THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
There are stories you won’t believe until you see it. And there is no example any better than Forrest Gump.
PLOT
Based on the titular novel by Winston Groom, the 1994 film takes place in 1981 and follows the titular lead sitting on a bus stop, recounting his life story to multiple strangers that would listen. In ‘56, he was diagnosed to have an IQ of 75 and wore leg braces due to having a curved spine. Despite the challenges, his mother always encouraged him to live beyond them. At the time, she would run a boarding house in Greenbow, Alabama, and among many residents that visited included Elvis Presley who incorporated his dancing off of Forrest’s jerky leg at the time. When he started going to school, he befriended a girl named Jenny Curran who was a victim of sexual abuse by her widowed/alcoholic father. Thankfully, she would be removed from his custody and would spend the remainder of her childhood with her grandmother. Forrest was quickly bullied for the braces but even after breaking them off to reveal himself to be a fast runner, he was still picked on for his dimwittedness. His speed was still put to good use at the beginning of his adulthood, as it led to him playing for football at the University of Alabama in the 60s, earning a scholarship as a top kick returner. Within that tenure, he would unknowingly become a part of history by meeting President John F Kennedy as part of the All American Team and returned a dropped book to Vivian Malone Jones, one of the first African students to attend a white college, the same one he attended. His relationship with Jenny would evolve as she would attend a different college. When they shared their first sexual encounter, it would be awkward for them both as he prematurely ejaculated when she undressed in front of him. After he graduated in ‘66, he would enlist in the US Army and befriend the autistic Benjamin Buford Blue aka Bubba, who aspired to get into a shrimping business after serving and offered him to be part of it. During his leave, Forrest would visit Memphis to see Jenny again, due to the discovery she got expelled for posing in Playboy Magazine for wearing her college sweater in the photos. He does find her working at a strip club, but embarrasses her when attacking patrons harassing her. He confesses his love for her, but she doesn’t feel the same. He would say goodbye to her for now as he would go fight in Vietnam with Bubba. During their time there, they would serve under Lieutenant Dan Taylor at the Mekong Delta region. They would share months of routine operations, but one day would turn into an ambush by the enemy at the time. Gump would save multiple brethren including Dan, but despite getting Bubba out of an explosion, his friend would still die from fatal wounds. Gump would have a minor injury off of being shot in his butt, but Dan would be full of bitter now living the rest of his life handicapped rather than dying in the battlefield like his ancestors before him. During recovery, Gump would gain a talent for ping pong. When visiting Washington DC after President Lyndon B Johnson awarded him a Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery at ‘Nam. Not only would he meet protester Abbie Hoffman at an anti-war rally, as well as a Black Panther party, he’d reunite with Jenny again who became a drug-addicted hippie. They would part ways shortly afterwards as she would go to San Francisco, while he would play ping in the special services, competing against Chinese teams and becoming a celebrity for it. By the 70s, his success within the sport would lead to him meeting President Richard Nixon, who would give him a room in the Watergate hotel. This would unknowingly be a mistake for the latter, as Gump would unknowingly notice a break-in at the DNC headquarters. After being honorably discharged in ‘74, he’d accept $25,000 to use a ping pong paddle with Mao Zedong on it. He’d use those earnings to get into the shrimping business as part of Bubba’s dying wish. He’d buy a shrimping boat and name it after Jenny. Business would start out difficult but shortly after Dan joined him as first mate, which he drunkenly promised, success would come from the disastrous Hurricane Carmen. The two would gain such a profit from the vast amount of shrimp they’d retrieve, it would spark the creation of Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. It is during this moment of success where Dan would acknowledge Forrest saved his life, but Mrs. Gump would sadly pass away from cancer. Success would continue for Forrest when he and Dan would invest in Apple Inc. on the stock market, making them millionaires. By ‘76, Forrest would spend most of his time in his hometown, gardening the University of Alabama for free. One day, Jenny would return to his life again. Although there was time for sadness when they passed by her father’s home, Forrest would ensure she’d be happy with him. He would propose to her, only for her to turn him down. Although she would admit to love him and choose to make love to him hours later, she would still decide to leave him again by the next morning. When Forrest realizes she left, his heartbreak would inspire him to run, making a personal cross country marathon where he would garner followers and inspire struggling businessmen. After over three years of running, he chooses to stop and go home which surprises the world watching him. After returning home, he would get a letter from Jenny inviting him to visit her, tying into the purpose of him being at the bus stop. Realizing that he isn’t too far from her home, he rushes to her. She does take the time to apologize for not being good to him, only to reveal she gave birth to their son, Forrest Junior. Despite being in shock of having a son, he quickly decides to accept him and bond with him. The family reunion would only be temporary when Jenny confesses to being terminally ill, choosing to accept his hand in marriage, in order for him to legally take care of their son. At the wedding, Dan would attend and reveal to be walking on titanium alloy prosthetics. Jenny would succumb to her illness and pass away a year after the wedding, breaking Gump’s heart. Despite feeling such, he chooses to continue being a devoted father to Junior, bonding over ping pong. He even went out of his way to purchase land that belonged to her father, giving him the opportunity to demolish the house that haunted her. The film would end with Gump seeing his son off on his first day of school.
THOUGHTS
I've been seeing this film for more than a decade now as of writing this, and it surprises me how it gets better the more I see it. To me, it comes to show how Director Robert Zemeckis and Writer Eric Roth succeeded in making a timeless story of how you must never lose hope in life: There will always be things past your control and the best you can do is take everything one step at a time. If you choose to not take this approach, you'll never be happy with what you have. This is all captured in the incredible Oscar winning performance from Tom Hanks as the titular lead. We love him as Forrest from beginning to end because he maintains optimistic despite the various struggles that came his way. When afraid, he'd become brave and when upset, he'd figure out how to be happy again. Seeing the constant success that came his way without even trying inspires us to do anything we want to set our mind to. His selflessness was the best part about him because he always thought of others before himself. All the soldiers he saved in 'Nam and the money he gave to those who needed it more showed how humble he was. And since he was ironically named after a fictional KKK member, that comes to show the (flawed) past doesn't have to define you. We would then again laugh at his adventure half of the time due to how unbelievable it was for him to see him be part of so many historical moments without the intention to seek attention. Noticing this and the feather give an exact representation of life being taken up to chance however it would turn out. No matter how disappointed or joyful Forrest was in various moments, he was generally content with it and you can't help respecting that perspective. Since he got to live such an epic life, there is no doubt there would be people very special to him. Everyone has had their opinion on how to feel about Jenny as a whole, but I know for sure Robin Wright has made something very clear about this character. For the most part, she was troubled and damaged, which was expected when growing up with a troubled upbringing. The trauma was so much for her she tried to bury her pain with all the drugs she could find until accepting it wouldn't undo what happened. I do believed she loved Forrest for being the kindest soul around her, but she pushed him away for the majority of her life because she felt like she didn't deserve it and thought she'd protect him by being distant. It is understandable to find it selfish for her to wait until terminally ill to marry Forrest so he can take care of their son, but that doesn't matter because at that point, the only thing that did was Gump being happy and she trusted someone that'll take care of Junior. Her death was not the first loss Gump went through, but it was the toughest for him because he never imagined a life without her. If there is any bright side to her passing, she got to be a bird like she once prayed to become. I don't want to overrate the young Haley Joel Osment, but he was so adorable as Forrest Jr., it felt like he echoed the essence of Hanks' young counterpart Michael Conner Humphreys. Gary Sinise was a god damn trail blazer as Lt. Dan due to how he transitions from a soldier who was at confident at reaching his own expectations, to being depressed of a drastic change in his life, to coming to terms with it all in such given time. He thought he knew what destiny was until he met Forrest. It was far from easy for him to accept things happen beyond control the way Gump, but the fact he comes around proves anyone can find peace no matter how long it takes. He never straight up thanks him for saving his life because that's how prideful he is. It never bothered Gump anyway because he's not someone who expects validation. I even gotta credit the visual effects for the team because apart from planting Forrest in various historical moments to digitizing the ping pong ball, they were at their finest when having us believe Sinise was actually paraplegic. Considering how close Gump was with Jenny, it was almost hard to imagine him with another friend until he met someone with similar struggles. Mykelti Williamson had us adore Bubba for being just as outgoing as his friend, never really thinking of the worst and made high expectations to motivate him to come home. It was definitely heartbreaking to see him die since this would be Gump's first loss, but it only made the latter stronger since he had to accept he couldn't save him like he wished. In the end, he remained honorable by fulfilling his wish and gave his shares to his family in need. Last but not least, Forrest would never have been as lovable as he is now without the one parent who raised him right. Sally Field had us respect Mrs. Gump instantly for always wanting him to be looked at as equal despite being different from others. She was wise enough to know her son would be okay as long as he doesn't overthink anything, which he never did. Even her death was tough to digest because we always wish our parents were immortal to us and keep on guiding us. But even she knew her son had to understand death is inevitable for everyone. Her comparing life to a box of chocolates is dead on accurate because it is absolutely true since we can never guarantee how it will turn out in the future. Had it not been for her love, there is no telling how different his life would have been for that and I couldn't be anymore grateful about that. I will never stop loving this film no matter how many times I’ve seen it, but even immortal love can’t stop some issues I had upon re-watching. For instance, I got thrown off of the editing very quick for one take to involve the bullies’ car almost hitting Forrest, transitioning to another where Forest is too far to make that possible. I mean that’s a weird way to acknowledge how fast he is. And how was Jenny singing loud enough for the crowd to hear when she didn’t have no amp, speaker or mic. That’s just bending reality way too much at this point. They even overdo it when Forrest chooses to whisper his narration during the Vietnam sequence. That felt pointless since he’s sharing this story to strangers on a bus stop. I dig the mystery behind Forrest’s speech at the anti-war rally when someone unplugged the soundboard, but that could’ve been avoided if someone was just watching over it. And I do respect the spontaneous feeling Forrest gets when he starts his personal marathon, but who took care of the house since he left it open? If it was his maid who was still working for him when he came home, I wish that was clarified. Ignore this, and you’ll still love it for what it is. In short, Forrest Gump remains a worthy Best Picture winner to this day for passing on inspiration we all need to get by, becoming an all time classic in the process. And that is all I have to say about that. You seek motivation? This movie will do it for you
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.
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