Pay It Forward

Pay It Forward is a dramatic film that was released in 2000. Pay It Forward follows the story of Trevor McKinney, an eleven year old boy who ends up launching a world-wide movement of goodwill. Trevor receives an unusual class assignment. His teacher wants the students to come up with a creative idea that will improve the world around them. Trevor comes up with a unique idea that he calls Pay It Forward. The plan is that instead of paying someone back when they do you a favor, you pay it forward and offer assistance or help to a third person. The idea is that this will start a chain of goodwill going across the world. Trevor first decides to try his pay it forward experiment by letting a homeless man live in his garage. The homeless man ends up fixing Trevor’s mom’s car which Trevor believes that his plan is working. Unfortunately, the homeless man ends up falling back into drug addiction so Trevor begins to worry that maybe his big idea is not so good after all. Trevor’s mom is also upset so she decides to confront Trevor’s teacher about this assignment. Trevor decides the best way to handle this confrontation is to trick his mom and his teacher into going on a date. Again, this plan backfires on him. Trevor’s mom drinks too much and his teacher confronts her. She is so upset that she slaps him. Trevor is so upset that he runs away from home and his mother must enlist his teacher’s help in finding him. Trevor’s mom and teacher then begin a romantic relationship. Trevor’s teacher has significant scars on his body from burns that he reveals where caused by his alcoholic father burning him. The relationship between Trevor’s mom and teacher is going well until Trevor’s father returns. Trevor’s father was also an abusive alcoholic but he tells Trevor’s mom that he has cleaned up and is no longer drinking. He soon resumes his bad behavior and Trevor’s mom kicks him out. The pay it forward movement started by Trevor soon begins to grow and it becomes famous around the world. A news reporter hears about it and he decides to interview Trevor for a story. Trevor then intervenes in a gang fight and is stabbed. He bleeds to death. The film ends with Trevor’s mom and teacher getting together and people coming from around the world to hold a vigil in Trevor’s honor.