The Ultimate Gift (2006)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Michael O. Sajbel

Writers (WGA):

Cheryl McKay (screenplay)
Jim Stovall (book)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

A life experience becomes a gift.

Plot:

Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise...

Plot Keywords:

Grandfather | Wealth | Lawyer | Wealthy | Inheritance

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

James Garner	...	Howard 'Red' Stevens
Bill Cobbs	...	Mr. Theophilus Hamilton
Lee Meriwether	...	Miss Hastings
George Lee	...	Pastor (as George Lee Masters)
Brett Rice	...	Bill Stevens
D. David Morin	...	Jack Stevens
Abigail Breslin	...	Emily Rose
Ali Hillis	...	Alexia
Drew Fuller	...	Jason Stevens
Mircea Monroe	...	Caitlin
Donna Cherry	...	Sarah Stevens
Catherine McGoohan	...	Ruth Stevens
Mark Joy	...	Bill's Lawyer
Mel Fair	...	Jack's Lawyer
Alecia Brady Curcuru	...	Bill's Wife

MPAA:

Rated PG for thematic elements, some violence and language.

Runtime:

USA:114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:PG | Netherlands:AL

Filming Locations:

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Company:

The Ultimate Gift LLC

Trivia:

Author Jim Stovall makes a cameo appearance in the move as a limousine driver. The interesting thing about this is that Jim Stovall is blind.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Mr. Hamilton is showing Jason the envelope with the red seal on it, the envelope switches from Mr. Hamilton's hand to Jason's hand without Mr. Hamilton handing it to Jason.

Quotes:

Jason Stevens: Hello Emily, I missed you.
Emily: Whatever. Let's cut to the chase. You really blew it this Christmas
Jason Stevens: I'm sorry. I was held up.
Emily: Okay yea, well I want Christmas. i want to ride a horse.
Jason Stevens: A horse? Um... I've got a week or two left of this other thing but then i'll make a call and...
Emily: Jason, NOW!
Jason Stevens: Okay.

Movie Connections:

References "Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater" (1987)

Soundtrack:

On Fire

Wow

I gave "The Ultimate Gift" a 9 out of 10, which is an unusually high rank for me, but I can't describe enough how pleasantly surprised I was with this effort. Knowing as I went into the film that it was a "Christian" story, I had placed a lower ceiling on my expectations. Not that being "Christian" means that a movie has to be bad - it just usually seems to be the case. Not so much here, however. There were just three or four times where I felt my muscles tighten up as I mentally prepared for emotional cheese, but to my delight, they managed to pull out of it every time without leaving my intelligence insulted. It was a fun and cute story with believable characters, and strong performances all around. It was clean enough that you could take the whole family to see it, yet interesting enough that the parents will not only stay awake, but you'll actually find yourself caught up in a sweet, and sometimes tear-jerking story about redemption, and the pursuit of true joy. Christian-themed films have come a long way, and I look forward to what the future holds as they continue to get better. At this point, it's safe to say that "The Ultimate Gift" is among the best in Christian films on the market today. Definitely worth checking out.