For some reason and I cannot remember why, I thought "Pay It Forward" was a comedy. A few minutes into the film and I was grabbing the DVD case wondering if I was just in a bad mood or if the film was something other than what I'd first imagined.
I'll admit to having some preconceived notions about the characters in the beginning. I thought Helen Hunt was replaying the same role from "As Good As It Gets" and that Kevin Spacey was going to be the friendly Jr. High School teacher with a spectacle of a story behind the burns on his body to say nothing about Haley Joel Osment being the epitome of innocence and childhood perfection. Wrong, folks, on all counts.
Helen Hunt is nothing like any of her previous roles at all. She's flawed in the worst ways; alcoholic, waitress in a girlie bar, the kind who brings back the ex because she keeps falling for the line "I've changed" and is unable to give her son much attention. I thought Kevin Spacey's backstory would be something HUGE and, well, Hollywoodish, because, hey, he's Kevin Spacey and we have come to expect great things from him. His character, however, is just as flawed as Helen Hunts and his story is both sad and realistic in the most unHollywoodish kind of way. Osment gives another outstanding performance that only solidifies his abilities and place in cinema. They're all playing very real people here and their lives aren't pretty.
When Haley Joel Osment is given an assignment from his teacher to find some way to change the world, he ignores the smaller goals his peers set their sights on and goes for the heart and root of the people with the biggest problems he can find; his mother, his teacher and his best friend.
Supporting the main cast are Jon Bon Jovi in a small but menacing role as Helen Hunt's ex, Angie Dickinson with a surprise link that brings the story full circle and Jay Mohr, who sets the film in motion in a rather confusing beginning.
Nobody is perfect in this film and it needs to be that way. The ending looked like a stereotypical wrap-up and then quite suddenly it wasn't. Yes, you'll be grabbing for Kleenex throughout parts of "Pay It Forward". Ignore rumors the actors were trying for Oscars. Just watch it and allow the flawed part of all of us to breathe a sigh of relief that we're not alone.
Hats off to Mimi Leder and a cast who were up to the challenge. It was a depressing journey, but one I wouldn't have missed for anything.
I'll admit to having some preconceived notions about the characters in the beginning. I thought Helen Hunt was replaying the same role from "As Good As It Gets" and that Kevin Spacey was going to be the friendly Jr. High School teacher with a spectacle of a story behind the burns on his body to say nothing about Haley Joel Osment being the epitome of innocence and childhood perfection. Wrong, folks, on all counts.
Helen Hunt is nothing like any of her previous roles at all. She's flawed in the worst ways; alcoholic, waitress in a girlie bar, the kind who brings back the ex because she keeps falling for the line "I've changed" and is unable to give her son much attention. I thought Kevin Spacey's backstory would be something HUGE and, well, Hollywoodish, because, hey, he's Kevin Spacey and we have come to expect great things from him. His character, however, is just as flawed as Helen Hunts and his story is both sad and realistic in the most unHollywoodish kind of way. Osment gives another outstanding performance that only solidifies his abilities and place in cinema. They're all playing very real people here and their lives aren't pretty.
When Haley Joel Osment is given an assignment from his teacher to find some way to change the world, he ignores the smaller goals his peers set their sights on and goes for the heart and root of the people with the biggest problems he can find; his mother, his teacher and his best friend.
Supporting the main cast are Jon Bon Jovi in a small but menacing role as Helen Hunt's ex, Angie Dickinson with a surprise link that brings the story full circle and Jay Mohr, who sets the film in motion in a rather confusing beginning.
Nobody is perfect in this film and it needs to be that way. The ending looked like a stereotypical wrap-up and then quite suddenly it wasn't. Yes, you'll be grabbing for Kleenex throughout parts of "Pay It Forward". Ignore rumors the actors were trying for Oscars. Just watch it and allow the flawed part of all of us to breathe a sigh of relief that we're not alone.
Hats off to Mimi Leder and a cast who were up to the challenge. It was a depressing journey, but one I wouldn't have missed for anything.