IMDb > Pay It Forward (2000)
Pay It Forward
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Pay It Forward (2000) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (see all 30 | slideshow) Videos (see all 9 NEW)
Pay It Forward (2000) -- hv post
Pay It Forward (2000) -- The wait for a new kidney can take years. One donor began a chain of donations to people desperately in need. Harry Smith talks to 8 donors and recipients who are linked by paying it forward.
Pay It Forward (2000) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Pay It Forward (2000) -- Moviesbox.us - Trailer (Flash)
Pay It Forward (2000) -- MyMovies.Net - Trailer (WM9 - 56kbps)

Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   33,604 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Mimi Leder
Writers (WGA):
Catherine Ryan Hyde (book)
Leslie Dixon (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Pay It Forward on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
20 October 2000 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Romance more
Tagline:
Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded. more
Plot:
A young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance. full summary | full synopsis
Awards:
1 win & 3 nominations more
User Comments:
Not for the stonehearted. more (627 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including substance abuse/recovery, some sexual situations, language and brief violence
Runtime:
123 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The Jaguar owner is played by director Mimi Leder's husband, Gary Werntz. His character's asthmatic daughter is their real-life daughter, Hannah Werntz. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Trevor is eating breakfast in the kitchen with his friend, the contents of his breakfast bowl and glass change between shots. more
Quotes:
Arley: [to Eugene] You look good to me. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Cougar Club (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Rock the Party (Off the Hook) more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
57 out of 77 people found the following comment useful.
Not for the stonehearted., 9 February 2002
7/10
Author: Al Rogerson (Neo0682@aol.com) from Manchester, England

Pay It Forward is a movie that is aimed at one particular audience. The kind of audience that expects to have their life changed as the minutes tick by.

And as a film that provides profound, poignant and tear-jerking moments, Pay It Forward will be perfect for this manner of audience. Unfortunately, harder, more expecting movie-goers will probably dismiss this movie as an oversentimental and perhaps unrealistic film.

The film is centred around Trevor (Hayley Joel-Osment). An 11 year old boy, living alone with his dysfunctional, on-off alcoholic mother Arlene (Helen Hunt). One day Trevor is set a homework assignment by his new Social Studies teacher, the mysterious, slightly disfigured Eugene (Kevin Spacey). Eugene sets the class a difficult task; to think of an idea that will change the world and put it into action. Et voila!! Pay It Forward is born.

Trevor is played with an endearing maturity and at times, unstable frustration by uber kid actor Osment. As an aspiring actor, I worry that an 11 year old boy can grab hold of such difficult roles and make them his, while I still strive to gain my Equity card!! What Osment promised in The Sixth Sense, he shows again here with a more difficult and emotionally charged role. Trevor is a boy not altogether happy with his life. He is lacking in a father figure, his Mother struggles to have any impact on him as she juggles two jobs to make ends meet, which leaves Trevor with nothing but his own intuition to drag him through life. For a child that can only be extatic and contented with HIS life, Osment does well to project such a fragile character on screen.

Eugene is a character made for Kevin Spacey (although all his roles seem perfect for him). Intelligent, compassionate, slightly bitter and at times unpredictable, Eugene is a man that we, as an audience cannot help but engage with. The dialogue written for Spacey is much better than other characters in the film, and he puts it to good use. Spacey is at his best when doing two things; calmly and charismatically attracting attention to himself (Ordinary Decent Criminal, Midnight In The Garden Of...), and when he bubbles just below the surface, inviting audiences in so that he can devastate you with a single revelation (Seven, Usual Suspects, Swimming With Sharks). And his revelation in this film (he relives how he came to get his horrific scars), is so vivid, so intricately and harrowingly retold that you cannot help but feel a tear well up in your eye.

Helen Hunt is fantastic as Arlene. Managing to achieve a look that bizarrely mixes trailer trash, run down alcoholic with vulnerable cuteness. She doesn't get the pick of the dialogue however, and the role aswell as the whole film would have been a whole lot worse off had Hunt not been on top form. You don't want her to be your Mother, but you really want to see her happy and for her to do a good job at being Trevors.

The film falls short in little details. Supporting characters do little to affect the story (Jay Mohr as an almost non-speaking narrator??) and the whole thing feels flat if Spacey is off screen too long. Good actors like Jim Caviezel go almost unnoticed and you can't help but feel that a few more juicy characters would help the story become a little more...cohesive.

The ending is a reinforcement of the atmosphere of the whole film. It is a sequence that heightens our emotion and should set the tears rolling.

In short, see this film for three things; Haley Joel-Osment, Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt. All three are fantastic, and it's obvious to see why so much Oscar gossip was being spread.

If you like heart warming films with a little bit of edge, then watch on. If you're expecting an original, exciting, twisty or philosophical film...watch it anyway, at least the three leads are good.

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Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Pay It Forward (2000)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
How can anyone possibly like this movie?? chloen1979
Wish? frost1013
Anyone else hate the ending? LightGrenades12
a better ending rutica
filmed at my school Taylorrr04
Sounds like American Beauty. Thorpe89
more

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