THE ULTIMATE GIFT

The ULTIMATE GIFT is a movie about a rich, spoiled young man, Jason, played by Drew Fuller. His grandfather (James Garner), who was incredibly rich, just passed away, and the movie starts out at the death, funeral, and reading of the will. One by one, each family member is disappointed as they receive their inheritance. The last one there is Jason, who finds out that whatever he receives, he will get only after he completes a series of steps. This angers the spoiled Jason, but he reluctantly decides to go along with it. After completing each step, he is to return to his grandfather's lawyer, Mr. Hamilton (Bill Cobbs) and his secretary, played by Lee Meriwether (yes, I mean, CATWOMAN!) and report his experience. If they are satisfied with the results, he can move on to the next step.

Each gift is a specific task that sends him on a journey designed to help him figure out what is important in life. While I don't want to spoil it for you by telling you what all the steps are, I will tell you that the first one teaches him the value of hard work! And each gift that follows teaches him integrity, gratitude, friendship, giving, and more. He begins with the attitude that he's just going to get it over with so he can receive his inheritance. But something begins to change inside of him with every assignment. The experiences he has, both good and bad, alter his perspective on life.

Along the way he meets a young mom and her daughter, Emily, played by Abigail Breslin. Emily is a spunky little girl who befriends him, and soon he discovers that Emily has Leukemia. This is the beginning of his change.

It's an inspiring story. I laughed and cried while I watched it. It's rated PG, and it's simple enough for even young kids to follow, but adults will love it too. You'll want to share the story with others - especially teens and young adults. In fact, you can go the Ultimate Gift website and download discussion guides and tools for helping create family traditions to reinforce the importance of the "gifts". It's an important message and a very good movie!