Osment is Trevor McKinney, an 11-year-old boy whose dysfunctional family situation has made him sensitive and sympathetic to the world around him. His father is an absent and abusive alcoholic, and his mother (Hunt) is a Las Vegas cocktail waitress who can't seem to stay sober herself.
Trevor seems fragile and lost until he finds a supportive but stoic figure in his social studies teacher, Mr. Simonet (Spacey).
Simonet assigns his seventh grade class a project-to figure out a way to change the world and put it into action. Excited by the challenge, Trevor invents a plan of "paying it forward"-returning someone's act of charity by doing a good deed for someone else. His plan is to do "something big" for three other people. Each of those three recipients are then encouraged to help three more, thus putting into action a rapidly growing chain of generosity and goodwill.
Trevor's first good (although not entirely altruistic) deed is to set up his mother with the lonely and insecure Mr. Simonet. Simonet has avoided relationships because of the burns that cover most of his face and body. The scenes between Hunt and Spacey provide the film's romantic core.
Even though the film features mediocre performances from its stars and the script is cliched in its over-sentimentality, "Pay it Forward" is still entertaining. The originality of the idea is enough to keep the movie interesting. Although it is clear that the film does all it can to evoke an emotional response, it's hard not to be moved by the arguably over-the-top ending. The film may not receive the Oscar nominations it is clearly asking for, but it isn't a wasted trip to the theater either. The audience can still find resonance in the film's well-intentioned message-provided they don't mind being hit over the head with it.