Pay It Forward

"When someone does you a big favor, don't pay it back..."

2000 2h 2m EN

👍

7.4

SOLID

🥫

39%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

7.2

IMDB

★7.4TMDB · 2,109🥫39%Rotten Tomatoes●40Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 128,223

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Like some other kids, 12-year-old Trevor McKinney believed in the goodness of human nature. Like many other kids, he was determined to change the world for the better. Unlike most other kids, he succeeded.

“When someone does you a big favor, don't pay it back...”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Howdy Amazon ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Kevin Spacey
Eugene Simonet
Helen Hunt
Arlene McKinney
Angie Dickinson
Grace
Haley Joel Osment
Trevor McKinney
Jay Mohr
Chris Chandler
Jim Caviezel
Jerry
Jon Bon Jovi
Ricky McKinney
David Ramsey
Sidney Parker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mimi Leder
Writers: Leslie Dixon, Philip Keller
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

26 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mimi Leder, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Rosenbloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt and Angie Dickinson carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When someone does you a big favor, don't pay it back...".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0223897 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mimi Leder directs. Oliver Stapleton behind the camera. Thomas Newman scores. David Rosenbloom cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

126 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by Mimi Leder, shot by Oliver Stapleton. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Thomas Newman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor David Rosenbloom shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt and Angie Dickinson carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "When someone does you a big favor, don't pay it back...".
7IMDB entry: tt0223897 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "child's point of view", "candlelight vigil", "good deed", "exotic dancer".
9Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Oliver Stapleton
Original score: Thomas Newman
Editing: David Rosenbloom
Production design: Leslie Dilley
Costume design: Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Makeup / hair: Vivian McAteer
Sound: John T. Reitz
Stunt coordinator: Jeff Dashnaw
Runtime: 122 min · 2h 2m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $55,707,411
Return: 139% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Pay It Forward (2000)
Rotten Tomatoes: 39% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 40/100
IMDB rating: 7.2/10 · 128,223 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 win & 4 nominations total

Also by

Mimi Leder

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2015-06-08
★ 8/10
The world can't change by itself, we must bring it. After watching this film I just remembered the quote from 'Sullivan's Travels' which says 'film's the greatest educational medium the world has ever known'. Indeed, cinema's for entertainment as well acts as a message deliverer. This was an inspirational movie, and everybody must see it. I know I'm a bit late to see it, better late than never, right? I'm really glad for having it at the right time because 15 years ago I did not have this blog to write about it. OK, the name of the movie represents the theme of the story. No matter its a developed or developing country, society needs something like the idea this movie talks about. Carrying a good social message, the movie slightly lags behind the too much on the emotions, especially the end part. There won't be a problem if you like melodrama. Other than that, I feel the conclusion was smart and strong, a better solution which would appeal for certain group rather alternate finale. The film was based on the novel of the same name, crafted by a fine director with the wonderful cast. Haley Joel Osment had a great career as a child-star, you should check some of his films if you love children's movies including this title on the top of that list. As a middle aged actor, Helen Hunt's one of the last best performances before turning into a senior artist. It's not a usual role for Kevin Spacey, but he nailed it with the good dialogues. Especially his talk about the topic 'child abuse' was a great thing from the movie. Overall, the actors get more credit for the first- class acts as the script demanded for their respective roles. What did you ever do to change the world. A movie about a man who achieved in science gets the Oscar, not that real man. A movie about a man escapes from the war prison camp and slavery gets the award, and again none of those real persons. But a movie with the original, intelligent, inspiring, specially designed for a movie was not even a contender of the Oscars. Of course, it was transformed from a book, though there are/were no real people behind these great characters, all are imagined/created for the book and the movie. I never understood the American Academy Awards. By now you would know that I hate critics badly if you are a regular reader of my blog. Once again they failed to recognise how great the morality of the story is, rather they have concentrated to criticise the writing and the technical aspect of the film. Although, it was not a box office flop or earned beyond, but got a lot of praise from the families. It's a wonderful family drama, but still too far from being a masterpiece. Intelligent enough one to get motivated towards the social issues. Being practical in the real world is a concern as it is risky, depending on the situation and the person, just like this movie's ending. Rare to find a movie like this, you must check it out. 8/10

Production companies