Pay It Forward

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Movies just plain don't get any better than this one. This has you looking at your own life and values long after you have seen the movie. When the characters cry you will surely find tears in your own eyes. Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment and Kevin Spacey all deserve oscars for their performances in this movie. They pull at your very heart strings with every scene. Have you ever been the recipient of a Pay It Forward? I have and trust me the feeling is beyond words, yet this movie describes it right down to the final tear. Pay It Forward and make someone's world brighter.

Rating:
Summary: pyramid scheme of the golden rule
Review: Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) is a struggling pre-teen. His mother, Arlene (Helen Hunt) is a recovering alcoholic, his father Ricki (Jon Bon Jovi) is an absent, abusive deadbeat and they live in a run-down house with nothing but sadness around them. Trevor is inspired by his teacher, Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey), who has a struggle not so easy to hide from others. He has burn scars on his face that often scare others away and this has made him so self conscious, his only friends are his students and he avoids contact (romantic or otherwise) with adults for fear of rejection.

Eugene proposes taking the Golden Rule ("do unto others....") to action - so that every time someone does something for you, you do something for someone else you don't even know. Trevor decides to push the first domino by doing good deeds for those he doesn't know and before you know it, it has become a nation-wide trend to "pay it forward."

Behind the scenes, Trevor becomes a little matchmaker. He knows his mother needs a caring man to take care of her and that Eugene needs a caring woman to take care of him. He sees potential in them for romance, while keeping his teacher as his mentor instead of leaving him behind as he advances to the next grade level.

There is a lot of schmaltz in this film, everyone is either a demon or a philosopher. Even the crack addict on the street can quote Shakespeare and emote warm fuzzies to the point you feel your eyes roll up - but the acting of Spacey, Hunt & Osment make this into a bittersweet, inspirational tale.

Despite the warm fuzzies, there is language, violence and sex - so this one is not for the kids.

Rating:
Summary: 16, Stockbridge MI
Review: Trevor Mckinny was an avrage kid with a brilliant idea. A plan that could change his life, And every one elses around the world. It First started out as a Social Studies Extra Credit Project but in order to get the points it took all his extra time to organize. His impact on paying it foreward touched the hearts of every one whos ever read the book. The book version is very diffrent then the movie. Rueben is A black man not a white man (Even tho he is still severly scarred.) This is a very good movie and book and it gives a huge outlook for people that have no feelings for other people. Be open minded. Help those who are in need. If you do maybe one day you will get the same in return...

Rating:
Summary: you deserve better than this
Review: a great idea, followed up by terrific performances is destroyed by the filmmakers. I personally like to blame the director, Mimi Leder. The ending totally panders to the audience, willing you to cry, to feel sorry for the characters. It lacks all thought and willingness to take hold of a world changing idea-- the centerpiece of this movie-- to try and show that world can be a better place than it is.

To top it off, the final shot is STOLEN from "Field of Dreams," a film with beauty, honesty and hope-- a long line of headlights, plus people holding candles (CANDLES, oh how hopeful!) as a tribute to what they hoped this movie could be, but utterly failed to be.

Avoid it at all costs. "Pay it Forward" is a hoax.

Rating:
Summary: 2 Oscar winners + 1 Oscar nominee = A bust of a film
Review: It's hard to know what to say about a movie like this. First thing I'd like to say is that the two Oscar winners in the movie, in my opinion, are the weakest parts of this movie. Kevin Spacey is a wonderful actor, but his melodrama in this movie is nauseating, and Helen Hunt does not pull off the "drunken mother" role at all. I felt the strongest parts of this movie were Jim Caviezel's homeless man and the story of Jay Mohr trying to find out where this all started.

I've heard countless people say the following:
a. It has a good message.
b. The ending is so sad.
c. I wish this could really happen.

Here are my answers to these:

a. The message is good, but if all you're looking for is a message, pick up a bible.
b. The ending isn't that sad. The movie itself was so cliched, you can almost expect the ending.
c. If you want this to really happen, stop wishing it and go out and do a good deed.

That's my 2 cents worth. Don't waste your time with this movie. The great actors that are in it have all done better stuff. Save yourself the aggrevation and go rent "As Good as it Gets", "The Usual Suspects", "The Sixth Sense", and "American Beauty". You'll be much more entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Okay, but....
Review: This was supposed to be an inspiring film about doing something good for other people (and telling them to do the same to others and so forth). It DOES start out promising enough, but it is too disjointed, too meandering and some confusing scenes (such as a drunk woman helping a brazen thief to flee from the cops...huh?! That's doing a good deed?) And what's more (spoilers warned!) the character Trevor (who came up with idea for "Paying It Forward" program) was killed at the end defending his friend from the bullies. How is it encouraging the viewers to step out and do the compassionate deed for others at risk of their lives? :/

I'm sorry but I don't think it is really a very good movie, even with best performances that actors such as Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment gave.

Rating:
Summary: Good movie destroyed by its ending
Review: I really like Spacey and Osment, like Hunt fairly well, and the premise seemed intriguing, so I was looking forward to this movie. Even though it was a bit schmaltzy at times and I was less than thrilled by the implication that helping a thief elude police is doing him a favor, I still very much enjoyed the movie, and wondered why it did not do better in the box office. Jay "king of the jerk character" Mohr's character even got sympathetic near the end.

Then the last 5 minutes of the movie was committed.

The writers were probably going for poignant, probing, thought-provoking, and ironic. What they "achieved" was pedestrian, ordinary, over-the-top, and exceedingly sappy. I understand that this movie is based on a novel, so in a sense, I guess it's the author's "fault". But there have been many movies-based-on-books in which major plot points were changed to make the movie more marketable. This should have been one of them.

One of the characters describes the world as a "s***hole" -- if you believe this movie from start to finish, it really is.

Rating:
Summary: Youll cry
Review: Haley Joe Osmond is a kid who has an idea to make the world a better place and he sets his plan to work. His teacher Kevin spacey and his mom Helen Hunt are the other 2 main characters. Great movie. Great acting. The ending is way too sad, this movie left me feeling a bit down.

Rating:
Summary: Not my normal type of movie...
Review: I had not seen this movie until recently when my girlfriend purchased it. My impression while watching it was that it was just yet another chick flick. The entire movie moved pretty slow, but at the end the carpet gets pulled out from underneath your feet. The ending was the absolute saddest (sad as in, tear jerking) ending I have ever seen in a movie or read in a book! Its even sadder than when "Old Yeller" dies! Since movies are supposed to stimulate emotions (including sad ones), I ended up liking this one just for the ending. The ending is so incredibly strong that even the most simple-minded Bruce Willis action fan can't help keep their eyes from watering. I'm glad I didn't see this in the theater. I wouldn't want to had walked out of a theater after seeing this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Simple but Sweet
Review: Pay it forward is a good movie. I rated this movie 4 stars because it had the qualities of a well produced film even without the usual sellers: Special effects/Science fic/Techno dodah etc.

The storyline simple yet exhilarting, structured around a homework assignment given by a social study teacher. Life changing for those who paid attention. It demonstrates how everyone can make a difference despite their minuscule contribution. You never know how the seeds you sow will change lives.

Haley Joe Osment's character was flawless and believable.
Helen Hunt like you've never seen her before totally transformed.
Keven Spacey, low key but impressive.

Some scenes were predictable but worth it nonetheless.