Pay It Forward

About Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is a 2000 American dramatic film based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

A schoolboy in Las Vegas, Nevada named Trevor McKinney (Haley Joel Osment) is given a project to complete by his social studies teacher Eugene Simonet (Kevin Spacey), who has terrible burn scars on his face and neck. His task is to come up with a plan that will change the world through direct action. On his way home from school later that day, Trevor notices a homeless man, Jerry (James Caviezel) and decides to make a difference in Jerry's life. Trevor then comes up with the plan to "pay it forward" by doing a good deed for three people who must in turn each do good deeds for three other people. Trevor's plan is to help Jerry by feeding and housing him so he can "get on his feet."

The next morning, Trevor's mother, Arlene McKinney (Helen Hunt), a single mother recovering from alcoholism, becomes angry with Trevor after finding Jerry in their house. She then accuses and confronts Eugene about the reason Trevor has allowed Jerry into their home. Eugene is also intrigued by Trevor's response to the social studies project.