Intermission: Strong cast overcomes muddled movie script

"Pay It Forward"

Directed by: Mimi Leder

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and Haley Joel Osment

Rated: PG-13

In every religion from Christianity to Taoism to those seen lining the shelves of the new age sections at your local bookstore the concept of karma, the golden rule, giving selflessly, is a major tenet.

Such is the basis for Mimi Leder's new film, "Pay It Forward," a movie that suffers from a rather muddled overall script design but benefits enormously from a cast featuring Kevin Spacey and Helen Hunt, as well as newcomer Haley Joel Osment. He is the young actor that wowed audiences (and garnered an Oscar nomination himself) with his work in "The Sixth Sense."

Director Leder started out working in television where she created episodes of such critically acclaimed series as "ER" and "China Beach." Her work on the big screen includes "Deep Impact" and "The Peacemaker," both done for Steven Spielberg's (she's known around Hollywood as one of the master's protgs) Dreamworks. Her work here shows a lot of Spielberg's style of manipulation, if only the script had been polished a little longer.

Osment plays Trevor McKinney, a seventh-grader whose dad has abandoned the family and whose mom (Helen Hunt) is working two jobs to make ends meet while struggling with alcoholism.

Trevor's social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet (Kevin Spacey) gives the class a yearlong assignment on the first day of school: Think of something that will change the world and put it into action.

Trevor comes up with a plan to "pay it forward," a concept much like that of performing random acts of kindness. He figures if he can do something good for three people and they in turn help three others, before long the vibe will spread faster than an Internet hoax.

The first person he helps is a street junkie, but then he realizes he can keep things a little closer to home. His mother could sure use some romance in her life and Mr. Simonet, who is somewhat sarcastic and suffers from a badly burn-scarred physique, could probably use some help in that department as well. Trevor decides to get the two together as part of his project.

A parallel plotline that takes place in a somewhat different time frame, causing some of the script's muddiness concerns a cynical journalist played by Jay Mohr. The reporter believes he has a story on his hands when a complete stranger, citing the pay it forward principal, gives him a brand-new sports car. Mohr's character sets off to trace backwards where these random acts began and his search leads him to Las Vegas and Trevor's social studies project.

The more cynical movie lover may point out that this kind of simplistic view of the world is melodramatic, and in the hands of a lesser cast and director it might be. But all of the principals here make the action quite compelling and if we can suspend our disbelief for a little while, and take away some of the honest good intentions that the movie puts forward, who knows?

Critics are all over the map on this one, but I must have been in a sentimental mood the day I saw "Pay It Forward," because outside of the script problems mentioned above, I was genuinely touched by the film. Be forewarned, however, there are things in the final act that one doesn't really expect from a typical "feel good" Hollywood film.

(Jim Wunderle works at Associated Video Producers and is a Springfield free-lance writer and musician.)