It's not completely fair to ask director Mimi Leder ("Deep Impact") and screenwriter Leslie Dixon to shoulder all the blame (though they should at least take the brunt). After all, the source material may be unadaptable. What works in print simply doesn't work on celluloid here.

Another major problem is that we're simply asked to swallow too much, such as the sight of the usually snobby Hunt playing white trash — despite a rather earnest attempt on her part.

As for Spacey, he's stuck under rather unconvincing burn makeup and finds himself overcompensating at times, and Osment is never really given enough to show off his surprising chops.

"Pay It Forward" is rated PG-13 for scattered strong profanity, violence (a stabbing and some schoolyard brawling), simulated drug use (heroin), some use of crude slang terms, simulated sex (done discreetly) and use of racial epithets. Running time: 122 minutes.

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