# Pay It Forward (2000)

### reviewed by
John Sylva

    Pay it Forward (2000)
    Reviewed by John Sylva

    Rating: B

Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment are out to make the world a better place-and no, this isn't the sequel to X-Men. (Of course it isn't-Hollywood wouldn't be stupid enough to let Mimi Leder helm a comic book flick, only films that would be great if it wasn't for her involvement with them!) This time around, Leder (The Peacemaker, Deep Impact) lends her awful directing techniques to Pay it Forward, a film which proposes an idea of the same title: Do something for someone else, something they cannot do by themselves, and instead of that person paying you back, they pay it forward by doing three good things for three other people.

The concept, whose auter is seventh grader Trevor McKinney (Osment), intrigues his social studies class as well as his teacher, Eugene (Spacey), who, on the first day of school, gives his class the assignment of conceiving an idea to change the world. Trevor carries out the idea of paying it forward, his first good deed being that of allowing a homeless heroine addict (James Caviezel) into his home, which doesn't go over too well with his alcoholic mother Arlene (Hunt).

For Trevor's second "pay it forward," he decides to try and hook up Eugene and his mother, but as Arlene states, "You can't just put two people together and make them like each other." Or can he? The relationship between Eugene and Arlene-which at times overwhelms the "pay it forward" concept of the film-is consistently poignant and touching, if not predictable. The climax of their complicated relationship is captured in one of the most moving and powerful sequences seen in a film this year.

The character of Trevor is never fully realized, thereby resulting in the viewer never knowing what makes the creator of "pay it forward" tick or what makes him who he is. The detachment from his mother is obvious and bluntly shown, but the origins and history of Arlene's alcoholism are only touched upon. Attempting to justify Arlene's behavior and problems, the film introduces his once abusing, claimed sober ex (Jon Bon Jovi), but Jovi's restrained presence fails to make ends meet with the subplot.

After appearing in last year's Academy Award Winner for Best Picture, American Beauty and this spring's preachy The Big Kahuna, Kevin Spacey takes a different approach towards his character in a different kind of film, showing a different side to his two-time Academy Award winning acting skills. Spacey's multi-layered performance is effective and commanding, resulting in yet another praise-worthy performance.

One of 1999's greatest success stories, Haley Joel Osment (who received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in The Sixth Sense), makes what he can with his character's limited dimensions, and provides quite a bit of comic relief while attempting to set up Eugene and Arlene.

Helen Hunt's follow up to her Oscar-winning performance in 1997's As Good As It Gets strengthens my belief that she will become the next big thing in Hollywood. Her work in Pay it Forward is undoubtedly the strongest aspect of the film, taking a character that could have been an obnoxious stereotype (an alcoholic working two jobs to pay the bills), and turning her into a fully-developed, strong individual who the viewer grows to appreciate and sympathize with.

Compelling performances and moments of poignancy are undermined by nonsense plot devices and a parallel story that runs throughout the film, which involves Chris Chandler (the horrid Jay Mohr), who, after receiving a brand new Jaguar from a total stranger and being told to just "pay it forward," goes on a cross-country search of the originator of the concept. Constantly cutting between this and the Trevor/Arlene/Eugene story, Pay it Forward tries to pack too much into one film. The ambitions of Leslie Dixon's screenplay are obvious with the reporter subplot-to show how one idea can spread across a great distance-but as the film continuously traces certain people who have been affected by "pay it forward," the term and idea become overused.

Leder sets up Pay it Forward like a two hour advertisement directed at the Academy, pacing scenes and subplots as if the film's sole purpose is to receive Academy Award nominations. Throughout the film, scenes might as well have a flashing subtitle stating "OSCAR CLIP," but come this February, when the nominees are announced, Leder should find herself sorely disappointed.

Aside from Leder's direction, all technical aspects of the film are superb: Thomas Newton's bouncy and fun musical score adds liveliness to the film and Oliver Stapleton's cinematography captures the diverse settings of Las Vegas, ranging from bright and shining casinos to the squalor of the homeless.

All of the happenings in Pay it Forward build up to a climax which rides a fine line of being tragic and being manipulative, but because the film does not dwell on its final twist, its damage done to the film is minimal. Although, a brief note to Leder and Hollywood both: I am perfectly capable of feeling emotion without the aid of hokey and overly-sappy songs.

The Bottom Line: Despite numerous flaws, the awkward Pay it Forward is a film that deserves to be seen, if only for its three central performances.

        Film reviewed October 8th, 2000.

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