From music to characters to film locations. But that isnt what made me watch the whole movie, as nice as those things are. It was the connection between Gigi and Nate. I love all animals. I always fight for their rights. Speak for them when they dont have a voice to speak for themselves. Yet this movie in no way at all showed abuse nor implied mistreatment of animals.

What it did show was a powerful connection between human beings and animals. In my opinion more times then not we get so much more interacting and having that bond with animals. I've seen countless wild birds have this bond with human beings. Birds that could fly away yet choose time and again to come back day after day to a human. Why can it not be something beautiful to bond and grow and evolve our connections with animals?

Hope is such a powerful thing. So is growth. You wont find one without the other. Animals do chose us all the time. They seek out the needy to form that connection, that bond. To help not harm. This movie was amazing and beautiful. I highly recommend it. Huge back pats to everyone involved. They said it was a box office flop. I felt it was worth 10 stars and more.