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 (as James Caviezel)
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:

social studies | teacher | boy | good deed | alcoholism | 

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Taglines:

A movie from the heart that connects with the heart.

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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:

Cadena de favores

Filming Locations:

Coronado High School, 1001 Coronado Center Dr, Henderson, Nevada, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$9,631,359, 22 October 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$33,519,628

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$55,707,411

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

Haley Joel Osment celebrated his 12th birthday on the set during the last day of shooting. Although Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt had completed their own filming, they turned up on the set just to celebrate his birthday. Coincidentally, Trevor McKinney, the character played by Osment, celebrates his 12th birthday in the movie.

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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?
Eugene: No, it isn't.
[Eugene touches Trevor's shoulder]
Eugene: Hey, you did good work. Look at me, I'm proud of you, Trevor. I'm proud of you.
[Eugene removes his hand from Trevor's shoulder]
Eugene: And anyway for what it's worth, I'm grading you on the effort not the result.
Trevor McKenney: I don't care about the grade.
[Gets up]
Trevor McKenney: I just want to see if the world would really change.

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Connections

References The Lost Weekend (1945)

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Soundtracks

Behind Every Good Woman
Written and Performedy by Tracy Bonham

User Reviews

An underrated, beautiful movie.

Pay It Forward is based on a plot that makes you think almost about everything -both while watching and after. There are elements that make you smile and cry, and the cast is very good at delivering the superb scenario. Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey surely do not disappoint and Haley Joel Osment performs perfect, giving everything one could expect from such a young actor. Jon Bon Jovi is the surprise among the cast and adds a nice flavor to an already delicious dish. From the beginning until the very end, the movie manages to touch somewhere deep in your heart, and although I did not the book it was based on, the plot makes a lot of sense in its entirety and shines with its originality. It does not come with numerous awards or an exceptionally high IMDb rating, but it really is a very good movie.