From the new Christian films marketing division of Fox, Fox Faith, comes a film about the important parts of life, based on the book by Jim Stovall. “The Ultimate Gift” stars Drew Fuller, Brian Dennehy, Ali Hillis and Academy Award nominated actors Abigail Breslin and James Garner.

When ultra-wealthy Red Stevens (Garner) dies, his self-absorbed, privileged family clamors to the reading of the will to see just how much they will walk away with, showing little or no sadness at the loss of their father and grandfather. During the reading, each of Red’s children as well as his widowed daughter-in-law are given portions of his estate, though none are pleased by what they have received as they expected more from the billionaire. It becomes clear that Red’s children share none of the values which are important to him, and place money as their top priority.

As each inheritance is read, the party is required to leave the room until there is only one person left: Jason (Fuller), Red’s grandson. Jason is a bitter rich kid who sees his grandfather as nothing more than a man who has let him down. His hatred stems from what he believes to be Red’s part in Jason’s father’s death.

It is Jason, however, who Red felt he still might have a chance in helping to become a man after his own heart. In order to work toward a transformation in Jason, Red recorded a series of messages for Jason prior to his death. These messages give Jason instructions on a series of tasks he must complete before receiving his inheritance, which Red refers to as the ultimate gift. Red’s trusted friend, advisor and the executor of his will, Mr. Hamilton, is responsible for overseeing Jason’s tasks to decide if he has completed them fully.

Throughout the tasks, Jason learns the value of hard work, the value of money, the value of true friendship, and the value of family. The transformation does not come easily and over the course of several months Jason is stretched, tested and challenged beyond anything he ever expected. During his transformation he befriends Emily (Breslin), a little girl with cancer, and her mother Alexia (Hillis).

The first part of “The Ultimate Gift” is forced and overacted. Jason is a rich kid with an attitude problem, I get it. I don’t need the posse dressed in black showing up late to the funeral or the mediocre dialogue to tell me that; the slouching and the churlish expression will suffice. The family’s portrayal of self-absorption yields no depth, and I found myself irritated at the writer, Cheryl McKay, and director, Michael O. Sajbel, for not trying a little harder to add realism to the situation. OK, I’ve never been at a billionaire’s funeral or the reading of the will, but I doubt that it looks much like this film’s portrayal: kids watching movies on portable DVD players, ipods and huffy exits including “You'll be hearing from my lawyer”-threats...ok, so maybe the last one is realistic.

Thankfully the film hits its stride midway through. The problems of the first half of the film seem to vanish in the second half. The acting gets better, the story becomes engaging and heartfelt, and situations which would have seemed contrived in the first half seem believable.

Unsurprisingly, Breslin is without a doubt the best part of the film. Sweet yet saucy, Emily is the real crux for change in Jason. It is her strength and wisdom that forces Jason to look past his own embitterment and finally reach for his grandfather’s ultimate gift.

There are some intense moments as well as some sad situations, so I wouldn’t recommend families taking small children to see it. “The Ultimate Gift” is a story of love, loss, friendship and family, and one worth checking out.

**1/2

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