The Ultimate Gift DVD Review

I was very fortunate to have seen this movie in a private screening last year. The Ultimate Gift is a movie version of the book by the same name written by Jim Stovall. The book has sold over 3 million copies.

This movie was released nationwide a few weeks ago for a limited run. I plan to purchase the DVD the day it is released.

This will be one of the most heartwarming wonderful films you will ever see.  It was presented to non-profit groups at private screenings last year (2006) when it was released.

This is a story of a year long quest by Jason Stevens (played by Drew Fuller) to inherit a piece of his billionaire uncle's estate. Jason is arrogant, selfish and has had life handed to him on a silver platter for his entire life.  He believes that all the best things in life can be paid for.

Following the death of his wealthy uncle Jason is late to the funeral and then heads to the lawyer's office waiting to receive his share of the billion dollar estate. Instead, what he finds, is that in order to receive his inheritance he has to complete 12 monthly assignments or gifts that will eventually lead him to "The Ultimate Gift."  This 12 month journey will change his life forever as he decides which is more important: money or happiness and they are not necessarily dependent on each other. It's a journey of self-discovery.

His uncle, before he died, had recorded a video which would be shown by the lawyer to Jason each month. Each month the next part of the video would direct Jason to his next assignment. As an example, the first gift is The Gift of Work. Jason will need to go to Texas to a sprawling ranch where he will be be required to do back-breaking manual labor for several weeks. He must do it to the rancher's satisfaction or the task is not considered completed. 

Jason's transformation through the course of the movie is inspiring to anyone. You sometimes have to lose everything to appreciate life and the joy of giving.  The actress who REALLY takes this movie to soaring heights is Abigail Breslin, the young girl from Little Miss Sunshine. I read that she beat out Dakota Fanning for the part.

Other seasoned actors featured are people like James Garner, Brian Dennehy, and Lee Merriwether.

The movie and book are somewhat different, but knowing that the two are not exactly the same doesn't detract from enjoying either film or book.

When we saw this movie during it's commercial release a few weeks ago, it was my second time seeing it and my wife's third.  During this movie don't be surprised if you laugh and cry (guys included). When I walked out of the theater with my wife and children, there wasn't anyone not wiping tears.   Following the movie my wife overheard one woman speaking to her friend in the theater lobby and she said she felt so compelled by the message of the movie that she was going to immediately sign up to be an organ donor. 

 In the movie, Jason's life was changed forever. Your life as well maybe changed forever after seeing this.