Movie Review # 396: Pay It Forward (2000)

Friends and family, boys and girls, as we are nearly leaving the 300s, and moving into the 400s movie reviews, one of the films that we review is one from today. Today, we are going to talk about a more mature film that’s made by Warner Bros. Pictures, that I should have seen twenty years ago when it was released. It stars Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey, and newcomer at the time Haley Joel Osment. The one and only, Pay It Forward!

Plot: An eleven-year-old seventh grader named Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment), along with others in his grade, enroll in a class that’s taught by a new teacher named Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey). On the first day of class, Simonet assigns Trevor, and the rest of the class, a task of finding a way in which they can change the world, or at least make the world a better place. After being fascinated by the idea, and getting ready to take on the task, can Trevor do what it takes to make the world a better place in ways that he sees fit?

Okay, while this film may not be quite as good as a lot of people may make it out to be, it is very understandable as to why some people may consider Pay It Forward one of their favorite films of all time. First of all, the whole concept of making the world more of a better place is a really good concept, whether it be saving students from bullies, helping homeless people get on their feet, and things like that. Yes, it’s disappointing that Jesus, and Christianity overall aren’t mentioned with this concept. However, this was a mainstream film that was released back in the 2000s, when it seemed more rare for a Christian Faith-based film to be released in theaters before video. So what can you do? Anyway, this movie does make some good points throughout it’s film like “Why do we not seem to care about what happens in the world at a young age?”, and questions like those. It’s also interesting how Pay It Forward touches on tough subjects like hypocrisy at certain points as well. In addition to all of this, how about the main characters being developed really well? I mean as you see this film progress, you really gets some good arcs for each of them. This especially is true for the main stars of this film. Because of this being the case, you rarely, if ever, see any characters act stereotypical in any sense. Man, do we need more movies like that. Okay, thankfully, movies have gotten better about that in recent years, but still. In addition to Helen Hunt, Kevin Spacey, and Haley Joel Osment, the supporting acting is also excellent, especially James Caviezel as one of the homeless characters. Man, can you believe that before getting his big debut with movies such as The Passion Of The Christ, Caviezel would be in possibly lesser known movies like this one? How about the score? Well, Thomas Newman’s score may not be the best at first. Allow me to explain! His music may have a little too much of the same beat in some of the beginning of the film. However, as this film continues on, Newman does a good job of mixing things up, and making his score more enjoyable. It’s not that his score didn’t start off being good at all. It’s just that you may like the music that he composes more after around the beginning. People will also live the shots, and the overall landscape of Las Vegas, Nevada. Sure, it’s no jungle paradise, but it’s still good looking even for a desert environment. Another thing to enjoy about Pay It Forward is that that there are good messages about learning to stand up for others, being brave, and or whatever else it takes to do what’s right in the end. The only thing that people may not like is that Trevor, and maybe even his Mom can act a little bratty at times. Okay, I get that that happens in with families in real life sometimes. Still, this film may have gone a little too far with it. Not much, but even so. Also, this isn’t a downgrade from the film, but definitely prepare to bring some tissues, especially for around the middle to end of this film.

And that’s my review for Pay It Forward. While not a perfect film, Pay It Forward does have a lot to offer, gives people some things to think about. The messages are really good, the characters are either likable, or ones that you may love to strongly dislike, and the development of the characters, and story overall is one that you can get behind. If you haven’t seen Pay It Forward yet, definitely make it a point to. I really enjoyed, and I’m sure you will as well.

Final Grade: A-