Whitech It is not only a funny movie, but it allows a great amount of joy for anyone who watches it.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Roy Hart If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

willww2002 Those who thoroughly enjoyed this little gem - they got it. They were able to put the cynical critic within themselves on hold for a while and just sit there and enjoy experiencing it. Extraordinary cast. Delightful tone and mood. Wonderful ensemble acting.And, yes, a plot line you've seen many, many times before (see other reviews or the synopsis for details; I won't rehash them here). Most of those who disliked "Gideon" called the story hackneyed, and I want to absolutely disagree with that description.The dictionary definition of "hackneyed" means something beyond overly familiar. It also means that something is boring, not worth the time you may spend in watching it, and that it doesn't give you anything worthwhile to away with you. In this case, that's just wrong.How many great westerns have been built of the same basic situation? Hell, how many great John Ford westerns cover the exact same ground over and over? How many times did Frank Capra do the same thing. (In fact, they both remade one of their earlier hits, almost line for line.) How many great heist films or chase flicks or love stories or vendetta sagas offer absolutely nothing new by way of plot or structure or style? There's always a way to offer something new to any story, and it's no great sin to try putting your own spin on even the most overcrowded category. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Frequently the end result is beyond awful, an insult to genre.With Gideon," I think it does work. This isn't going to end up on the AFI's top 100 list, but it left me feeling refreshed, happy to have had a chance to take one more quick swim in a favorite old swimming hole.And just a couple more notes. The fact that so many terrific older actors willingly lined up to participate, tells you that they didn't see this film as hackneyed. And their deeply moving performances made it clear that their participation was no quickie play-for-pay gig with them.I also notice that as the years have passed, user reviews have become far more positive, most grading out in the 9 out of 10 range. This film has worn well, a familiar characteristic shared with very good films that didn't originally find their niche.So, when it rolls around again on one of your cable channels, I highly recommend that you give it an open-minded look. It may become one of your little-known personal discoveries, or maybe just become one of your slightly guilty pleasures, but you'll surely find that it does offer something original and satisfying to take with you.

WLFBoulder A young man of apparently limited abilities finds himself living in a retirement home, unwittingly showing how being smart ain't all it's cracked up to be and being "slow" isn't the worst handicap in the world.As someone who has worked for years with folks who qualify for Special Olympics (and been soundly beaten at bowling with them on more than one occasion, I might add) I found Christopher Lambert's portrayal realistic and truly touching. I've enjoyed his quiet subtlety in the Highlander series, and here I found myself smiling again and again as he captured the details, the movements, exactly the right tones in showing us this man Gideon. A great performance, I believe, and it makes me want to know more about Lambert--especially considering his role as producer of this film.The film has a stellar ensemble cast with nothing but A-level performances from each, but I could never find my way past the shallow portrayal of life in a retirement home--every person, even the depressed, bright-eyed, every room highly personalized. I kept waiting for Ward and June Cleaver to show up. This place doesn't smell like any "retirement" home I've ever been in, and I've been quite a few over the years. The failure to establish a credible "world" made it impossible for me to accept the story, and this limitation was only supported by the extremely one-dimensional nature of the characters. An ex-boxer? Well, he doesn't read, he just practices shadow boxing in his room.In all, it's a film I'm glad I saw, but can't imagine sitting through it twice.

Dennis Deja Ok...once you get over the "if we mix Cocoon with Being There and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest we will have a hit!" comparisons, you will find that Gideon is a well acted ensemble film that works in spite of it's influences (the aforementioned films). Yes...the script is sometimes overly sweet. Yes, there are archetypes in the different characters. Yes, there is a distinct scent of familiar plot devices. But, who cares? Gideon delivers solid entertainment and heartwarming storytelling on a basic level. Christopher Lambert is credited as co-producer on the credits. That fact tells me one thing...that Lambert has a heart underneath the blank/sullen stare that has (in my opinion) hindered his chances of being more highly regarded in the "system" that is Hollywood. A good family film and fine Saturday/Sunday afternoon viewing. I would even watch this film on local TV with commercial interruption. It's that good! We need more films like "Gideon" to overcome the cynicism of current Hollywood movie making. In my view, "Gideon" is a Gem!

Jonathan Horner This has to be Christopher Lambert's best performance since Highlander. Lambert really shows the audience what he can do and when he puts all his effort into it, Lambert can be a really good actor.Lambert plays Gideon, a mentally retarded man who can't read, write or even do simple maths. He is sent to an old people's home to brighten up the live's of those who live there. As time goes by Gideon makes new friends and learns to love one another. I'm a massive fan of Lambert's. I was really shocked by his performance. He was superb as Gideon. We are all used to see Lambert star in action movies, put even in this moving drama movie he's excellent. This movie is a very touching story and it'll have you in tears in the end.8/10