Sunday, May 18, 2008

I put The Ultimate Gift on the queue based on the recommendation of Netflix. You know how you rent movies and then they recommend other movies based on your rental patterns? This is one of those recommendations.

Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise. Based on the best-selling book “The Ultimate Gift” by Jim Stovall, the story sends trust fund baby Jason Stevens on an improbable journey of discovery, having to answer the ultimate question: “What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?”

The one word that comes to mind for this movie is schmaltz. But it works in its schmaltziness. We both liked the movie and for me it was a four Kleenex cryfest.

It is rated PG and safe for younger kids, although there is one series of scenes that might be a little too dramatic and scary for kids under about 10-12. And it may be over their heads.

For all of its over-sentimentality, I still give it 4 stars out of 5.