Pay It Forward

A bit syrupy, but sentimental teens may enjoy it.

if this is what Hollywood considers serious, important filmmaking, maybe the movie industry should stick to the low road. Directed with the in-your-face subtlety of a sitcom, the tone of the movie is weirdly miscalculated from the get-go.

Spacey and Hunt create interestingly layered characters who are hiding parts of themselves from themselves. And come Oscar time, Osment once again may be saying, 'I see tuxedoed people.'

Less a worthy achievement than a nice try.

With its smorgasbord of moralizings, Pay It Forward is a confusing welter of sentiment.

Not since Gump has there been such a pandering, faux-virtuous package of populist pap for Hollywood to shove in the faces of electioneering politicos and say: Look, we don't just market unwholesome swill to families, we market wholesome swill, too.

The stickiest pile of moosh since "Patch Adams," and it has a comparable tragic ending that invalidates the film’s message.

For such a self-righteous movie, Pay It Forward has its own share of racism, class snobbery and spurious moralism in this sloppy attempt to help Americans get in touch with themselves made by a group of people who are out of touch with reality.