Rating: 
Summary: I'm being a bit ambitious, but...
Review: ...I'll give it three stars. Okay, let's see how many different issues this movie can address at once: 1. Alcoholism 2. Spousal Abuse 3. Dysfunctional Relationships 4. Morality 5. School Violence... and there's more, but that'd give away the plot (even though I'm sure it's already been given away). And so you have all these horrible issues clouded up in Haley's character's life, and yet he still tries to make a difference in the world. It's your classic "tear-jerking-feel-good" movie, and almost everything in this has been cliched. What I guess would make up for the kind of out-there storyline is the acting- Kevin Spacey's extreme talent really shines as his character. He does an excellent job of switching from a teacher to a guy with really no life. Helen Hunt, though I kind of have mixed feelings about her, does a very good protrayl of an abused spouse and alcoholic. Haley Joel Osment's done better, but, he still does a decent job. This movie is probably a bit darker than what you're expecting from the trailer, and I really wouldn't recommend it for people under 13. I'm sure if you're not as nit-picky as I am you'll thoroughly enjoy this.
Rating: 
Summary: A successful translation...
Review: of the Catherine Ryan Hyde novel, "Pay It Forward", touches the optimist in all of us. There are certainly flaws in this movie, but overall the impact of the simple story of a group of people whose lives have all been broken in some way carries you over the errors in filming.This is a story that relies on flashbacks to connect the seemingly unrelated "good Samaritan" who helps a reporter (Jay Mohr) to an adolescent in Las Vegas, who has innocently but purposefully started this tale of giving, the acts of "Paying it forward" that propel the tale. Haley Joel Osment and Helen Hunt are believable as a casino worker and her son who are just hanging on to existence from day to day until Trevor's imagination and belief take them into a phase of their lives together that make the past disappear. Hunt struggles a little to adopt the language, style and weariness of a single mom with few hopes and aspirations. Osment gives a solid performance as her 12 year old son; wanting to believe in her, but finding it difficult when she can't seem to give up the bottle. Enter Spacey as the kind of teacher each of us had once in junior high....strange looking, nerdish, with charisma meaningful only to adolescents. He helps the students see beyond the classroom and understand that it is just a bridge into the world beyond them. His singular existence in Las Vegas, of all places, is hard to understand and his loneliness and caring position him to befriend and become an integral part of Trevor's "Pay it Forward" machinations. I'm way too big a Spacey fan to review his performances...in each, it appears to me that he creates a role, and they build a screenplay around him, so real and believable are his characterizations. Unbilled in the factors that make the film so moving are the unique and appealing score and the scenic backdrop that director Leder and her cameramen have provided of the Las Vegas area. Caught in the contrast between glitzy casinos and rundown and worn residential and transient areas is the arresting view of the deserts and mountains that surround the city. Leder has successfully translated the strange mix of beauty and hopelessness that the city evokes to her film. It is really the only solid praise I have for Leder. Not sure if the final scene, which was totally out of place in the movie, was due to her direction or poor screenwriting (or both), but the film deserved a very different ending; one whose simplicity evoked the theme of the movie. Throughout the film, ways of "seeing" the scene and the characterizations of those who could have been important (Bon Jovi, Dickinson) were poorly woven into the central story. Despite this, the film succeeds due to plot and performance, and because we all want to believe. Pay It Forward will help restore some optimism in the world. See it as soon as possible, and enjoy Hyde's book, as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational Family Film
Review: Expecting a overly sugary, feel good movie, I was astounded to discover instead a captivating, if mildly sappy, tale with top flight actors in a tightly scripted movie that lives and breaths. A movie that will both inspire and sadden you. The cast is exceptional, the story mostly believable and the message might even challenge you to do something really huge. Note: Have a box of kleenex really close.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent , but.....
Review: My overall view of his film is that it is excellent and it had a great effect upon me. I kept thinking about it for days - which I think is a good thing. The overall concept is a bit disneylike and could smell a little of sentimental schmaltz. However - this is definitely not a childrens film! It has its light moments and the general theme is idealistic but it has it's dark side and I feel it says a lot about the state of humanity. It is a very good attempt at what it tries to do but falls down in some areas and could have been scripted better. But what the hell? The acting is superb. Spacey delivers his usual fine performance. Helen Hunt is excellent but isn't 100% believable as a working class mum. And as for Haley Joel Osment - this is a talent we will see much more of. For a child his depth of emotion and delivery is astounding - like the film as a whole he has some flaws but these can be overlooked in light of the overall performance. One thing I must say is that I have very mixed feelings about the end (which I cannot reveal without spoiling it). One the one hand it is refreshing not to finish in the usual predictable way but on the other I found it quite devasating and it seemed to destroy the whole idea of 'pay it forward' being a good thing. I dont know what the director meant the end to convey but it just left me feeling gutted. I would like to give it 5 stars but I just think that it could have been better. It would be hard to improve upon the acting but it might have been better if the script was more focused and did not try to address all of the ills of society. It tried to do too much and in some areas this just overloaded the film and gave it a slightly unbelievable feel. Criticisms aside, it is one of the best I have seen for quite some time and given it's lack of publicity I was more than pleasantly surprised by it's quality. I disagree with some of the comments suggesting it is life changing but it certainly hits you with something and sometimes it hurts. As for those who harshly criticised it I can only say they must be lacking some heart as this is what this film appeals to. Incidentally, I could have done without the very last scene which unnecessarily took it into the land of tackyness.
Rating:
Summary: Pay It Forward will change your life forever
Review: What can I say, Haley Joel Osment, Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt shine in this terrific movie. It's a movie about life, about the world how it is today, and how you've got to flip around the things you don't like in this world. Too hard, too difficult, impossible, you say. Well, this movie is giving you an idea how you could do it. Because nothing will happen if nobody begins with it. (You'll understand this after you've seen this movie.) I sure don't believe Leonard Maltin, I'm very disappointed in this critic. This movie was probably too emotional for him. But if you, like me, not afraid for a movie that touches your heart, you've got to see this. So go out, and watch Pay It Forward, and maybe, we can actually change lives. It sure will change yours.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Tearjerker
Review: I had never heard of this movie until I saw it. Once I saw it I wondered why! The little boy is one of the most wonderful child actors I have seen in years. He makes his characters come to life. You actually believe that Trevor is real and he makes you want to shield him from the pain in his life. I have a son that is the same age as the character in the movie and I believe they portrayed Trevor in a very realistic manner. I can understand that some people would find this film to be soppy (mainly people who have never suffered in their lives) but I feel that the issues dealt with in this movie are a part of everyday life for many people and these people will relate (ie, bullies, alcoholism, child molestation, single parenting, child abuse). The only fairly unbelievable part for me was the streetwoman (Angie Dickenson)saving the thief. These characters weren't very well written. The story itself and the main characters were touching and thought provoking. This is a pretty deep story and I definitely sobbed at the ending. I recommend this movie, if nothing else, for the way it shows that each person can contribute something to this world. It also shows that abuse of any kind carries scars that last a lifetime. I hope that the people who see this movie will learn from it, even if they don't like it. Pay It Forward should send a message of caring and hope to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: Pay It Forward One of the Years Best
Review: Pay it Forward was one of the best movies I have seen all year. It features an all star cast which includes Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joe Osment, and it delt with problems that a lot of people across the nation deal with. Such as the problem of abuse of people and of substences. It showed how a lot of America's families opperate. There was also that idea that has stuck with of paying it forward. It was a exallent movie with a unpredictable, and sad ending. I would encourage you to buy this movie or if not buy it go out and rent it because this movie is without a doubt one the must see movies, or at least one of the best that has come out in a long time.
Rating:
Summary: PRAYING THIS CAN HAPPEN IN 2001
Review: My pastor preached a sermon a few weeks ago and spoke very highly of this movie. I recently bought a copy of the movie and thoroughly enjoyed viewing it and have recommended to ALL of my family, friends, co-workers, people browsing in the movie store...This movie has a very strong spiritual principal in it that can not be ignored. My prayer is that those who watch & enjoy this movie..will PAY IT FORWARD!....I believe anything is possible for those who believe.... Well worth watching....time & time again!
Rating: 
Summary: Refund it back...
Review: After Kevin Spacey's terrific turn in "American Beauty", Haley Joel Osment's extraordinary acting (for a child, at least) in "The Sixth Sense", and Helen Hunt's superb performance as the mumsy protagonist in "As Good As It Gets", comes this limp-wristed effort from director Mimi "Deep Impact" Leder. You probably already know that Haley Joel Osment plays a boy who dreams of changing the world, drawing up a scheme for a school assignment lifted straight from Oprah Winfrey's infamously schmaltzy on-air bid for "Random Acts Of Kindness". Whereby, helping three people with enormous acts of generosity who each, in turn, "pay it forward" and so on, until one day the whole world is an enormous ball of yummy-yummy goodness. It's a sickeningly schmaltzy concept, made all the more unedifying by director Mimi Leder's attempts to frame this global-goodness context against the domestic 'turmoil' of alcoholic trailer-trash waitress Helen Hunt. Furthermore, Leder's use of Spacey, Hunt, and Osment (character actors by nature) is wasted, the three of them turning in the most ham-fisted performances of their career. In more capable hands, this could have been developed into an innocent, charming film, but the whole affair falls way short of passable. The problem, as is the case with such tripe, is the material, the vastly underdeveloped characters merely vehicles for a series of unexplored, glossed-over issues such as alcoholism, drug use, homelessness, domestic violence, and in one frankly ludicrous scene, paedophilia. To top it all, the make-up is hilariously unconvincing, Hunt looking for all the world like a blonde-haired plastic troll, while Spacey's "burns" seem fashioned from plasticine. There's little to recommend about "Pay It Forward", except that it's worth seeing for proof that, if pushed, Kevin Spacey can't act. A tiresome load of fluff, then, and a wasted effort from all concerned.
Rating:
Summary: think
Review: this movie is a thinking movie. it make you think about everything that you have never care to think about before. the actors are so good that you feel like you know that charicter , which turn out make's you cry. so if you are looking for a movie that is happy or funny that is part of this movie but in the end all you can feel is sadness. myself, i could stop cry when i went to bed that night. so if you want a movie that leaves you with a happy tingley feeling this is not the movie. but someday everyone shoud see this movie. it will change you forever.
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