Pay It Forward
Myla Brinkman--independent writer for American Dreamer
As I watched PAY IT FORWARD I realized that people were quietly weeping, but my tears wouldn’t come. I wanted to, but somehow the manipulation was just too much.
The actors in this film are some of the best in the business. The three lead actors are Oscar winners or nominees. They are amazing to watch. In fact, their performances are what make this film bearable. Without them, this film would have been a schmaltzy after-school special. It comes close, but the great performances save it. Unfortunately, you’ll have to sit through some pretty cheesy, manipulative stuff to see their brilliant acting.
The story of 11-year-old Trevor (Haley Joel “I-Will-Never-Live-Down-THE-SIXTH-SENSE” Osment) unfolds in the suburbs outside Las Vegas. It is an appropriate locale to examine those struggling with the harsh realities of life. He lives with his alcoholic, waitress mom, Arlene (Helen “This-Is-Not-The-Same-Character-From-AS-GOOD-AS-IT-GETS” Hunt) who has bad hair and a weakness for Trevor’s absentee, abusive father (Jon “I-Don’t-Sing-Anymore” Bon Jovi). Everyone’s world gets turned upside-down when Trevor’s teacher, Mr. Simonet (Kevin “I-Like-Playing-Guys-With-Secrets” Spacey), assigns the class a yearlong project. The students must come up with an idea to change the world and put it into action. Trevor comes up with “Pay It Forward,” a sort of chain letter of goodness. Each person must do three big favors for three others and so on. A journalist (Jay “I-Will-Never-Be-As-Good-As-I-Was-In-JERRY-MAGUIRE” Mohr) fills in the gaps of how the movement spreads. Some things are touched on that don’t usually get much attention in films: latchkey kids, generational alcoholism, homelessness, and unconditional kindness. Unfortunately, these topics are glossed over and are portrayed using cliches that are tired and unoriginal. Frankly, I wasn’t allowed to follow the story and make up my own mind. I was told how I should feel, and it didn’t work, at least not for me. The last ten minutes of this film are some of the most manipulative in recent memory. By that time, I had already lost interest and resented being dragged along for the ride. PAY IT FORWARD may be a great example of good acting, but not of effective storytelling.
Can you really change the world? Kids living in Las Vegas have plenty of reason to think the answer is ‘no’, as America’s extremes are right before their eyes. The gaudy decadence of the Vegas Strip is juxtaposed with parched desert – just steps away – where the homeless pass their time. It’s awfully arbitrary and far beyond the power of any individual – let alone an 11-year-old kid – to change.
Enter Eugene Simonet ( Kevin Spacey), a new teacher at Trevor McKinney’s ( Haley Joel Osment) Vegas school who provokes kids to look beyond their daily existence and see that they can make a difference. On the first day of school, Mr. Simonet hands out a yearlong assignment – to change the world. While his classmates come up with ideas ranging from putting up recycling posters to encouraging Chinese children to all jump at the same time and thereby knock Earth off its axis, Trevor has a simpler, yet more powerful scheme. He will do three favours for other people, and the only string attached is that each recipient must in turn do favours for three other people.
Trevor’s idealism is tested when none of his favours is initially a success. Key among them is an attempt to fix his mother Arlene ( Helen Hunt) up with Mr. Simonet, because both are lonely and because Trevor’s abusive dad might otherwise return home. This proves difficult, as Arlene is an alcoholic and Simonet is a survivor of disfiguring burns who has never had an intimate relationship.
This is the stuff of melodrama, and there’s certainly plenty of that in Pay it Forward. But while the film is uneven, it is thematically rich at its core and benefits from outstanding performances by Osment, Spacey and Hunt.
The movie starts poorly, with a weak opening scene featuring a reporter ( Jay Mohr) who receives a favour in California and sets out to find where the ‘movement’ began. These scenes are the film’s weakest; they are contrived, filled with trite dialogue and unlikely situations that would rob the film of credibility if not for the strength of the Las Vegas-based scenes. Here, Pay it Forward really takes off. Osment is a big part of the reason why. Those who thought his wonderful performance in 1999’s The Sixth Sense was a fluke will be surprised – and thrilled – to see that Osment is the real thing. This kid can act. When Trevor is being playful, Osment is every bit an average 11-year-old. And when he’s hurting, Osment is equally believable. After Arlene slaps Trevor, the look on Osment’s face is searingly painful. Hunt – as a trailer trash mom who is aging far faster than the passage of time – and Spacey, as a man scarred both physically and emotionally – are also very good.
Optimistic, yet painfully honest, Pay it Forward is an excellent film for those who look for hope amidst the world’s seemingly overwhelming bad news. Only the most unrecoverably cynical and hard-hearted will sit through the movie’s final scenes unaffected.
Brian Webster