Movie Review: The Ultimate Gift

The Ultimate Gift (2007) 

Directed by Michael Sajbel

Written by Cheryl McKay 

Starring Abigail Breslin, Drew Fuller, Bill Cobbs, James Garner

Release Date March 9th, 2007 

Published March 10th, 2007 

Cynically trading on the Oscar nomination of young Abigail Breslin is the religious themed drama The Ultimate Gift. This film from the newly minted Fox Faith distribution company is Fox's even more cynical attempt to turn a profit on religion. In the wake of Passion of the Christ we have seen more and more of these religious dramas and with their low budgets and relative returns; they aren't likely to improve in quality anytime soon.

Jason (Drew Fuller) has drifted through life on his mom's money for many years. Naturally, with privilege paying for his high class New York apartment and expensive car, Drew values nothing above vanity. However, his life is changed forever by the death of his grandfather Red (James Garner). It's not that Jason was close with his grandfather, indeed grandpa wasn't close to anyone in his family. No, it's just that grandpa decided on his death to use his money to teach his wayward grandson a lesson.

With the help of his lawyer (Bill Cobbs) Red has set up a series of challenges for Jason. First, he forces Jason's mom to cut off his money. This costs Jason his apartment and his beloved car. Jason must prove that without his money he still has friends. This is much harder than he would have imagined. This is when Jason meets Emily (Abigail Breslin). Sleeping on a park bench, Jason is thought to be a homeless man.

Emily offers him food and soon Jason is scheming to have the girl and her mother Alexia (Ali Hillis) pretend to be his friends. Unfortunately, that still isn't enough for Jason to get his money. There are more challenges, including working on the ranch owned by Gus (Brian Dennehy) one of Red's best friends, to teach him hard work. Of course all of these valuable less are meant to make Jason a better person and wouldn't you it, the little girl and her mom have a secret that will also influence Jason's becoming a better person.

Directed by Michael O'Sajbel, The Ultimate Gift is like an unfunny version of the Richard Pryor comedy Brewster's Millions. Both films are about learning the value of a dollar and how money, having it and not having, teaches a valuable lesson. Brewster's Millions thankfully, isn't weighed down by biblical piety and dull melodrama as The Ultimate Gift is.

Director Michael O'Sajbel has been rather indignant about his film being treated as or marketed as a faith movie. He might want to look at the distributor shingle hanging on the front of the film. It's a new division of the Fox movie company called Fox Faith. A reaction what marketers had hoped was a new niche in the wake of The Passion Of the Christ.

Unfortunately, that niche has proven unreliable and movies like The Ultimate Gift, Amazing Grace and September Dawn have been made for an audience that may not even exist. Certainly, there was a vocal group of people who went to see the Passion and talked openly of how they rarely go to the movies because of their negative impression of Hollywood filmmakers.

In reality, most churchgoers are just average moviegoers who would rather watch swashbuckling pirates, spider based heroes and big green ogres rather than some self serving pseudo religious drama. Churchgoers, even the evangelicals, are as starstruck as any other audience and would rather watch Johnny Depp in a bad movie than some guy named Drew Fuller in a movie that allegedly appeals to their values.

The failure of The Ultimate Gift is simply a question of quality. The film isn't very good. The acting is subpar, the aesthetic is amateur and the underlying ideals are a cynical attempt at niche marketing. There really is nothing good about this movie and that is why audiences rejected it in droves when it was released in theaters and continue to reject it on DVD.

This will no doubt be the fate of most if not all films that follow the same path. Assuming that churchgoers are not savvy movie fans or that they are somehow entirely different from average moviegoers is a failed premise.

Movie Review Sunshine State

Sunshine State (2002) 

Directed by John Sayles 

Written by John Sayles 

Starring Jane Alexander, Angela Bassett, Bill Cobbs, Edie Falco, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen

Release Date June 21st, 2002 

Published June 21st, 2002 

Writer-director John Sayles is the prototype independent filmmaker. He's even been referred to as the Godfather of the independent film. For more than 20 years, Sayles has been making his films his way, with tremendous artistic success and modest box office. Along the way, Sayles has picked up awards, critical plaudits and sorts-of praise. None of that has altered his way of making movies. Sayles has never succumbed to mainstream moviemaking and he's never been co-opted by the studio system. Sayles exists on his own filmmaking plane. His latest work is yet another work of independence called Sunshine State.

State tells the multiple interlocking stories of the people living on the fictional plantation island off the coast of Florida. Formerly a bustling community of semi-affluent African-American and small business owners, Plantation Island is now feeling the encroachment of modern America in the form of big business real estate developers. As we join the story, developers have already begun to dominate the island save for two small communities. In the predominantly African American community of Lincoln Beach, times are tough and the residents are ripe to be picked off by the real estate developers. Not everyone is so quick to move however, especially Dr. Lloyd (Bill Cobbs) who leads the only resistance to the developers.

Dr. Lloyd is living with Eunice Stokes (Mary Alice), another longtime resident of Lincoln Beach not keen on moving. Mrs. Stokes however has more pressing concerns as her daughter Desiree and husband Reggie have arrived from out of town. Eunice has a secret and needs to reconcile with her estranged daughter, not only for herself but also for her young nephew Terrell.

Paralleling that story is that of Marly Temple, a Hotel and Restaurant owner being pursued by developers who want to turn her small businesses into a thriving mini-mall. Marly is quite tempted to sell but can't because her ailing father (Ralph Waite) who though retired from the business, urges her to hold onto the business he started.

Each story plays out as the city that surrounds them is celebrating a citywide festival organized by Fracine Pickney, a silly housewife played by Mary Steenburgen. She is so wrapped up in making a great parade she fails to notice her husband’s (NYPD Blue’s Gordon Clapp) multiple attempts at suicide.

A group of golfers act as the bookends of the film, led by comedian Alan King as the head of the development company trying to buy the island. King has two sensational speeches, one at the beginning of the film and one at the end that tie the story together in its most simple form.

There are so many characters in Sunshine State and so many little connections between each character it would be impossible to explain each of them. The connections are well explained and meaningful, and come together to paint a beautiful picture. A picture of a group of people living their lives and the life that has grown up around them.

At first it seems that Sayles is going to make a statement movie about the environment and evil big business corporate villains. However, by the end of the film Sayles’ broader themes become clear. Corporate greed and social issues are parts of the lives being lived in Sunshine State, but Sayles is far more interested in how those lives are lived. 

Sayles draws intelligent realistic characters that are well spoken and interesting. The scripting is intricate and ingenious, and Sunshine State is simply a joy to watch. A film that respects the intelligence of the audience enough to make a movie that doesn't work in broad strokes, but rather in subtlety. Words that are far more important than action. Humor that comes from reality instead of forced punch lines. While the film’s pace may be a little leisurely at times the performances and dialogue are strong enough that even the most belabored scenes hold the audience's attention.

John Sayles movies do not compromise, they never come off as market-tested. As such, they are nearly impossible to classify by genre. They are simply well made intelligent films. Sunshine State may in fact be John Sayles best film to date.