Pay It Forward (film)

Pay It Forward is a 2000 American drama film based on the novel of the same name by Catherine Ryan Hyde. It was directed by Mimi Leder and written by Leslie Dixon. It stars Haley Joel Osment as a boy who launches a goodwill movement, Helen Hunt as his single mother, and Kevin Spacey as his social studies teacher.

Trevor does a favor for three people, asking each of them to pay the favor forward by doing favors for three other people, and so on, along a branching tree of good deeds. His first good deed is to let a homeless man named Jerry Jim Caviezel live in his garage, and Jerry pays the favor forward by doing car repairs for Trevors mother. Trevors efforts appear to fail when Jerry relapses into drug addiction, but Jerry pays his debt forward later by talking to a suicidal woman, who is about to jump off the bridge.Meanwhile, Trevors mother Arlene Helen Hunt confronts Eugene about Trevors project after discovering Jerry in their house. Trevor then selects Eugene as his next pay it forward target and tricks Eugene and Arlene into a romantic dinner date. This also appears to fail until Trevor and Arlene argue about her love for Ricky, her alcoholic exhusband, and she slaps him in a fit of anger. The two adults are brought together again when Trevor runs away from home and Arlene asks Eugene to help her find him. ........

Source: Wikipedia