The Ultimate Gift (2006)

The Ultimate Gift spends two hours delivering a message that a recent Coca-Cola ad conveys in 30 seconds: “You give a little love and it all comes back to you.” But while the commercial passes this message on to its viewers effectively and at full tilt, the movie makes the inexcusable faux pas of incessantly repeating it in every possible variation.

Assisted by screenwriter Cheryl McKay, director Michael O. Sajbel, whose One Night with the King failed to score with critics, has crafted a mediocre family drama that feels like an overlong sermon trying to hammer the concepts of family values and the importance of friendship and faith into the heads of the spectators at any cost.

Based on the best-selling novel by Jim Stovall, and released by Fox Faith, Gift follows the turbulent story of Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller), a spoiled slacker whose life takes a drastic turn when he learns that his deceased grandfather Red (James Garner) has named him only heir to his fortune.

The catch is that Jason is not to receive his inheritance until he completes a series of challenging tasks, which Red calls “gifts.” Fantasizing about the big bucks, Jason takes on his first mission and flies to a Texas farm, where he is asked to put up a fence. But his reward does not involve any money. Instead, Red informs his grandson via videotape that he has successfully earned the gift of work.

Step by step, the movie then follows Jason as he struggles to earn the remaining gifts, each one teaching him a valuable lesson about life. Along the way he also befriends a young girl named Emily (Abigail Breslin), a talkative cancer patient who will help Jason overcome his irresponsible lifestyle as to find true happiness.

At this stage, The Ultimate Gift switches from a sophisticated drama to a stiff lecture on life. The overpowering message that money cannot buy happiness is repeated in almost every scene and every dialogue, thereby undermining any potential for variety in the structure of the plot. Consequently, the film rapidly runs out of inspiring resources.

The consistent dramatic flow during the first part of the movie is abruptly interrupted when Jason falls into the hands of drug lords during a visit in South America. Unnecessary and clearly misplaced, all this action-packed segment does is kill off the credibility of the protagonist and that of the movie as a whole. The corny ending that follows does not help much either, but might at least be forgiven.

While The Ultimate Gift fails to conveniently pass on its simplistic morals to the audience, the movie benefits from solid acting performances, led by an outstanding Abigail Breslin, who was recently nominated for her mesmerizing role in Little Miss Sunshine. As for James Garner, he only appears on videotape, yet delivers a truly moving performance as oil tycoon Red Stevens.

Truth be told, The Ultimate Gift is not the ultimate in inspirational filmmaking.

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