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The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn

1999 Directed by Gregg Champion

An Extraordinary Tale About An Ordinary Man.

In the small Southern community of Twin Pines, GA, lives Noah Dearborn, a master craftsman and farmer who cherishes his solitude almost as much as the local townspeople cherish him — especially restaurant owner Sarah McClellan. But when greedy real estate developers set their sights on Noah's land and he rejects their six-figure offer, this taciturn man is forced to summon all his strength in order to defend not only his property and way of life, but his sanity.

Sidney Poitier Dianne Wiest Mary-Louise Parker George Newbern Roxzane T. Mims Afemo Omilami Bernie Casey James Thomas Lee Knight Frances Bay John Bedford Lloyd Donna Biscoe Sharon Blackwood Von Coulter Tommy Cresswell Charles Lawlor Frank Hoyt Taylor Alex Van Terrence Gibney Libby Whittemore Marc Gowan

Alternative Titles

Das Leben ist was Wunderbares, Le secret de Noah, 노아 디어본의 단순한 삶

Genres

Drama TV Movie

Premiere

09 May 1999

USA CBS

19 Jun 2000

Germany6

Germany

19 Jun 2000

Premiere6

USA

09 May 1999

Premiere CBS

85 mins More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by borymp ★★★★

Well… I really enjoyed this. Sidney Poitier’s later years. I would expect to find this film on the Hallmark channel. It’s a feel good story with a happy ending. No… not that kind of happy ending. 🤣
Review by Daniel Bernard ★★★½

Sidney possibly plays an aspie here and does so with the same quiet dignity and grace he displayed everywhere.
Was not expecting it to potentially also be a somewhat decent primer to the flick I have planned to see next; Banshees of Inisherin. Well, it's between that and Fabelmans. Maybe both! Cheers Mum. You were right about the heavy being a cheap, dimestore Paul Rudd as well.
Could have used more of Frances Bay. Everything could have while she was around.
Review by UltimateMovieRankings ★★★★

This made for television movie was a pleasant surprise. This is basically a little guy versus greedy corporate investors. The little guy is played by the legendary Sidney Poitier. He owns a nice piece of land that a company wants to build a shopping center on. The part of the movie is pretty standard. What makes this movie worth checking out is the acting. Poitier and Mary Louise Parker make an awesome screen time. Watching them bounce off each other was the best part of the movie. Final thought: A feel good movie that entertained me.
Review by Zara1560 ★★★½

It is a simple cute movie with a heartwarming message. People can be so cruel to the sweetest individuals! The movie was slow but eventful. High key recommend
Review by Bob Hovey ★★★½

This pleasant but unremarkable film relies on the rich, magnetic performances of Poitier, Parker and Wiest to elevate its very predictable story above the level of average TV movie fare. While the film was pleasant and fun to watch for the cast alone, (and certainly no one can argue with the sincerity of the film's basic message), it was definitely held back by a lack of nuance, the story being incredibly predictable and at times trite. A few scenes were weakly-written enough to nearly ruin the film (for example, the whole prying open the car door scene was incredibly awkward and contrived, right out of an after-school special). George Newbern's character (Christian) could have used more depth... Valerie is so…
Review by Adam Lott ★★★★★

A quiet hero who becomes the talk of the town
Review by Rajan Awasthi ★★½

truck.
Review by Cameron Wayne Johnson ★★★

If Sidney Poitier was actively trying to settle into TV in the '90s, he should have at least aimed simpler than Thurgood Marshall and Nelson Mandela. Of course this cat's life is extraordinary enough get such a legendary actor, though Poitier was getting old enough that if he was going to play another enigmatic figure of righteous upheavel, the objective would be for him to not become a drifter. Carpenter Noah Dearborn has never done much drifting from his home in the backwoods of Georgia, but has built enough love and friendship for a satisfying lifetime. All of that comes under threat with the arrival of a developer who is eyeing the Dearborn land for a shopping mall, refusing to…
Review by ennaih ★★★

I rather liked that despite the first quarter being extremely into the magical Black man trope. But then it got nicely balanced out by him being influenced by the young white woman in turn. And I rather loved how she used her power and professional privilege to storm in and get him the fuck out of a very distressing situation. Like she did not hesitate one bit and I loved her for it.
Mind you, I did wonder where all the other Black people were in the town. You see a few Black guys in the first scene but then they all mysteriously vanish when our noble hero needs help. Gosh, it's almost like they got whisked offscreen so he…
Review by STEPHEN TUBBS ★★

Written to be soppy but the cast keeps the soppiness to a bearable level.
Review by Glorp Jormp jomp ★★★

It’s cute and exactly what you would expect but in a charming way
Review by Moriah ★★★★

Sometimes I’m just really in the need for some heartwarming and wholesome Hallmark crap and this simply hit every pang of my heart. I guess movies like this are seen as cheesy and overdone, but with a cast like this one they still give it their all. Poitier truly was an unbeatable talent and to see him paired with Mary-Louise Parker is truly a dream.
Sometimes we all need reminders of the importance of human connection. I can’t lie that this had me bawling by the end, especially when Parker gave Poitier the puppy!!! I truly will never be the same after that.

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The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn

Synopsis

An Extraordinary Tale About An Ordinary Man.

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Releases by Date

Premiere

09 May 1999

19 Jun 2000

Releases by Country

Germany

19 Jun 2000

USA

09 May 1999

Popular reviews

Where to watch

The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn

Synopsis

An Extraordinary Tale About An Ordinary Man.

Cast

Director Director

Producers Producers

Writer Writer

Editor Editor

Cinematography Cinematography

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Production Design Production Design

Art Direction Art Direction

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Composer Composer

Costume Design Costume Design

Makeup Makeup

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Studio

Country

Language

Alternative Titles

Genres

Premiere

09 May 1999

19 Jun 2000

Germany

19 Jun 2000

USA

09 May 1999

Popular reviews

Director

Producers

Writer

Editor

Cinematography

Executive Producers

Production Design

Art Direction

Set Decoration

Composer

Costume Design

Makeup

Hairstyling