Online Archives

'The Ultimate Gift' is an ultimate disaster

By Christopher J. Troilo
UMConnection Movie Reviewer

We can all remember times in our lives where our priorities were misaligned, or we acted selfishly, disregarding our family and friends. So when we see movies about lost or misgbwc_superusered individuals who undergo transformations to better themselves and the world around them, we often times can root for the 'hero' because we identify with them.

However, when the main character appears to be the same rich, whiny, money-grubbing slacker as he was in the beginning of the film post-'transformation', then him succeeding is really the last thing I want to see.

Take predictability. Now add annoyance, clich?, boredom with a dash of ridiculousness. Congratulations, you?ve just made 'The Ultimate Gift.' On paper, this film sounded intriguing enough- Jason, the grandson of a wealthy oil tycoon, must accomplish 12 tasks by his late grandfather if he is to receive his inheritance. The tasks are designed to help Jason turn his life around and realize what?s truly important in the world.

I understand the necessity of making Jason a slacker and downright dislikeable from the get-go, but his character flaws are so off-the-wall and ungrounded, that I didn?t have any desire to see him succeed. Jason has this major bratty self-centered chip on his shoulder, and it?s never explained why.

During almost 90 percent of Jason?s tasks, he is rude to his facilitators, and he never seems to make any progress in terms of becoming a better person. At the end of the movie when Jason is supposedly a changed man, it was so sudden and almost a little over-the-top, that it just seemed like he was faking it.

I kept waiting for the theme of the film to reveal that 'money isn?t everything;' but no, that never happened. Jason?s first task is supposed to be about the value of hard work, so he?s sent to a farm. However, this 'farm' has a mansion on it, bigger than some Beverly Hills estates. At one point, Jason becomes homeless and loses all his possessions, yet somehow every day he looks perfectly kempt with a brand new set of clothes. No matter how far away Jason is supposed to be removed from his wealthy life, he nearly always seems provided for.

Then there is the forced love story. A young girl named Emily approaches Jason while he?s homeless living in a park, and wants to be his friend. Jason, in typical fashion, is a jerk to both Emily and Emily?s single mom, but he needs a friend to complete a task, so he begins hanging around them. For some reason, Jason?s meanness is found to be attractive by the mom, so guess what happens at the end?

There?s also a whole side-story where Jason is taken hostage by drug lords (I wish I was kidding, but I?m not). At this point my eyes were nearly hurting due to the amount of rolling they were doing. The final message of the story is?actually, I have no idea what the message is. Money is good? I really don?t know.

So in any event, 'The Ultimate Gift' seems to be being marketed as an inspirational tale, and even tries to make a reference to faith (which seems to be an after thought), but realistically, 'Gift' fails at giving anything of value.

2.3 out of 10

Questions and comments to the writer are encouraged, as he can be reached by e-mail at