The Ultimate Gift

Movie Review: The Ultimate Gift
Fox Faith (PG)

Review by Chad McComas

The Ultimate Gift is the type of movie that draws one into a heart-warming experience even though the story line is obvious. You know where it is going. A wealthy older man is dying…he decides to be wise in the distribution of his wealth…he has failed with his kids (they have been ruined by wealth), but he has hope for his grandson if…

The “if” is what the movie is all about.

James Garner does an excellent job endearing us to his role as Red Stevens. Red has more money than he knows what to do with, but he has accumulated it the old fashion way. He has earned it with good old-fashioned effort, sweat and dreams. Somehow his family hasn’t learned the lessons he learned and has become quite comfortable living a lifestyle off trust funds. All of their needs are being met with no effort on their part to earn it.

The grandson, Jason Stevens (played by Drew Fuller), hasn’t worked a day in his life. He is spoiled rotten like the rest of the family, but he has the same spark his dad had when he was young. It’s that spark that grandfather sees and banks on. He believes if he can put Jason through a series of tests or “gifts” as he calls them that Jason will become a wealthy man in character, heart, actions and of course money.

Movie viewers work through the series of “gifts” with Jason. They feel the pain of learning to work. They understand when Jason has to lose everything and find true friendship. Their hearts are touched as Jason learns to be a giver and not a taker. They feel the bond growing in their hearts as Jason meets Emily (played byAbigail Breslin) and her mother Alexia (played by Ali Hillis). He learns to love them in a way he has never understood in his life before.

The job that Abigail does with the role of Emily has you laughing one minute and crying the next. She truly brings a spark of joy to the movie and to life. We are encouraged to live life to the fullest and take advantage of each life experience as it comes. Who knows when it will be our last?

It is touching to see the changes that come over Jason as he works through his “gift.” But, perhaps the Ultimate Gift isn’t as much about Jason and his grandfather Red as it is about all of us as we seek to make a difference in this world. Jason passes each test as it comes and is eventually given the Ultimate Gift of making a difference. It isn’t about money…it is all about character and life –living. It’s about truly learning to be a man of wealth.

Chad McComas writes from Medford, Oregon.