Forrest Gump

“Forrest Gump,” released in 1994, is an emotional movie of eccentric fun and surprising beauty. There was talk of another Oscar for Tom Hanks, who is unforgettable as the nice man, poorly treated simpleton of the title. Peter Travers is right when he said in his review, “The Academy is a sucker for honoring afflicted heroes. In Hollywood, it's always raining rain men. Credit Hanks for not overplaying his hand.” He brings an amazing weight to the role of a low-level IQ man from the South who finds strength in God, country, his childhood love, Jenny (Robin Wright), and his amazing mother (Sally Field). When Forrest is shown that his is a few IQ points below the minimum school requirements, his mother knows how she can get around that. Her son has a gift. As Forrest goes through everything that happens from the 50s to the 80s, he becomes a college football star, a Vietnam veteran, a shrimp magnate and even a father.

Travers noted, “Taking a cue from Zelig, director Robert Zemeckis places Forrest in a vivid historical context — he talks with JFK, LBJ and Nixon, among other luminaries. The effects dazzle, though never at the expense of the story. Winston Groom, who wrote the 1986 novel, saw Forrest as a modern Candide, an optimist in the face of strong opposing evidence. But Groom is no Voltaire, and neither is screenwriter Eric Roth (Mr. Jones, Memories of Me), who blunts his satire with choking sentiment. It's Hanks who brings humor and unforced humanity to the literary conceit of Forrest, though the slim actor scarcely resembles the 6-foot-6-inch, 240-pound bruiser of the book.”

In a college dorm with Jenny, who lets him touch her chest, Forrest gets instantly attracted to it, losing her interest and his self-respect. In the Army, Forrest saves hi captain, played by Gary Sinise, whose lets are later amputated, and the captain hates him. Forrest is everything we love in the American character – honest, brave, loyal – and the film’s intense irony is that nobody can be with him for very long.

Travers said, “Zemeckis doesn't fall into the trap of using Forrest as an ad for arrested development. He knows the limits of a holy fool who can't understand the hypocrisy of postwar America that this picaresque epic so powerfully reveals.” The peace-love affectations of the 60s are pierced as nicely as the greed decades that come after. However, there is something of Forrest that Zemeckis would like to see his audience get: his capacity for hope. It’s a determined goal in this age of extensive pessimism.

You shouldn’t even be reading this review if you have not even seen the movie. Go out and see it, even though I do think it was wrong that Forrest is such a nice man, but Jenny treats him like dirt, but then again, what person that doesn’t have a low IQ that is a good-natured person doesn’t? I don’t mistreat those people because I was taught never to judge anyone. Also, this movie has some of the best quotes ever, like “My name is Forrest Gump, people call me Forrest Gump,” “Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get” and “I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is Jenny.” Check this movie out because it is an entertaining, feel good, slice of life movie. There are some emotional moments, but in the end, you’ll absolutely love it, I promise you.

Alright everyone, check in tomorrow night when I review one of the latest movies that was just recently released. It’s another movie that I have been wanting to see, not excited for as much, but one that I have been looking forward to forever. You might know what I’m talking about, but just stay tuned tomorrow night to find out.