In a different universe, Gigi & Nate may be an Oscar-worthy contender. The story is intriguing, full of drama, and could pack enough punch to bring a tear to your eye. Unfortunately, we do not live in that universe, and Nick Hamm's film is just a forgettable family drama more akin to an "after-school-special" than a major motion picture. Not much can save a movie once it gets off the rails, and Gigi & Nate abandons the rails quickly. The plot moves at a blistering pace, leaving little room for emotional attachment or a cohesive story. At the end of the 114-minute run time, viewers will feel like they have been on an emotional roller coaster but will probably leave the theater without being impacted at all.
Nate Gibson (Charlie Rowe) is just a typical high school senior. With college on the horizon, all he cares about is having fun and meeting girls. When tragedy strikes on a family vacation, Nate is air-rushed to a hospital. The doctors tell his family he has contracted meningitis, a potentially fatal disease, which has left Nate paralyzed. Nate's mom, Claire (Marcia Gay Harden), and dad, Dan (Jim Belushi), do everything they can to accommodate his new life, but it just isn't enough. After an attempted suicide, the family decides to adopt a service animal for Nate - a cute little capuchin monkey named Gigi. With the support of his sisters Katy (Josephine Langford) and Annabelle (Hannah Riley), and, of course, Gigi, Nate starts to turn his life around.
The ingredients are all here for a compelling movie. David Hudgins's screenplay touches on all the familiar tropes, begging the audience to become attached to the characters on screen. Unfortunately, this never happens, and the story fails to deliver. Thankfully, the core group of actors featured in Gigi & Nate does very well to help move the film along when there is seemingly nothing else going on. Rowe is convincing in his anguish, but also in his new appreciation for the way life is. Harden seems to control the room when she is on screen, demanding the audience's attention, whether they are into the film or not.
Hamm's execution of this true story is flawed, as he tends to jump from plot point to plot point, without any room to breathe in between. In one scene, Nate is seen trying to commit suicide, and shortly thereafter, he is in a giddy mood driving to an animal shelter. Gigi & Nate is full of these little inconsistencies in tone and mood. The lack of any real character development is the ultimate downfall of the film, culminating in a lack of appreciation for what is going on. The film is so close to being captivating, but it fails to land the way it is meant to. It may be passable if only for the interesting story behind the movie, but viewers should not expect to see anything spectacular.