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Review #421 of 365
Movie Review of The Ultimate Gift (2007) [PG] 114 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $9.75
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 11 March 2007
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
DVD Release Date: 4 March 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Directed by: Michael O. Sajbel (One Night with the King)
Screenplay by: Cheryl McKay (Gigi: God's Little Princess) based on the book The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Drew Fuller ("Charmed") • Bill Cobbs (Night at the Museum) • James Garner (The Notebook) • Ali Hillis (Must Love Dogs) • Abigail Breslin (The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause) • Lee Meriwether (Gone Postal) • Brian Dennehy (Everyone's Hero)
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Jim Stovall's book, The Ultimate Gift comes to the big screen as adapted by Cheryl McKay and directed by Michael O.Sajbel, who also directed Fox Faith Films One Night with the King. Basically, this is a contrived story designed to teach us 12 lessons regarding the true values in life. This is done in a fairly cliché way, young spoiled rich kid, Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) has lived with a silver spoon in his mouth his entire life. Money has flowed to him like water. His eccentric billionaire grandfather, Red (James Garner) dies and leaves him with a series of videos in the hands of his trusted estate executor and lawyer Ted Hamilton (Bill Cobbs) instead of any money.
James Garner Buy From Art.com
These videos explain that his grandfather wants to give him the ultimate gift. If he completes the tasks and challenges in place, then he will receive it. What 'it' is, is a mystery known only to Ted Hamilton and his assistant, Miss Hastings (Lee Meriwether). At first, Jason thinks this is a joke, some perturbing way for his now-dead grandfather to control his life from beyond the grave. His first task involves him learning the value of hard work as he sets poles for an endless fence on the property of ranch owner and former best friend of Red, Gus (Brian Dennehy). This is where Jason's true spoiled rich kid attitude come through in full swing. As each challenge is presented, however, the walls toward Jason becoming a less self-centered, less egotistical, less snobby person come down. He has to live with absolutely no money, no home, no friends, and no family for a while. The task is to learn the value of money as well as friends. His true friends would not desert the suddenly penniless kid who bailed so many of them out financially in the past. He happens upon a little girl in the park one day, and she, Emily (Abigail Breslin) and her mother, Alexia (Ali Hillis), agree to become Jason's friend. Jason does not know at the time young Emily is announcing her life-long intention to be friends with Jason, that she is actually dying of leukemia. It is this discovery and the impact that Emily has on his life, however, that truly changes him, not Red's tasks, though they set things in motion. As Jason bonds with Alexia and Emily, his entire perspective on what's truly important in life changes for the better.
"…the life lessons…are invaluable, but the film as a way of driving them home did not ring quite true."
The central messages of the film are good life lessons. Unfortunately, the film comes across as preachy especially with (a) Red constantly laying out what Jason has learned in each video and (b) I'm going to guess that too many younger people will leave the film with a grand misconception as to what the ultimate gift was. I'll wager that most young people when surveyed, and I hate to be so cynical, would say the inheritance from Red was the ultimate gift, not the lessons he taught his grandson. Wish I were wrong on that. For me, this is the serious flaw in concept of the story for which the movie cannot really be blamed. The movie, unfortunately, also reinforces two negative notions: that most wealthy people are not nice people, and that money solves all problems. No sooner does Jason finish most of the lessons and receive $100,000,000 does he start acting again like a spoiled rich kid riding around in a stretch limousine, ordering people around on his Bluetooth headset, demanding his grandfather's former business partners pony up money to his new pet project or else. Once again, it seems he views money as the answer to all problems. It's not that he doesn't now have better intentions and better plans to use the money, he does. Rather, it's that he's still very good at spending his grandfather's money and acting like he runs the world. Jim Stovall's lessons are very important lessons, however, this vehicle was not the best to deliver them. The acting was mini-series worthy, and as much as Abigail Breslin was the start of Little Miss Sunshine, this role was a case of serious over-acting without really capturing the emotions of a child facing her own imminent demise. Drew Fuller, too, lacked certain authenticity and genuine emotional connection to his character especially once he supposedly begins to change. There were some ludicrous lines, especially uttered by Jason's two girlfriends, which cheapened the dialogue in places. Unfortunately, the book may not be well represented here, not sure, of course because I never read the book before seeing the movie as a matter of principle. Again, the life lessons, reiterated during the closing credits for those who didn't have them quite engrained in their memory by the film, are invaluable, but the film as a way of driving them home did not ring quite true.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Other Projects Featuring The Ultimate Gift (2007)
Cast Members
Drew Fuller
• Bill Cobbs • James GarnerAli Hillis
• Abigail Breslin • Lee MeriwetherBrian Dennehy
Director
Michael O. Sajbel
Screenwriter
Cheryl McKay
| Book | CD Soundtrack | DVD |
| VHS | Related Book | Related Book |
The Ultimate Gift (2007) Review-lite [150-word cap]
Jim Stovall's book, The Ultimate Gift comes to the big screen as adapted by Cheryl McKay and directed by Michael O.Sajbel, who also directed Fox Faith Films One Night with the King. Basically, this is a contrived story designed to teach us 12 lessons regarding the true values in life. This is done in a fairly cliché way, young spoiled rich kid, Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) was born with a silver spoon in his; and, through challenges and tasks his recently-deceased, eccentric billionaire grandfather, Red (James Garner) deliver him via videos, he turns over a new leaf, sort of. Unfortunately, the film comes across as preachy, the acting was mini-series worthy, and some of the dialogue was ludicrous. the life lessons the film aims to teach are invaluable, but the film as a way of driving them home did not ring quite true.
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