The Ultimate Gift a Heartwarming, Family-friendly Movie

I read a review that said that The Ultimate Gift, while well-intentioned, came across like a TV-movie rather than true theatrical fare. That's not really true.

In fact, it's really quite a good movie, and family friendly in just about every way. There's some material involving death, so it might not be suitable for real young viewers, but it's void of any real foul language, violence, or sexual content. 

The story focuses on Jason Stevens (Drew Fuller) whose billionaire grandfather, Red Stevens (James Garner) has just died. In order to earn his inheritance, his deceased grandfather challenges him, in a series of videos recorded before his death, to take part in certain challenges that teach him the value of certain "gifts," such as the gifts of work, money, and dreams, among others.

These gifts don't come easily to Jason, because he is, to put it frankly, a bit of a spoiled brat. But that's a great deal of the fun of this movie, watching Jason go from spoiled rich kid that gets everything he wants, to a giving and loving man with a big heart. The message here, that love of family and God is more important and, in fact, more likely to make one happy than money and material wealth, is loud and clear, yet works naturally within the story.

During his transformation, he meets Alexia and her daughter, Emily (played by Ali Hillis and Abigail Breslin, respectively) and befriends them. In fact, they end up getting wrapped up in all of the other gifts that he learns, becoming an integral part of his transformation.