The Ultimate Gift - Recommendation

Folks, over the weekend I saw a non-mainstream movie called The Ultimate Gift ... I highly recommend this movie!


The story is about a spoiled trust fund baby who learns about the true treasures of life through experience and hardship. Great acting by a great cast - you really can see the transformation that the main character endures.

This movie now ranks as one of my favorites!

It also was a best selling book.
http://www.theultimategift.com/

I recommend hitting Blockbuster for the rental as its a great family story with a hard-hitting message.

Looks like a great movie, I'll take your recommendation and rent it this weekend.

I just watched this movie a few days ago. Really good - and I think there are so many different messages....

What legacy will you leave?
Will you leave your children an inheritance and what impact will it have on them?
Have you identified the "big things" in your life, and are you taking care of them?
How are you giving back?

I must say I have seen Forest Gump 4-5 times, And no joke after I read RDPD for the first time. I was doing some reading on line and had Forest playing in the background watching 5min here and there, I found the movie to be very inspiring and really makes you think.
Thanks for the recommendation

I don't mean to high jack your thread in anyway..hope it doesn't go that way..

I too highly recommend this movie, especially for teenagers.

Just got this wednesday after i read this thread (mj has a position in blockbuster? ) and all i have to say is wow, brings a very powerful messege. acctually several good messeges. very good recommendation.

Good premise for a movie. ...However, I found that the story led back to the whole "money is evil" premise- which I think (in reality) keeps most people from trying to obtain financial freedom. There is a prevailing mindset of "wanting/having money is bad" and to even try makes one greedy. I couldn't disagree more. Speaking from personal experience, I am a true believer in that money doesn't change people, it just makes them more of what they already are. ...Granted, in the movie the guy had to change in order to become a good person- but this was because he came from a crazy family where money was just an accelerant to their craziness. I think it is totally possible for a person to have a boatload of money, be happy and not have to give it all away in order to be a good person. ...There is middle ground- and I've found that in real life most of the generous (and happiest) people know are also the wealthiest.

I just saw the movie and loved it.

In my perspective, the movie didn't came up with the "money is evil" concept. In fact Brian Dennehy is a rich guy without being evil at all. Same with Bill Cobbs. It seemed to me that the point was that money isnt what its all about...

Ditto ... I perceived it as "Whatever you give, you get back 10X"

It's like the great MJ said, its all about how many life's are you touching

...After seeing the movie, I decided that another "gift" to those we care for or about is the gift of time. Personally, I decided that for Christmas I am going to donate my time (which is very valuable to me) and/or money to a charity or for a cause that is valuable to that person (especially for people that live out-of-state that I tend to just give gift cards to, or some trinket I've picked up along the way). I'm also going to ask that they do the same. - If they don't have the time, to just donate money to a charity that I support. So for example, I plan on donating some bags of pet food to my local SPCA in my mom's name- as well as spending time volunteering walking the animals and whatever else I can do to be helpful. I get goosebumps when I think about how much good can be shared this way!

This is a great movie!

The author of the book has a cameo in the movie. Jim Stovall plays the limo driver. Jim went blind in his twentys and gave up on life for a while then he built a company for blind people and is worth millions. He does some motivational speaking and sometimes he walks up on stage with nobody helping him. He's a great speaker and has an amazing story.

Interesting take.

I came up away with just the opposite. Look at the amazing thing he was able to do at the end of the movie - with the money he had.

Jim is one of the best speakers that I've ever had the pleasure of listening to. Jim's brother is a deacon at our church, so he arranged for Jim to come and speak to the congregation one Sunday. I was completely blown away by the experience! Jim is a very humble guy that has turned a perceived tragedy (his loss of sight) into a whole new appreciation for life.

I need to ask if his message was taped at our church, because it was amazing and I would love to hear it again. Perhaps I can even manage to get permission to post it on the forum.

That would be awesome!

I have watched this movie twice now and LOVED IT
I recommended it to all of my friends and family