Producer
Claims Film Attacked
For Alleged Anti-Abortion
Messages
Elite
Critics Skewer,
Fans Love "The Ultimate
Gift"
The Little Film With a Big Heart
CHARLOTTE, NC (ANS) -- Veteran
film producer Rick Eldridge was sure he had all the ingredients to cook
up a successful box office hit. For his film "The Ultimate Gift," based
on the a book of the same name that has sold nearly 4 million copies
worldwide, he landed veteran Hollywood heavyweight James Garner and
young sensation Abigail Breslin to star in a movie that sought to teach
the value of a legacy of hard work and integrity in relation to an
inheritance of cash.
The film tells the story of an elderly
and wealthy man (played by Garner) who leaves behind a video will that
requires his grandson to perform various character-building tasks
before he can inherit his grandfather's wealth. Add in the likes of
Golden Globe winner Brian Dennehy and screen veteran Bill Cobbs, and
it's no wonder that The Washington Post (and many others) have noted
that the film is "well-acted by a first rate cast." "The film aims to
inspire a generation," observed The Arizona Republic.
 |
| Veteran
film producer Rick Eldridge |
But what Eldridge didn't count on was that
his film
would be given tough reviews by the critics because of what they
perceived as being hidden anti-abortion and other conservative
messages.
"Reeking of self-righteousness and
moral reprimand, Michael O. Sajbel's "Ultimate Gift" is a hairball of
good-for-you filmmaking.. The movie's messages - pro-poverty,
anti-abortion - are methodically hammered home," wrote The New York
Times film critic Jeannette Catsoulis.
"There's an anti-abortion message
jammed into one scene with all the subtlety of an avalanche. Just in
case you miss it, it's repeated in the credits too. Some gift, eh?,"
wrote another.
These assessments have been a
surprise to Eldridge. "Huh?" he responded. "The film's single mom says
she was glad she had her child. Calling that an anti-abortion message
is crazy," he said. "And while the film certainly does inspire people
to be giving and compassionate, what does that have to do with being
'pro-poverty'? It's hard to know how to respond to that kind of
criticism, except to say that it clearly incites the wrong things."
Mostly, it seems that there just
isn't enough violence, bad language or sex in this movie, so a host of
elite Hollywood critics are calling it sappy or moralistic and
wondering why moviegoers would pay to see it.
"The Ultimate Gift is a people's
film, not a critic's film," said Eldridge. "And there is, increasingly,
a big difference between those two things. As Bill O'Reilly might say
'the folks' seem to like it a lot."
Eldridge points to this week's
independent exit poll results from CinemaScore, which showed that a
remarkable 99% of all respondents rated the film in the "A/B" category.
"This 'little film with a big heart',
as one critic called it, celebrates the great American values of
thrift, integrity, honor and family," Eldridge said.
"I'm hoping that millions of
Americans will ignore attempts to keep this film down and vote with
their feet to send a message to the movie industry that a values-driven
family movie about virtue can be a box-office hit."
