Pay It Forward

Rating:
Summary: A Definate MUST SEE!
Review: WOW! This is a real thought provoking movie with a good story line. I can't believe it wasn't more talked about. The world would be a better place if everyone payed it forward. I loved everything about it until the end. But i guess u need a good tearjerker once in a while. WATCH IT!

Rating:
Summary: It could have been better
Review: This was an excellent movie, I must admit. It goes into important issues such as domestic violence, bullying, and alcohol abuse. Not to mention the theme of the whole movie- undeserved kindness. The actors are wonderful but the director should have been someone else. The ending is absolutly horrible, it brings the whole idea of paying it forward seem unsatisfying. The bottom line with this movie is watch it. It's worth the money to rent it. Everyone should see this at least once, because it discusses such important issues. And it is entertaining. Kids should watch this too (I'm 14) because the ideas of school violence touch so close to home. So rent it with your family (not little kids, of course) and watch PAY IT FORWARD!

Rating:
Summary: Pay IT Forward?.Yes.Just don't FAST FORWARD. Ending BLOWS!
Review: Yaaargggh! ... Sure the film's contrived and suspenseless.Sure we know we're getting manipulated.We all know what the premise is going in. We just want to see if the studio can execute the thing with some style and wit . And they almost make it, kinda. But the ending blows. And while I'm at it, can I say that if I see just ONE MORE shot of a moistened Haley Jo Osmond and his tearful eyes I'm going to york! Ok so the ending and that little stinker both bring the movie down. It could been a contenduh! If it weren't for the decent, warming premise and the apprearence of Jon" On A Steel Horse I Ride" Bon Jovi I would have torn this tape from my player and hurled it at the cats that hang out behind my apartment's dumpster. Not to hurt the cats, but maybe they could put it to better use, such as KITTY LITTER!

Rating:
Summary: "American Beauty" meets "Field of Dreams"
Review: Put a great cast of fine actors together with mediocre writing and poor direction and you get a real medium movie - which is too bad because with the proper direction this could have been great. The failure of this movie must be laid directly at the feet of the director. She apparently couldn't decide what sort of movie she wanted to make: should it be "uplifting and heartwarming", "uplifting, but sad", an indictment of our educational system, a portrait of dysfunctional families? Since she couldn't make up her mind, she tried to do it all and failed on all counts. The most irritating part of this movie is, as others have noted, the ending. I love the ending of "Field of Dreams" - in "Field of Dreams", not here. In this movie, the ending is clearly a manipulative rip-off, for which Ms. Leder should be ashamed. There are several ways she COULD have ended the movie - end it after Spacey and Hunt kiss and make up for the "uplifting and heartwarming" movie, end it with the death of the kid (though not filmed so exploitatively) for the "sad ending", etc. Why do it the way she did? The actors did what they could, but this is a movie to watch once and then forget. Too bad...

Rating:
Summary: Pleasently surprised; a feel-good film.
Review: PAY IT FORWARD is indeed a little-known and underrated masterpiece. It's about a young boy named Trevor (Haley Joel Osment) who lives with his young alcholoic single mother, Arlene (Helen Hunt). The two don't get along very well because Trevor is concerned about his mother's drinking problem, even though she claims she doesn't have a drinking problem. Then Trevor goes to 7th grade and meets his social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet (Kevin Spacey), who puts an extra credit assignment on his board for his students on the first day of school which is to find a way that they can change the world. Trevor takes this assignment seriously, and tries to help the people who are less fortunate than him. He even tries to get his mother and Mr. Simonet to fall in love.

I saw this film on Pay Per-View and thought it was truly excellent. The all-star cast also includes Jay Mohr and singer John Bon Jovi. With a good solid plot and a likeable talented cast, what's not to like about this film? PAY IT FORWARD is a unique and delightful film with a surprising ending. Definitely worth viewing!

Rating:
Summary: A film with its heart in the right place
Review: "Pay It Forward" is not a great film, but at least it has a good heart. I have been very critical of the film industry for it's irresponsible attitude towards filmmaking. Films like "Fight Club" and "Pulp Fiction" that glorify anarchy and mayhem send the wrong message to society. Other films like "Scary Movie" and "Road Trip" rely on humor that is so degrading that it lowers the general standard of societal norms by dulling our sense of revulsion at crass behavior. "Pay It Forward" sends a positive message to the masses and despite its unexceptional screenplay, I am gratified to see the effort.

The story centers on Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment), a schoolboy who takes quite literally his teacher's challenge to change the world. He decides to do three favors for people and tells them that instead of paying the favor back, that they should pay it forward; they should do three favors for others. The concept is wonderfully idealistic and it is the kind of message we should be sending to society, rather than the hedonistic and nihilistic themes that pervade cinema today.

The screenplay itself meanders about without the discipline to stay on point. A good portion of the film is wasted on the romantic relationship developing between Trevor's mother (Helen Hunt) and his teacher (Kevin Spacey), which is a complete non sequitur. From a marketing perspective, I can understand the necessity of giving the audience a good bit of screen time with box office magnets rather than building the story on Osment and the main theme. However, only giving a few examples of how the favors were paid forward dilutes the true impact of that theme. A more effective way to structure the film would have been through a succession of vignettes that travel around the country and perhaps return to Trevor.

The ending failed to deliver the message intended. While I surmise that the writer intended that the ending convey the power and impact of goodness and kindness, ironically it sends the message that no good deed goes unpunished, slipping once again into the nihilistic realm of "why bother?"

The acting is consistently good. Kevin Spacey is an enormously talented actor and once again creates a compelling and complex character with extensive range. Helen Hunt is really miscast as the middle class mom. She comes across as so bright that it is hard to dumb her down enough to seem normal. Moreover, the romance between the two had all the chemistry of a PTA meeting. Haley Joel Osment is proving himself to be quite a talent after a riveting performance in "The Sixth Sense". Once again he plays a difficult part with ease.

Despite structural flaws, I rated this film a 7/10 on the strength of the message. I would recommend it to anyone who has not given up hope that the world could be better.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Acting But So-So Writing & Directing
Review: The three reasons you should see this film are: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment. They are actors at the peak of their acting powers. Unfortunately, the writing and directing are not of a similar caliber. Director Mimi Leder strays from where the movie was working, as an acute family drama with this trio. In that guise, Trevor (Osmont) is trying to marry his teacher, Spacey, off to his mother, Hunt. What draws them all together is Trevor's implementing Pay It Forward, a good natured Ponzi or chain-letter like scheme where each person helps three other people. Leder, however, gets extremely heavy handed and maudlin with the Pay It Forward idea and plunges the movie into pure schmaltz that left me very unsatisfied. She also borrowed a scene from another film, "Field of Dreams," that does not work in this film like it did in that one. Nonetheless, these three fabulous actors will hold your attention every moment they are onscreen and are reason enough for viewing this film.

Rating:
Summary: Do yourself a favour, watch this film.
Review: I don't know whether professional reviewers are jaded with life or just naturally cynical but they seem to dismiss far too many films as overly sentimental or contrived. "Pay It Forward" is an emotional film, it will make you cry but that does not make it corny. I am not suggesting you have to open your heart and close your mind to enjoy this film. All you need do is not close yourself off to your soul, because Mimi Leder's film has enough soul of its own for your's to recognize.

Based on a book by Catherine Ryan Hyde, which was unpublished when the script was written, "Pay It Forward", has now become a worldwide movement; and after seeing the film, that should come as no surprise. The story has no hint of religious denomination, nor does it try to preach at us but it nonetheless sends us out of the theatre wanting to do good, to try and make the world a little [better] for someone. It manages this miracle by taking a simple plot and peopling it with characters that are memorable, flawed and likable.

The cast is top class. Haley Joel Osment plays Trevor McKinney, the originator of the pay-it-forward idea. While the impact of his performance was not as great as it was in Sixth Sense, I think we can attribute that to higher expectations. Helen Hunt did make a big impression. As Trevor's Mother, Arlene, she makes Erin Brockovich look like a socialite. She is an alcoholic, single mother who works two Vegas jobs to pay the rent. In her spare time she makes and breaks promises to her son and occasionally allows her "Ex" back into the house, for a little drinking and abuse.

Trevor's seventh grade sociology teacher, Eugene Simonet, is played by Kevin Spacey. He is one of those quiet, thoughtful, caring teachers that sometimes inspire their students to great heights. At the same time, he is a man who is self-conscious about a disfiguring facial burn, to the point where he has settled for a life with little social interaction at all. He has his classroom and his tidy little home and his love of learning. Mr Simonet has long ago given up the hope for a lager life because hope grows more and more painful the longer it goes unrealized.

On the first day of school, Mr Simonet sets his class an extra-credit assignment for the year. They must, "Think of an idea to change our world - and put it into action!" Trevor takes this challenge to heart and develops an idea, which he soon tries to put into action. He plans to help three people. It must be something big, that they could not do for themselves. Those three are then encouraged to pay it forward by helping three other people, instead of trying to return the favor. In this way, Trevor hopes that the idea, and its good acts, will spread and grow. Sadly, he fails to successfully help even one person, despite pouring every effort into the project. But what he doesn't know is that he has helped more than it seems, and his idea is more infectious than he could have hoped.

We get to explore the cascade effects of pay-it-forward through the eyes of a freelance reporter, Chris Chandler, played with casual enthusiasm by Jay Mohr. At the start of the film we witness him receiving his helping hand and its pay-it-forward injunction. His interest stimulated, Chris sets off to track down the source of the movement. As he backtracks the trail, we switch back and forward in time, following Trevor as he tries to make his idea fly, all the time knowing, through Chris, that it must succeed.

This is a powerful story. The idea itself is wonderful but as a film, it rides on the fact that all of the major characters go through significant personal changes. In a way, Trevor is a modern day messiah. Where he goes, people repent and recover the best parts of themselves. He is not a grandiose figure, just a young boy who has a lot of faith, passion and persistence. We can all learn a lot from this film and remember, if it does affect you deeply, pay it forward.

Rating:
Summary: This world needs a change.....
Review: And this movie should do it. For all the people who live as good people, isolated in a world full of hate, contempt, and all around negativity, this movie gives insirpation and confidence that the young have the possibilities and the ideas that will bring about change. Maybe not soon....but someday. Haley Joel Osment does a great job in this movie. Watch it and learn how to change the world.

Rating:
Summary: Philosophically A+ Dramatically B-
Review: As a movie the film has some very noticeable flaws. It indeed was VERY predictable (if it wasn't you haven't seen many movies), often times overly melodramatic and cliched. And not to mention the fact the film really seemed to lag/drag throughout the middle portion. Even a fantastic actor like Kevin Spacey couldn't breathe any reality into words which just lacked real feeling and sincerity. Nonetheless, Spacey gives a fine albeit occasionally overacted performance.

Plus I felt like the writing, save for the 1st half hour, was pretty lame. The first half hour is incredibly intelligent and engaging.

And is it just me or does Jay Mohr seem to be particularly irritating in every role he plays or what?

Helen Hunt was quite impressive both in her performance and her appearance. She, like so many other women, looks better with a few extra pounds on her. And although I certainly regarded her character with much derision (and deservedly so) the flow of the film made me re-examine my initial assumptions. This was a much better performance, in my opinion, than her oscar winning performance in As Good as it Gets.

But it's the philosophy of the film that makes it a must see film. Wow... what a concept. To help and forgive people, regardless of whether or not they deserve it. Simple, direct, and monumental both in scope and difficulty.

The most important concept the film makes in my mind however is that our educational system SHOULD be encouraging our children to think rather than just memorize. Examine, postulate, and reflect. And how amazing the results might be.