The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (1999)

Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Excellent, a Must See

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

In this adorable television movie, George Newbern is a real estate developer. He has his eye on a rural property in a small town, owned by a very old man. When he approaches the landowner, he's adamant about not selling, so to get his way, George recruits his psychologist girlfriend, Mary Louise Parker, to meet with the man and say he's mentally unfit to keep his property. But when she goes to the town, she's instantly charmed by the man and other residents.There's so much to love about this movie. While I normally find Mary Louise to be obnoxious, she's actually sweet in this film and didn't get on my nerves. Sidney Poitier plays the title role in his second-to-last film, and he's just as dashing and charming as he was forty years earlier. Everyone in town loves Sidney, and it's easy to see why, since he makes beautiful furniture and is also the local handyman. Dianne Wiest has such a big crush on him that she purposely breaks things in her house just to get him to come over! It's so adorable, and they have a darling rapport together.Sterling Anderson's script is both truthful and cute in its description of Sidney's character—and thereby, Sidney himself. Every single person in the story references how handsome and youthful Sidney is, even though he's supposed to be very, very old. If you like Sidney Poitier movies, or Hallmark-esque feel-good movies, you'll love The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn. I do!

I watched this movie twice. I think it was a wonderful movie. I realize today's nihilistic generation calls simple wisdom and gentle goodness by such epithets as "sappy morals" and "hackneyed lines", "platitudes" and - it is as if the only innovative plots and topics are those that have to deal with sex and drugs, satanism and destruction. If these topics are what today's maturity is all about, I want no part of it. You can take American Pie, Fight Club, American Beauty, and the rest of your critically acclaimed trash, watch it over again if you want. But this is not the place for this discussion I suppose. And what of Noah being a "carpenter god" and always involved with his work? Is it still OK for a man to love what he does? Is it still OK, in this age of families who uproot every few years to move to the next city that provides a rung up in the career ladder, in this age where books like "Who Moved My Cheese" now mock those who have decided to stay where they are, in this age of consultants and temp workers, is it still OK to anchor down? Today's prevailing "cultural" attitudes and tastes for movies and entertainment dealing with degradation are moving us toward the world portrayed in Clockwork Orange. Is that what you want? I'll take Noah's world anyday.

Sidney Poitier is still a great actor and this film is a demonstration of his skills. Here he is a carpenter touched by his tough life, which taught him to work as much as possible without hurting anyone. But one day some people wanted to take him away of his land and the tragedy started for him. However he took it as part of life and fought against it with patience and showing himself calm. The morale of the film is simply excellent.

I thought that this movie was a wonderful feel good movie. The performances by all of the characters were incredible. Seeing a movie like this makes me enjoy watching movies when others trash up the screen. Sidney Poitier again shows why he has helped to shape the guidelines that actors strive to achieve. Thanks to anyone connected with this movie.