Movie Info

Eugene Simonet, an emotionally and physically scarred social studies teacher, challenges his young students to devise some type of philanthropic plan ...(read more...) and put it into effect. A young boy, whose own life is far from rosy, takes the assignment to heart and invents the "pay-it-forward" philosophy, which encourages paying back favors in advance. The whole town embraces the boy's concept, and random acts of kindness become a community pastime. Though celebrated by acquaintances and the media, the boy struggles at home with his alcoholic mother, and the only one who recognizes his lonely fight is Eugene Simonet.

Director: Mimi Leder

MPAA: PG-13

Running Time: 1 hr. 55 min.

Release Date: Oct 20, 2000

Cast: Angie Dickinson, Haley Joel Osment, Helen Hunt, Jay Mohr, James Caviezel, Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Spacey, Liev Schreiber, Shawn Pyfrom