Gigi & Nate

The courtroom drama completely undoes the whole thing. It's just completely contrived.

It has a pleasant but not particularly striking look; endearing performances from a familiar cast of esteemed veterans and earnest newcomers, and a storyline designed to provide a few initial chuckles.

Unfortunately, the final stretch of the movie becomes a riff on God’s Not Dead, though PETA, er, “AFAB,” becomes its cartoon courtroom villain instead of liberal academia.

It's a call to action with no banner behind which to rally, sanitized to the point of being anodyne.

Rather than offer insight into the difficult choices facing disabled people, “Gigi & Nate” opts for mawkish wish fulfillment, undercutting the film’s powerful emotional core.

The combination of the big heart in the story and the always strong work by Harden makes this a solid family film.

...never quite decides if it wants viewers to be inspired, angry, or both.

Hamm and Hudgins utilize the final 20 minutes quite well by tossing in two thoroughly unpredictable twists. “Gigi & Nate” won’t change the world, but it will give (most of) you the warm and fuzzies. Sometimes that’s all you need to take away from a movie.

Monkey cuteness faces limitations, and filmmakers could easily eliminate much of the story’s attention to things like plane flights. Though aiming for a message of hope, the film often wallows in mundane detail, slowing its pace and softening its goal.

While it’s modestly heartwarming, “Gigi & Nate” is a well-meaning tale undone by a bland style and warmed-over dialogue.