The Ultimate Gift (2007)

Don't Believe the Hype

Absolutely Fantastic

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Not the best Christian film, but definitely not the worst. The story was nice to an extent, Jason became a better man at the end of the movie. However, I hated the fact that he got $2billion at the end, what an awful message. The whole idea of money within the movie was so awful, rich people were ridiculously over the top. The worst bit of the movie was definitely the whole part in Ecuador - it was pointless, added absolutely nothing to the plot and should not have been in the movie. There was little chemistry between the couple and although I liked Emily, her dialogue was insufferable and so badly writtenFor all the complaints, this movie was OK and could have been a lot worse. I wouldn't watch it again or rave about it, but it was nice enough and not insufferable.

Spoiler alert! America today is a world where people want bigger, better, and more. Always more. Although this is not true for everyone, this country is known for its high consumerism and stereotyped for being rude and greedy. Many rich people in the city splurge their wealth on the daily but seem to be the most unhappy. Jason Stevens in The Ultimate Gift, directed by Michael O. Sabjel, lived this lifestyle. All his life, he only reviewed things and never gave. Having no concerns for anyone around him, he was selfish and egotistical and did nothing productive in life. When his grandfather, the one supplying him with all his money, pasts away, and leaves him no inheritance but a set of tasks to do in order to get a gift in the end, he finds himself lost. This movie goes on to reveal that somebody may not have a purpose in life, but it can be found by giving to others. This is why giving gifts, not always tangible or perceptible can hold so much value.Jason starts from the bottom as he is evicted from his apartment, his car is towed, and his credit card is all of a sudden declined everywhere. This is all going in accordance to his grandfathers wishes as part of his test. Jason finds himself working odd jobs, spending a month as a farm-hand, befriending a woman and a sick daughter, traveling to Ecuador to help a village, and escaping hostile militants, and lastly, inheriting $100 million. All these assignments revolve around giving some sort of gift while learning the importance of them. By hard work and struggling to make money on the streets, Jason learned the gift of labor. When Jason met Alexia and her daughter, Rose, he gained the gift of friendship. On his mission trip, he was presented with the gift of problems and bravery. He learned about the gift of responsibility by inheriting the large amount of money. Through all these events, he gained the most important gift, the gift of love. Jason's old life had no purpose, but from gaining these new gifts, he helped others and learned to care.Jason helped Rose live her life and fulfill her dreams before she died from leukemia. By giving her and her mother time, money and help, he discovered what he wanted to do. With the money he later received, he built a foundation for people with cancer and their families to get help. In the end, Jason gave so much, and in return, did receive the ultimate gift.

I cannot believe some of the critical comments here. If you expected The Godfather, Steel Magnolias, or The Deer Hunter, this is NOT your movie. This is a family, Christmas, feel-good tear jerker. This is not a movie you later discuss with your friends over Chardonnay and cheese. Sure it is predictable, but all Christmas movies are. Abigail Breslin steals the show as young Emily. She is delightful. Someone commented she is preachy at times. If that surprises you, you have never seen children before. Yes, she is preachy, but in a delightful way. Perhaps it is not the best movie in its genre, but it is warm and pleasant to watch for the family. It's a Christmas movie.

....avoid this movie !The reason I watched this movie was because of it's score on IMDb, which is very misleading. It is poorly acted on the whole (apart from Abigail Breslin, she is quite clearly going to be a star), has many plot holes and a very weak script. It wasn't until the end of this film that I worked out why - this film is a pseudo-Christian production trying to push a religious message in the guise of a heartwarming story. And not just that, it was produced by the Stanford Financial Group, that's right, the company that was described by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a "massive Ponzi scheme". If you have an ounce of intelligence, avoid this film like the plague !