|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Rice Thresher
Phone:
|
Angelo Zanola thresher staff Pay It Forward should have a lot going for it. All the stars have won or have deserved to win Oscars. The premise sounds like a can't-miss - a little boy comes up with a plan to make the world a better place. Actually, the movie does not miss as much as it barely hits the target; the result is a mediocre let-down of a film. Trevor (Haley Joel Osment) has just started seventh grade. Mr. Simonet (Kevin Spacey), Trevor's disfigured social studies teacher, gives his students an interesting assignment: find a way to change the world. Trevor takes this to heart and comes up with "Pay It Forward," a pyramid scheme for good deeds. He will help three people, they will each help three others, and the chain will continue. Trevor's mother (Helen Hunt) is a recovering alcoholic and is skeptical of his early attempts to put his idea in motion. As one of his good deeds, Trevor decides to set up his mother with Mr. Simonet so they can help each other resolve their respective problems. While the love story between the two damaged souls plays out, a freelance reporter (Jay Mohr) who has just been "paid forward" (given a new car) decides to trace the idea back to its roots. The story continues predictably, hearts are tugged and eyes are misted. Pay It Forward's acting is lackluster. Hunt is unremarkable, and why she took a part in a movie that makes her look like an anorexic Mary Kay reject is beyond me. Spacey tries to pull the film up but is dragged down by a pound of facial makeup and a bad script. Osment is the most energetic of the actors, breathing some life into dreary scenes. His eventual disillusionment is the most genuine emotion in the film. The blame for this uninspired film does not lie solely with the actors. The script is jumbled, unevenly paced and rarely funny. Instead of working with the script, the actors are forced to overcome it. When the best scene in a film contains no dialogue and has Kevin Spacey ironing clothes, something is wrong. Thomas Newman seems to have recycled his score from American Beauty, but what worked so well in an amazing dark comedy is ill-suited for a mediocre tear-jerker. The director, Mimi Leder (Deep Impact), has pulled so many camera shots and elements from As Good as It Gets, The Sixth Sense and American Beauty that it's laughable. Leder's apparent plan is for the audience to somehow overlook the lackluster acting and flat script and think they are watching a much better film. Even so, Pay It Forward does have some funny and touching moments. Pay It Forward has its heart in the right place, but little else. As a predictable attempt at a sob story, it can be described only as mediocre.
- back - |
|
|
Search the Thresher pages:
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of: The Rice Thresher, Rice University MS-524, PO Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892, USA. The Thresher Online Project -- ethresh@listserv.rice.edu |
