My momma always said, 'life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get'
This was the one quote that made the film, Forrest Gump, the film it is today. I think it is quite true to say that this is definitely one of the films of the 90s, along with Schindler's List and Silence of the Lambs. This film is the kind of film that everyone loves in some way or another. Whether it is Forrest's character or the editing or the subtleties behind the film, every person watching this is bound to find something good about this film.
I still remember when the film first came out in 1994. I always had some kind of urge to go watch this film, but unfortunately, I never got the chance to watch it in the cinema. Luckily enough, I did, however, manage to get a copy of the film from my local Blockbuster and borrowed it from there (actually it was a rental store called KPS, which Blockbuster took over a few years ago). Ever since I watched Forrest Gump for the first time 7-8 odd years ago, I have tried to watch this film over and over again.
The funny thing is every time I watch this film, I always find something that I did not see there before, and it is one of the reasons why this film is so good. A good film to me is one in which you can always watch again and find something new every time, and this film does just that.
As you know, the film goes through the life of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks). He is far from what you would call your typical protagonist. He is retarded, has an IQ well below average, lacks common sense and is as straightforward a person as you can get. He sits on a park bench wearing his worn-out trainers, checkered shirt, white suit jacket and trousers, holding onto his briefcase and waiting for a bus. A woman then shares the bench with Forrest, and having nothing better to do, he decides to start talking to her, and he tries to draw up a conversation, but then starts to talk about his whole life.
The film essentially goes through the good times and bad times of Forrest Gump. His life starts out badly. He almost does not go to school because of his IQ. He needs braces on his legs to walk and because of it, is discriminated against by a bunch of bullies at school (it was still the 1950s). But despite all that he is faced with, he still manages to go to college with a football scholarship, but upon graduating, he volunteers to serve in the army during the Vietnam War in the 1960s, which would lead him to play ping-pong for the army and for the United States. He also invests in a shrimping company in memory of his fellow friend in the army, Bubba (Mykelti Williamson).
I won't tell you all that happens throughout his life, otherwise I'll spoil the plot completely. Despite all the different jobs Forrest has had and all the different types of people he has met through all these times, there are 2 people Forrest has complete admiration for. One of them is his mother (Sally Field), who helped shape up the person he is and has given him valuable lessons to learn in his life such as "stupid is as stupid does". The other person Forrest has complete admiration for is for his close friend, Jenny (Robin Wright Penn). Despite drifting further and further apart as a result of their different beliefs (particularly over the war in Vietnam), the two remain close together and in the words of Forrest himself, they are like "carrots and peas".
He also develops two close friends in the army and in Vietnam. One of these is Bubba. Bubba, who has lived his whole life working in the shrimping industry tells Forrest all about the shrimping industry, and promises that when they go back to Alabama, they will buy a boat and invest in the shrimping business. When Bubba dies, Forrest decides to deliver his side of his promise to Bubba and try to invest in the shrimping business, despite having very little background knowledge about it. His other close friend is Lieutenant Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise). Despite having at least one of his relatives die in every single American war, Forrest prevents Lieutenant Dan from the same fate. However, Lieutenant Dan is angry that he did, because his legs had to be amputated, in order for him to stay alive. But as life progresses, the two meet again and develop a close relationship. The lieutenant even decides to become Forrest's shrimping boat partner in the shrimping business.
One of the best things about the film are the characters created by Wilson Groom (who wrote the book). Forrest Gump is the type of character that we have never seen before. He is an unorthodox protagonist. Never before has anyone seen a film in which a retarded person has the main role and never have we seen a character such as Forrest face the same difficulties that all normal human beings face. To me, it touches me to watch a retarded person move through life, despite all the typical problems all of us face and even with the discrimination, he still pulls through life without any regrets, which is something that many of us do not do (I admit I regret many things I do). The supporting characters: Mrs. Gump, Jenny, Bubba and Lieutenant Dan all have extremely different personalities, but are all similar in that they are able to accept Forrest for who he is, and not discriminate him because he is retarded.
The film also brings out many issues, most notably discrimination. This is portrayed very well through all the bullying and intolerance Forrest is faced with, even through his adult life.
Another thing I liked about the film is how Robert Zemeckis mixed Forrest's story in with various historical events. I always laugh my head off when I see Forrest unintentionally being involved with a huge number of historical events in America during the last 50 years such as the Watergate scandal. One of my favorite scenes is where Forrest goes with Jenny and ends up entering the underground hideout of the Black Panther Party, and when a fight breaks out between Forrest and Jenny's boyfriend (who just slapped Jenny), Forrest stands up and before he leaves, he tells the members of the party that he's "sorry for ruining their Black Panther Party". There is also the famous "I gotta go pee" scene with President Kennedy and the scene where Forrest shows his buttock injury to Lyndon B. Johnson and to the rest of the American public on national television. The list of hilarious scenes just goes on and on.
I liked the way the film was edited as well. Being able to put Tom Hanks and President Kennedy, Ford, Nixon and John Lennon on the same screen at various parts of the movie is amazing. It is even more amazing that there able to play around with the dialogue as well, so when Forrest says, "I gotta go pee", Kennedy says, "I believe this guy has to go pee". To be able to mix in Forrest and prominent historical figures together is great and this is only because of the superb editing in the film.
The music used in this film is great too. With classics such as Jimi Hendrix's All Along the Watchtower, Elvis' Hound Dog and The Byrds' Turn, Turn, Turn and other classics blaring out throughout the film, it establishes the time period the film was set in and the selection of songs were perfect to depict that.
The acting in this film is phenomenal. Tom Hanks certainly deserved the Best Actor award for this film. Being able to play a retarded guy throughout a film is a challenge. Being able to do it well, is really something. Hanks does it so well that when we talk about Hanks, we think Forrest Gump. He plays the title role with a lot of conviction and does it as realistically as possible. He also is able to portray the sadness and happiness through this character very well. Actually, everything Hanks did with the character of Gump was done to perfection and it is impossible to see him without an Oscar for this film. The supporting cast were just as good, but do not stand out as well as Hanks does in the title role. And watch out for a very young Haley Joel Osment towards the end of the film.
Robert Zemeckis' direction is superb! He does not waste a second in this film, and he is able to put a whole person's life in a film. I like the way he uses the feather at the beginning and at the end of the film to signify the hope Forrest has, but I also like the way he is able to bring out both the major and subtle things out towards the audience. Zemeckis also paces the film perfectly, so that the audience is never bored throughout the film. His direction focuses on the character of Gump and the spiritual journey he takes. His direction also focuses on how we grow to love him, which Zemeckis did very well as well. It is therefore not hard to see why Zemeckis won the award for Best Director of this film.
This film is a classic film and is one that everyone should watch. Despite being slightly melodramatic at times, it is still one of the greatest films out there!
Life is like a box of chocolates... Like the movie itself, this line from Forrest Gump became an instant classic and an inspiration to millions of peo...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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