Rent Forrest Gump on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Winston Groom (novel), Eric Roth (screenplay)
Directed by: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of a simple Alabama man who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Verdict
The enduring appeal is a simple and loyal man that stumbles through history, leaving his imprint on nearly every major event. What makes this film successful is the ode to history and pop culture as well as Hanks creating a character that while simple is also endearing. We want to mimic how he speaks, but this has numerous engaging characters. It's impressive how this manages to credibly stitch together all of these major events through one man that unknowingly capitalizes on all of it.
Watch It.
Review
It may very well have been nearly thirty years since I've seen this. This improves upon the book, even the author admitted as much. The books wasn't as wholesome and Forrest was less innocent and childlike. The movie cuts Forrest's career with NASA as an astronaut, his professional wrestling stint, and his time with cannibals where he learned chess. That would have made the movie less grounded. In the book Forrest is a savant, adept at mathematics and physics.
Hanks has stated he wasted the first three days of filming before he found the character. Hanks developed the voice by mimicking the actor that portrayed Forrest as a child as it was easier to mimic the child than teach the child to speak like Hanks. The result is a memorable accent often copied.
 |
| Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump |
The premise is simple yet ingenious, a simple man manages to find himself part of nearly every major historical event in the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) not only doesn't realize, he remains blissfully ignorant of any significance of how he's influenced history. This is a pop-culture laden movie. I had forgotten Forrest inspired Elvis's dance style. Forrest gets a football scholarship to Alabama and is part of Bear Bryant's storied team. There are so many historical and pop-culture figures Forrest encounters. Forrest excels in the military because of how little he thinks. He's great at following orders.
This movie was huge, and part of that has to be the immense nostalgia trip it presents. This movie is built on pop-culture and in turn created its own culture. There's plenty of quotable dialog as well as Hanks delivery. It's a credit to Hanks for creating a character that's heartwarming despite how silly the part could have been. While Forrest isn't smart, he excels at nearly everything he does, the epitome of right time and right place. The genius of this movie is linking all of these important events.
 |
| Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump |
Many reviews discuss the political representation of the movie. Is it conservative or liberal? Does Forrest represent conservative values with Jenny as liberal? I don't ascribe political motivations or interpretations to this movie. It's merely a representation of the time. Forrest and Jenny (Robin Wright) took different paths. She was the hippie protestor that traveled to California to play guitar. She seeks and has a freedom that Forrest doesn't. She wanted to be unrestrained, but Forrest is governed by others. He's told to go to college, to join the military, to start a shrimp company. He has no agency. The only choice he makes is to start running across America, but I'm not sure he could articulate why. Forrest is wholesome, while Jenny is tragic. We understand why she keeps looking for some kind of escape; an escape she could never find as a child. She keeps stumbling through abusive relationships, and that's related to her past. The two aren't opposing political viewpoints, they both represent different facets of America.
Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise) is another great character. He was saved by Forrest, but for most of the movie wishes he died in Vietnam. Despite his animosity for life and in part Forrest, Dan does care about him, later joining him on Forrest's shrimp boat.
 |
| Tom Hanks, Robin Wright play Forrest Gump, Jenny Curran |
The movie is framed with Forrest sitting on a bench sharing stories with whomever is nearby. They're skeptical, but he's proven right. All Forrest wants is to be with his crush Jenny. She never stays along, trying to escape her past, the town, and her trauma. I've seen numerous reviews characterize her as a leech, taking advantage of Forrest when she should have stayed with him. Right or wrong she's afraid to be happy with Forrest, afraid of ruining the one good relationship she had. She's aware of the stark lifestyle difference between her and Forrest, and she doesn't want to risk bringing him into that world. To face Forrest, she has to face her own demons; demons that have been chasing her since childhood. It very well could be that she had to come to terms with her traumas before she could consider a healthy relationship with anyone.
People want to get something deeper from the movie. Like with Forrest running, everyone wants to know what's motivating him. They want it to mean something. He just likes running. Forrest is too simple to ascribe any meaning to it.
Forrest Gump is a memorable character that can't be duplicated. A man with a childlike view of the world manages to excel beyond any reasonable expectation. This is an under dog story as people like Forrest rarely succeed. He not only succeeds but is responsible for influencing the stories that shaped America. It's funny, witty, and enduring.
No comments :
Post a Comment