moonspinner55 Review of Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward (2000)

The kind of tearjerker which purports to "change lives forever", but rarely ever does

[5/10 · 15 November 2001]

Melodramatic hogwash or inspirational story of love? Actually, "Pay It Forward" is a bit of both. Good cast struggles through do-gooder drama which goes heavy on both speeches and meaningful silences--also, long looks into the camera. Pleasantly set in and around Las Vegas, Kevin Spacey plays a physically burned middle school teacher whose class assignment prompts overreaching student Haley Joel Osment to make a difference in the world. Character-study has some strong and bright moments, some funny scenes, but suffers from frenetic editing and Mimi Leder direction, also a finale that's a bogus piece of shameful boloney. Finally, can we call a moratorium on children calling each other 'fag' on the playground? Yes, this is the ultimate put-down for the 7th-grade set, but I was really surprised a screenwriter like Leslie Dixon couldn't rise above this tired and ugly cliché to find some new trick in the book. It's one small example of how "Pay It Forward" wants to be something special, but just doesn't have the creative goods to pull it off. ** from ****