Pay It Forward: Critic Reviews

Unceasingly manipulative.

The year's most manipulative movie.

Toploaded with manipulative schmaltz, star-turn moments, intentionally unflattering makeup, unbelievable plot twists and just plain twaddle.

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

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.'

You witness the first, testing, tension-packed conversation between Spacey and Osment, as pregnant in its silences as in its words, and you are ready to go wherever this movie leads you.

The result is about as organic as a pink Hostess Snowball.

Less a worthy achievement than a nice try.

No wonder Arlene keeps a bottle of vodka in the chandelier. You would too with this demonic, passive-aggressive, New Age munchkin trying to run your life.

Despite the concerted efforts of its Oscar pedigree cast to keep it real, Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt and impressive young Haley Joel Osment unfortunately find themselves smothered by the schmaltz.

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.

A bit syrupy, but sentimental teens may enjoy it.

Ironic, isn't it, that a film about human decency takes place in Vegas?

The film seems manufactured to furrow a cynic's brow before bringing up their lunch.

There is a clear-cut difference between 'Oscar bait' and 'Oscar worthy,' which Mimi Leder's sentimental crock of a drama illustrates all too well.

Despite a ton of good intentions, the picture is numbingly obvious and crushingly sentimental.

It is a movie that will not only find but charm -- or should we say con? -- a certain kind of audience.

A fine, honest tale that gives full respect to the pain of yearning and the power of hope.

Hopefully, I've now prevented three people from seeing this film, and now they will each prevent three other people from doing the same.

There is much to like in this film, not least of which is the positive message.

Filled with calculated sentiment, this is not a movie but a feature-length shill for Academy Awards nominations.

even if you don't buy the idea... it's still quite possible to enjoy the movie as a love story involving two badly damaged souls.

Overlong, overpriced, overwrought sentimental bucket of slop.

By the end of this movie, I have no desire to change the real world. I would just like to show the writers of this movie what it would be like if they lived in it for one day.

Sappy, forced, artificial and manipulative--but really well ACTED!