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The Ultimate Gift 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Studio: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT Catalog: DVD Release date: 2007-08-21 Media: DVD released in theatres: 2007 Running time in minutes: 117 DVD aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC DVD Region code: 1 released in theatres: 2007 Ean: 0024543444862 Upc: 024543444862  Tip: compare prices with similar DVDsDirector:
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| User Reviews: |
 Written on June 17, 2008 Summary: CONTRIVED FOR CHRISTIANS I have a friend who recently watched Facing The Giants. I asked her what she thought - she said, "It felt contrived." That interested me because, the night before, I had watched The Ultimate Gift and felt the same way about it. Come to think of it, most modern-day Christian films seem contrived, from Time Changer to One Night With The King. (Amazing Grace and The Passion Of The Christ are obvious exceptions.) Why is that? What is it about modern-day Christians that causes many of us to be attracted to stories that are contrived? Why are films being made for us by companies like Fox Faith that are not real, the way we supposedly say our faith is? Christian novels, such as The Shack, are alarmingly artificial; so are Christian children's books. Are we so shallow, unimaginative and inexperienced at life and art that we cannot do better than to fulfill the meaning of the word contrived: "obviously planned or forced; artificial; strained?" Does that say something about us and our faith? This latest film from Fox Faith, the Christian production arm of Fox, is a great example. They say they are producing "movies you can believe in." In the case of The Ultimate Gift, I don't think so. I really wanted to like it, too, because it was highly rated on many web sites, was full of good actors, and had a basic concept by blind writer Jim Stovall that wasn't half-bad. But the script is bad. When a writer - Cheryl McKay, in this case, working off Jim Stovall's book - is compelled to put adult language in the mouth of a child in order to make her seem cute - which happens in the case of Abigail Breslin, who plays Emily Rose - you know you're in trouble. I was sick of her adult-sounding cuteness by the end of the film. As a matter of fact, not only do the words not fit the character, but Breslin is way over-acting. She may have been good in Little Miss Sunshine and Nim's Island, but she is next to terrible here. Wearing dark lipstick and carrying an open, pink umbrella doesn't help either. I don't care if leukemia victims actually do those sorts of things, they did not make her character any more convincing or likable. So, Breslin all but ruined the film for me. The only things that saved it were the performances by some of the other actors: the understated performance by Drew Fuller as Jason Stevens, the young man that is trying to earn his dead grandfather's inheritance by fulfilling a battery of quests; the outstanding job by Bill Cobbs as Mr. Theophillis Hamilton, Jason's grandfather's lawyer, partner and friend; and the elegant portrayal by Lee Meriwether of Miss Hastings, Mr. Hamilton's secretary. Other than a handful of typically solid character actors, such as Brian Dennehy, most of the rest of the cast is rather amateurish, and some are quite annoying. All the portrayals of "Southerners" are so stereotypical they're sickening. The disappointing script and amateurish acting of the supporting cast, and especially the overacting of Abigail Breslin, speaks to the lack of experience of director Michael O. Sajbel. He only had five films under his belt when he took this one on, and his last was the embarrassingly unbiblical, adolescent film One Night With The King (2006). I will say one thing: The Ultimate Gift is an improvement over that piece of fluff. And something else: production company Dean River Productions has given the film some very strong production values. (They were also the "hired guns" on Billy Graham's The Climb and Bobby Jones: Stroke Of Genius.) But what we're really talking about here is a glorified Hallmark film. This is TV fare, not theatrical. We don't expect much from made-for-TV movies; we do from theatrical ones. There is just no realistic substance to The Ultimate Gift, just as there was none in One Night With The King. Had these been fantasies, that would have been fine. But these are both realistic stories, and neither holds up under the most liberal scrutiny. While the very idea of fulfilling a series of quests in order to receive an inheritance is contrived, the film need not have been, had the characters been real people, rather than stereotypes; and had the script and film not been filled with so many cliches. As with a person, substance is what makes a story good. Shallowness, lack of imagination, contrivance, stereotypes and cliches - these are the signs of a creative spirit that is anything but. It is folly for Christians to continue churning out books and movies of this sort. What they are doing is creating an image of Christians as superficial, artificial people because that is how our films and novels are. Someone with a godly, biblical standard and the vision to go with it needs to step up to the plate and start swinging. Is there anyone like that out there? I can't help repeating CS Lewis' oft quoted take on Christian books and films: "We don't need more people writing 'Christian books' [but] what we need is more Christians writing good books. - CS Lewis Amen to that. It almost deserves an altar call. Waitsel Smith  Written on June 13, 2008 Summary: FANTASTIC !!! A beautifully acted and recorded story that is superbly inspirational and very touching at the same time. One will never look at butterflies the same after viewing this fantastic DVD. A wonderful contribution to anyone's library and a story you will watch more than once. Written on June 13, 2008 Summary: Awesome! This was an awesome movie. You've got to watch it. My friend let me borrow it and then I quickly went out and bought my own copy from Amazon as a gift for someone, but had to watch it again before I did send it off. I really enjoyed the special faetures also. They're definitely also very much worth the watch! The movie was more than a pleasant surprise! Written on June 11, 2008 Summary: Watching This Is A Gift For Everyone! After Jason's multi-billionaire grandfather caused him an extremely deep pain for which nothing can bring forgiveness, the deceased man hopes to make amends through his inheritance and videotaped commentary. There's a catch though - in order to receive his inheritance... to receive the "Ultimate Gift..." Jason must perform a series of tasks. To most this sounds reasonable, but to Jason, who has not only never worked a day in his life and has an ego the size of the Milky Way Galaxy, this task is so daunting at every step that he considers quitting on multiple occasions. The most interesting aspect of this movie is not whether or not Jason receives his inheritance, the Ultimate Gift, but rather whether or not we as the viewers receive our own metaphorical inheritance from this movie. This is the task we are challenged with, but only in understanding and becoming Jason can we understand the Ultimate Gift. Written on June 9, 2008 Summary: Bring a hankerchief. This movie starts out slow and turns into a classic tearjerker. Billionaire Red Stevens (James Garner) dies. He leaves his fractious family bits and pieces of his empire. But his grandson Jason (Drew Fuller) is singled out for special attentions. Through a series of videos recorded before he died with the help of his wise old lawyer (superbly played by Bill Cobb), the dead Red Stevens sends Jason off on a series of tasks in order to merit what grandpa calls "the ultimate gift". Of course, Jason hates the deceased grandfather. In fact, everyone in the family hates everyone else to one degree or another. Jason starts off as a selfish, self-centered jerk, but you just know that grandpa will change him as a man and bring to understand the grandfather he hated and shunned. It takes litte Emily (fetching played by Abigail Breslin, a real sweetheart) and her single mom Alexia (Ali Hillis) to help the real Jason ultimtely shine through. Brian Denehy plays a small role and it was nice to see him onscreen again. Jason goes through some adventures on his way to manhood, all of which are contrived, but that's just the nature of things. Overall, the film ends up being a real tearjerker in spite of its weak, forumlaic opening. Gratifying in is own way and well worth the watching when you feel like seeing an upbeat film about the potentials of humanity. Jerry |
| Comparison map |
| Wondering how the DVD "The Ultimate Gift" relates to similar DVDs? Find out at a glance here: |
| Price comparison |
 The Ultimate Gift |
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| Our price | $13.49 | $13.49 | $9.49 | $14.99 | $9.99 |
| List price | $19.98 | $19.98 | $14.94 | $19.98 | $12.95 |
| Lowest used price | $4.91 | $4.99 | $9.78 | $5.99 | $6.86 |
| Lowest new price | $11.13 | $11.99 | $8.99 | $10.38 | $6.95 |
| Collectible price | $26.95 | $49.95 | $19.94 | - | $16.95 |
| Catalog | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| Release date | 2007-08-21 | 2007-11-13 | 2007-11-13 | 2007-05-15 | 2007-10-23 |
| Media | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| released in theatres | 2007 | 2007-02-23 | 2003 | 2007-02-09 | 2006-12-02 |
| Running time in minutes | 117 | 118 | 114 | 118 | 84 |
| DVD aspect ratio | 1.85:1 | 1.85:1 | 1.85:1 | 1.78:1 | 1.33:1 |
| Audience Rating | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | NR (Not Rated) | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | NR (Not Rated) |
| Format | AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC | Color, Widescreen, NTSC |
| DVD Region code | 1 | 1 | 99 | 1 | 1 |
| Ean | 0024543444862 | 0024543444930 | 0043396224070 | 0024543427537 | 7960198059880 |
| Upc | 024543444862 | 024543444930 | 043396224070 | 024543427537 | 796019805988 |
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