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Review
Archives
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Today's
Date is:
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Pay
It Forward
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Reviewed
by: |
Rachel
Hughes |
| Genre: |
Drama |
| Video: |
Widescreen
Anamorphic 1.85:1 |
| Audio: |
Dolby
Digital 5.1 |
| Language: |
English
and French |
| Subtitle: |
English
and French |
| Length: |
2hrs
3mins |
| Rating: |
PG-13 |
| Release
Date: |
May
15, 2001 |
| Studio: |
Warner
Brothers |
| Commentary:
|
With
Director Mimi Leder |
| Documentaries:
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None |
| Featurettes:
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HBO's
First Look Special |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
Filmography
of cast members |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Original
Theatrical Trailer |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Kevin Spacey,
Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, Jay Mohr, James Caviezel, Jon
Bon Jovi and Angie Dickinson |
| Screenplay
by: |
Leslie Dixon
based on the novel by Catherine Ryan Hyde |
| Produced
by: |
Steven Reuther, Peter
Abrams and Robert L. Levy |
| Directed
By: |
Mimi Leder |
| Music: |
Thomas Newman |
| The
Review: |
"Pay
it Forward" is a story about many things. It is the story about
a teacher (Spacey) in Las Vegas with both physical and emotional
scars. He gives a routine assignment designed to provoke thought:
Think of an idea to change the world and put it into action.
A young boy in his class, Trevor (Osment) takes this to heart
and comes up with Pay it Forward. Under his plan each person
does three favors, hard favors, for three people. Then those
three each do it for three more, and so on and so on. One of
his favors is to get his teacher and his alcoholic mother (Hunt)
together. It is also the story of a reporter in Los Angeles
who finds himself at the receiving end of a pay it forward and
traces each good deed back trying to find out who started this
movement. It is also the story of forgiveness, and the power
of hope. Deep down inside I am an optimist. I believe that one
person can have an incredible impact on other lives. This movie
appeals to that side of me. If you are a die-hard cynic then
you will probably find this movie sappy, trite, and overly sentimental.
However, you are missing out on a wonderful story portrayed
by an immensely talented cast. The three leads: Hunt, Spacey,
and Osment do an incredible job of bringing humanity and believability
to their roles. Spacey portrays to kind of teacher you always
wish you had in school. Hunt does an incredible job portraying
a recovering alcoholic single mom. Osment proves that he is
more then just another kid actor by bringing such depth and
understanding to his role as a child who has to believe that
the world can get better, or else there is no point going on.
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| Image
and Sound |
Color is
important to the look of the film. The color blue is continually
used. Since it is shot in Las Vegas there are a lot of neon
signs, and desert. The colors come through wonderfully. Even
though they are a bit muted it seems to be by design. There
are a few artifacts and scratches on the film which is always
disappointing for a film this new. The sound is done quite well.
The film is dialogue driven so you don't always notice the sounds
and which speakers they are coming from. However the dialogue
is always clear, and can easily be heard. |
| The
Extras |
The disc
has a few extras, but nothing of note. There is the HBO First
Look Special. This runs for about 13 minutes and features the
actors, directors and author talking about why they wanted to
do the movie, what it was like working with everyone, and the
importance of the idea of Pay it Forward. Also here is a filmography
of the actors and director as well as the original theatrical
trailer. It would have been nice to have a fuller packaged for
this film. Some deleted scenes, or maybe a record of incidents
of Pay it Forward. |
| Commentary |
The Director
Mimi Leder, who also directed "Deep Impact," does the commentary.
This is a sparse commentary, but informative. The commentary
is mostly screen specific. She talks about all of the actors,
why they were chosen, and how they did their jobs. She is heavy
on the praise with everyone. She also goes into some detail
about choosing different location shots, set design, costumes,
and color palette for the film. Towards the end of the film
she talks more about the concept of the movie and Pay if Forward.
While it is an informative commentary, it seems cold. |
| Final
Words: |
This film
ended up with a bum rap. It had a huge buzz, but then fizzled
out. Critics called it sappy. Well, that is what it was supposed
to be. The film is a feel good movie that tries to show us something
about human nature and forgiveness. It does this quite well
without beating us over the head with the lesson. It is an enjoyable
film, with a superb cast. The commentary gives some interesting
information, and is worth watching. However, unless you plan
on watching the movie more than once, this is definitely a renter. |
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