“The Ultimate Gift” was released to theaters Oct. 20, 2006 and grossed $1,241,079 on its opening weekend. The movie runs 118 minutes and it’s an indie/drama film. It stars Bill Cobbs, Drew Fuller, Lee Meriwether, James Garner, Abigail Breslin, and Ali Hillis. It’s also based on the book “The Ultimate Gift.”
The story is about a grandson named Jason Stevens whose grandfather, Howard Stevens, died and he inherited something from him. Well, several things from him. His grandfather laid out 12 gifts that led up to the ultimate gift for his rich kid grandson Jason. At first, out of his hatred for his grandfather, Jason declines. But after some persuasion, Jason agrees to receive these gifts. Through pre-recorded sessions of Howard, he instructs Jason on what to do and what gift he is receiving, which included the gift of work, money, love, friends, laughter, giving, family, problems, learning, dreams, gratitude, and the gift of a day. When receiving these gifts, he was given a list of tasks he must achieve in order to learn and receive what these gifts are. By the end of the movie he’s changed from a spoiled rich kid to a young intelligent entrepreneur.
This movie is probably one of the most underrated movies out there in my opinion. The elements that tied in and the ideas about what a person can become and what life could be like are so deep and phenomenal. I think one of the best things I like about this movie is the character development. Jason Steven’s character changes so much and they do a great job in transitioning from a rich kid to a humble man. I also love how Jason goes from hating his grandfather to loving him. Though Jason wasn’t able to really communicate with him, through the footage of his instructions and kind of mentoring to him, there was such a bond that was created that I think we all wished was real. But I think the real heart wrencher of the story was the friendship bond between Jason and Emily. In the beginning, there was no real friendship and Jason was quite honestly a real jerk. But Jason continued to run into Emily and her mom and in the process they became friends. They had such an innocent and intimate friendship that I fell in love with those characters so much. Emily was so bold and frank with Jason that it kind of pulled him back in line when he would go off. (Spoilers) The part that just killed me was when Emily died though. Mostly because Jason had just created this amazing friendship with her and she wasn’t there to watch him really become the man that he had created (Spoilers end).
I love the inner conflict in Jason as well. He was struggling so much with trying to have a healthy relationship between money and happiness. The biggest area where his struggle came from though was his family. They were extremely greedy and relied everything they had on their money, so Jason trying to get out of that world was difficult, but I think the writers made sure to take the conflict and resolve it in such a natural way. I love that they address that you can be wealthy and not greedy, and live a humble happy life. I think by the end Jason realizes that he can be wealthy but he can use that wealth in a big way and a smart way. But not only can he have a balanced economic life, but he can have a happy, down to earth life with people he loves and know that they love him and he loves them. They took a fantasy idea and transformed it into a realistic world point of view, and it was easy to say that you can live like that if you really put the effort into it and don’t become greedy with money.
Overall I loved this movie and it was a tear jerker at some parts. It has a great mix of everything and it has a really natural and honestly beautiful atmosphere. Honestly I can’t think of anything I didn’t like so I give this movie a 10/10.

15rarthur@usd489.com