Pay It Forward (2000)

A young boy attempts to make the world a better place after his teacher gives him that chance.

Director:

Mimi Leder

Writers:

Catherine Ryan Hyde (book), Leslie Dixon (screenplay)

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Eugene Simonet
Helen Hunt	...	Arlene McKinney
Haley Joel Osment	...	Trevor McKinney
Jay Mohr	...	Chris Chandler
Jim Caviezel	...	Jerry
Jon Bon Jovi	...	Ricky McKinney
Angie Dickinson	...	Grace
David Ramsey	...	Sidney Parker
Gary Werntz	...	Mr. Thorsen
Colleen Flynn	...	Woman on Bridge
Marc Donato	...	Adam
Kathleen Wilhoite	...	Bonnie
Liza Snyder	...	Michelle
Jeannetta Arnette	...	Nurse
Hannah Leder	...	Thorsen's Daughter (as Hannah Werntz)

Storyline

Young Trevor McKinney, troubled by his mother's alcoholism and fears of his abusive but absent father, is caught up by an intriguing assignment from his new social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet. The assignment: think of something to change the world and put it into action. Trevor conjures the notion of paying a favor not back, but forward--repaying good deeds not with payback, but with new good deeds done to three new people. Trevor's efforts to make good on his idea bring a revolution not only in the lives of himself, his mother and his physically and emotionally scarred teacher, but in those of an ever-widening circle of people completely unknown to him.

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Plot Keywords:

teacher | boy | good deed | alcoholism | protective male | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes The Simplest Idea Can Make The Biggest Difference.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including substance abuse/recovery, some sexual situations, language and brief violence

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. (US)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 October 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Das Glücksprinzip

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,631,359 (USA) (20 October 2000)

Gross:

$33,508,922 (USA) (2 February 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Bel Air Entertainment, Tapestry Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The bridge that the "jumper" is on is the Saint Johns Bridge in Portland, OR.

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Goofs

In the beginning Eugene writes the task on the blackboard, and later in the movie he is cleaning it from other notes and clearly the task given is not on the blackboard. Near the end when doing the interview you can see the task once again written on the blackboard, as if it had never been removed.

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Quotes

Trevor McKenney: Is the world just shit?

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Connections

Referenced in A Family Underground (2009)

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Soundtracks

Because I Got It Like That
By Nathaniel Hall and Michael Small
Performed by Jungle Brothers

User Reviews

A very moving movie

This is one of the most moving movies that I have seen in years. The performances are excellent by all the cast members and the emotional tie you develop with the characters is so amazing that you start to feel what they are feeling and go through their good and bad times. This movie is inspiring and heart driven. I really enjoyed this movie because of the well written story and smoothly moving plot of this movie. The movie does not leave you confused as to what is going on or why. That's why I gave this movie a 10, because it is excellent. The odd thing is about movies, the ones that aren't really that good get the awards, yet the really good ones never get one. I have really never understood that. This movie should have been given an award.