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"WEEKEND STAR" FRIDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2000 - 9 Lame tear-jerker's an obvious Oscar attempt SCREENING ROOM By John Foote PAY IT FORWARD (Yeix) Directed by Mimi Leder Now in theatres An obvious attempt. to win Academy Awards and nab the lovers of tearjerkers, Pay It Forward is one of the most manipu- lative, clumsy films since Ricky Shroder burst into tears in every frame of The Champ (1979). Director Mimi Leder, who brought a strange, grounded dignity to the meteor epic Deep Impact (1998), goes full throttle for tears in this one, allowing her talented cast to shamelessly mug throughout the film for maximum pain impact. Kevin Spacey portrays a school teacher, badly bummed both physically and emotionally (of course), who chal- lenges his students to come up with a concept that might make the world a bet- ter place to live. One of his students, Trevor, played by Haley Joel Osment, best known as the little tyke who sees dead people, comes up with the theory of pay- ing forward a favour instead of the tried and true concept of payback. Rather than expect something in return, he will do a good deed, and in turn, hope others are >" inspired to do the same. It is his hope, his mission, that his goodness will make the world a better place. Sound Christ-like? Perhaps the biggest howler is when the boy brings a street person, the nicest street person who ever lived, home for dinner. He does this without getting mugged, molested, or injured in any way, almost as if the boy had a calming influ- ence on all those around him. Again, sounds like the Second Coming, right?? His mom, played by Helen Hunt, is a hard-drinking waitress doing the best she can with what she has, and his father, por- trayed in a cameo by Jon Bon Jovi, is a drunk. In the teacher the boy finds a kin- dred spirit and senses that this guy is the perfect man for his mom. She will see through his scars at the decent human being underneath, just as the teacher will know that underneath the tarted-up exte- rior 'beats the heart of a good human being. Man, am | tearing up here. Of course there are confrontations, tears, hugs, and many scenes of long gazes of admiration between characters. The pay it forward theory becomes popu- lar, even newsworthy, and then, as pre- dictable' as lack of emotion in a Keanu Reeves line reading, tragedy strikes our threesome. But wait! The spirit of what Trevor has started overcomes the masses. They are inspired to overcome the Hollywood tragedy; the characters become better people because they are inspired. Man, I half expected young Osment to . \ -- Helen Hunt, Haley Joel Osment, and Kevin Spacey, all fine actors, are wasted in Pay It Forward, a simple-minded tear jerker. walk on water at any given moment. Why would three fine actors be associ- ated with a film such as this? Spacey, a recent Oscar winner for American Beauty (1999), has established himself as one of the greatest in cinema history, yet here he _ simply rehashes old material, perhaps demonstrating for the first time his limita- tions as an actor. There is nothing imagi- native in the performance, no defining moment for Spacey to let us know what makes the character tick. He just seems to go along with the story, floating through the role, collecting a paycheque. Hunt, who nabbed the best actress Oscar in 1997 for As Good As It Gets, seems to be playing the same character here. Remember in that film she was a New York waitress with an ill child, trying to do the best she could with what she had, and slowly falling in love with acerbic writer Jack Nicholson? The only major dif- ference here is the locale, Las Vegas, and that the nasty writer is now an emotional- ly scarred teacher as afraid of involve- ment as she is. Something happens to Helen Hunt when she wrinkles her forehead and looks with adoration at a character ... she Please turn to page 30 Dristan Ibuprofen Tabs| Tylenol Sinus Nasal Mist 200 mg G.S.P. [Extra oy Tabs | | 359 15 ml 379 pkg. 12's | Neo Citran Novo Cold Medicine Loperamide Swiss = Formula Anti-Diarrheal 559 | 189 |= 889 ! pkg. 10's pkg. 75 gm 2 mg | Saviseon (0) ¢ Swabs Isha OF] 00 Tipped ree 0 % "AR IL "4079 - 229 60's Vicks Halloween Hilroy Nasal Inhaler eat 99 White pe i: hours hy 1 pkg. 150ml "Serving Port Perry and Surrounding A oa for 32 Years! * 41/8" 149 x91R7° pkg. 50's Desitin Ointment For £80 Rash 589 130 gm a m---------- | | = --F ° ALL CANDIDATES MEETING WEDNESDAY, NOV. 1/00, 7:30 PM. Uxbridge Arena Community Centre * Your opportunity to meet your Candidates * Written questions accepted * Refreshments will be served A CHANCE TO BECOME WELL INFORMED AS YOU PREPARE TO VOTE BY MAIL OR IN PERSON BE RESPONSIBLE!! BE THERE!! Sponsored by Uxbridge Rotary Club