PAY
IT FORWARD ($25) is a movie that I really wanted to like a whole heck
of a lot because of its star power and great performances. Unfortunately,
I found the script to be heavy-handed and too manipulative for its own
good- especially the ending. My overall reaction to PAY IT FORWARD,
is a sort of ambivalence- I didn't love the film, but I didn't hate it
either. I would image that in my mind, the performances counteracted the
flaws that I perceived in the script.
The
basic premise of PAY IT FORWARD is filled with good intentions
and tells the story of how random acts of extreme kindness are traced
back to a junior high school student, who was participating in a class
project, in which he has to enact an idea that he feels will change the
world for the better. Haley Joel Osment portrays Trevor McKinney, the
student who was assigned the project by his social studies teacher Eugene
Simonet (Kevin Spacey). For the project, Trevor comes up with the concept
of "pay it forward," in which he does completely selfless acts
for three other people. However, instead payback, the recipient of selfless
act has to "pay it forward" by performing three selfless acts
for three other people, who are then asked to "pay it forward"
for three other people. In this way, the selfless acts will multiply exponentially
and spread across the planet.
Of
course, Trevor must begin the cycle by performing the first three selfless
acts. However, Trevor's first selfless act is to help a homeless drug
addict named Jerry (James Caviezel) to get back on his feet, which doesn't
sit well with his recovering alcoholic mother Arlene (Helen Hunt), who
is panic stricken to discover a stranger in her home. Trevor's second
selfless act also meets with resistance from Arlene, as well as Trevor's
social studies teacher, when she and Eugene discover that they have been
blindsided and set up on a date by the boy. Finally, Trevor's third selfless
act involves helping a friend at school, who is constantly being picked
on by bullies.
Much
of PAY IT FORWARD is concerned with watching Trevor's selfless
acts bare fruit. Most notable is the relationship that develops between
Arlene and Eugene, both of whom are vary of becoming involved, because
of their personal scars, which are of the physical and psychological varieties.
The film also removes itself several generations from the source, where
we find a cynical reporter named Chris Chandler (Jay Mohr) tracing "pay
it forward" back to its point of origin, after he himself becomes
the recipient of a completely selfless act. This subplot, in addition
to the ending, is where PAY IT FORWARD becomes particularly heavy-handed
and emotionally manipulative. However, director Mimi Leder works well
with her leading actors, allowing them enough breathing room to create
some very fine character moments. The cast of PAY IT FORWARD also
includes Jon Bon Jovi, Angie Dickinson, David Ramsey and Gary Werntz.
Warner
Home Video has made PAY IT FORWARD available on DVD in a 1.78:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for
16:9 displays. Like any Hollywood "A" movie just coming off
theatrical release, PAY IT FORWARD looks simply great on DVD. The
image is very crisp and finely detailed, which highlights not only the
interiors, but the Las Vegas desert that serves as a backdrop for the
story. Most of the colors are fairly vivid, while the flesh tones remain
completely convincing. There are no problems with chroma noise or smearing
during the presentation. Blacks are generally on the money and there is
always a healthy dose of shadow detail. The film element used for the
transfer is very clean, with the only flaw being a hairline scratch that
ran down the center of the frame for a couple of seconds. Clean dual layer
authoring keeps digital compression artifacts out of sight.
PAY
IT FORWARD is a dialogue driven drama, so the Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack is not of the showy variety. Sound effects do utilize the discrete
properties of the format, but the implementation is very subtle. The surround
channels see the least activity, but they do provide the requisite ambience
and musical fill, as well as occasional active effects. Dialogue reproduction
is very clean and fully intelligible. I doubt that anyone will notice
if the bass channel is there, since it is rarely required by the subject
matter. Thomas Newman's score is nicely recorded and l reproduced with
a highly musical quality. A French 5.1 channel soundtrack is also encoded
onto the DVD, as are English and French subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few extras.
Director Mimi Leder provides an informative running audio commentary,
that some may feel is a bit slow at times. Maybe adding a few cast members
to the track would have livened things up. The HBO First Look Special
The Making of Pay it Forward is also included on the DVD.
Running thirteen minutes, this is a standard PR piece, with interviews
and behind-the-scenes footage. A theatrical trailer and cast filmographies
close out the DVD’s extras.
PAY
IT FORWARD is not the Oscar caliber film that the studio was hoping
for due to its manipulative script. Still, this movie is worth checking
out for its fine performances by Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel
Osment. Warner's DVD looks great and sounds just fine, so if you are going
to pick up PAY IT FORWARD anyway, make sure it's on disc and not
tape.
PAY
IT FORWARD ($25) is a movie that I really wanted to like a whole heck
of a lot because of its star power and great performances. Unfortunately,
I found the script to be heavy-handed and too manipulative for its own
good- especially the ending. My overall reaction to PAY IT FORWARD,
is a sort of ambivalence- I didn't love the film, but I didn't hate it
either. I would image that in my mind, the performances counteracted the
flaws that I perceived in the script.
The
basic premise of PAY IT FORWARD is filled with good intentions
and tells the story of how random acts of extreme kindness are traced
back to a junior high school student, who was participating in a class
project, in which he has to enact an idea that he feels will change the
world for the better. Haley Joel Osment portrays Trevor McKinney, the
student who was assigned the project by his social studies teacher Eugene
Simonet (Kevin Spacey). For the project, Trevor comes up with the concept
of "pay it forward," in which he does completely selfless acts
for three other people. However, instead payback, the recipient of selfless
act has to "pay it forward" by performing three selfless acts
for three other people, who are then asked to "pay it forward"
for three other people. In this way, the selfless acts will multiply exponentially
and spread across the planet.
Of
course, Trevor must begin the cycle by performing the first three selfless
acts. However, Trevor's first selfless act is to help a homeless drug
addict named Jerry (James Caviezel) to get back on his feet, which doesn't
sit well with his recovering alcoholic mother Arlene (Helen Hunt), who
is panic stricken to discover a stranger in her home. Trevor's second
selfless act also meets with resistance from Arlene, as well as Trevor's
social studies teacher, when she and Eugene discover that they have been
blindsided and set up on a date by the boy. Finally, Trevor's third selfless
act involves helping a friend at school, who is constantly being picked
on by bullies.
Much
of PAY IT FORWARD is concerned with watching Trevor's selfless
acts bare fruit. Most notable is the relationship that develops between
Arlene and Eugene, both of whom are vary of becoming involved, because
of their personal scars, which are of the physical and psychological varieties.
The film also removes itself several generations from the source, where
we find a cynical reporter named Chris Chandler (Jay Mohr) tracing "pay
it forward" back to its point of origin, after he himself becomes
the recipient of a completely selfless act. This subplot, in addition
to the ending, is where PAY IT FORWARD becomes particularly heavy-handed
and emotionally manipulative. However, director Mimi Leder works well
with her leading actors, allowing them enough breathing room to create
some very fine character moments. The cast of PAY IT FORWARD also
includes Jon Bon Jovi, Angie Dickinson, David Ramsey and Gary Werntz.
Warner
Home Video has made PAY IT FORWARD available on DVD in a 1.78:1
wide screen presentation that features the anamorphic enhancement for
16:9 displays. Like any Hollywood "A" movie just coming off
theatrical release, PAY IT FORWARD looks simply great on DVD. The
image is very crisp and finely detailed, which highlights not only the
interiors, but the Las Vegas desert that serves as a backdrop for the
story. Most of the colors are fairly vivid, while the flesh tones remain
completely convincing. There are no problems with chroma noise or smearing
during the presentation. Blacks are generally on the money and there is
always a healthy dose of shadow detail. The film element used for the
transfer is very clean, with the only flaw being a hairline scratch that
ran down the center of the frame for a couple of seconds. Clean dual layer
authoring keeps digital compression artifacts out of sight.
PAY
IT FORWARD is a dialogue driven drama, so the Dolby Digital 5.1 channel
soundtrack is not of the showy variety. Sound effects do utilize the discrete
properties of the format, but the implementation is very subtle. The surround
channels see the least activity, but they do provide the requisite ambience
and musical fill, as well as occasional active effects. Dialogue reproduction
is very clean and fully intelligible. I doubt that anyone will notice
if the bass channel is there, since it is rarely required by the subject
matter. Thomas Newman's score is nicely recorded and l reproduced with
a highly musical quality. A French 5.1 channel soundtrack is also encoded
onto the DVD, as are English and French subtitles.
Music
underscores the basic interactive menus, which allow one access to the
standard scene selection and set up features, as well as a few extras.
Director Mimi Leder provides an informative running audio commentary,
that some may feel is a bit slow at times. Maybe adding a few cast members
to the track would have livened things up. The HBO First Look Special
The Making of Pay it Forward is also included on the DVD.
Running thirteen minutes, this is a standard PR piece, with interviews
and behind-the-scenes footage. A theatrical trailer and cast filmographies
close out the DVD’s extras.
PAY
IT FORWARD is not the Oscar caliber film that the studio was hoping
for due to its manipulative script. Still, this movie is worth checking
out for its fine performances by Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel
Osment. Warner's DVD looks great and sounds just fine, so if you are going
to pick up PAY IT FORWARD anyway, make sure it's on disc and not
tape.
