Review: Forrest Gump

The story of, you guessed it, Forrest Gump (Michael Humphreys), limited with an IQ of about 75, he is dismissed by most of society and seen as unworthy of an education, though his beloved momma (Sally Field) works real hard to see her boy gets the best life possible. He also forms a strong bond with troubled local girl Jenny (Hanna Hall), from the first day of school. As an adult (now played by Tom Hanks) goes on to live a rather extraordinary life as a Vietnam War hero, ping-pong champion, and witness to some of the most important events in American history. He also gets to meet a whole slew of important political and pop culture figures. Seemingly always eluding him, however, is the love of Jenny (played as an adult by Robin Wright), who has a tough time of it living the counter-culture lifestyle of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll. Mykelti Williamson plays Bubba, Forrest’s best friend and Vietnam comrade, who also isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. Gary Sinise plays gruff Lt. Dan Taylor, Forrest’s commanding officer in Vietnam, whose destiny is to die a brave death in battle like his forefathers.

***** SPOILERIFIC REVIEW AHEAD. SERIOUSLY, I MEAN IT, DUDE *****

From the moment I first saw it at age 14, I proclaimed this 1994 Robert Zemeckis (“Back to the Future”, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, “Beowulf”) Academy Award winner for Best Picture as the best movie I had ever seen. I have only ever had that immediate reaction one other time, three years earlier with “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”. Well, it’s now early 2013 as I write this, and “Forrest Gump” was replaced at the top of my best films of all-time list about ten years ago with “The Misfits”. However, it’s firmly entrenched in the #2 spot, and the reason for its slight shift downward is really a matter of personal taste (or at least personal political views) than any technical or dramatic flaw within what is still a wonderfully entertaining, beautifully made and truly moving motion picture experience. It thoroughly deserved to win its 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Fans of “Pulp Fiction” and the similarly overrated (but slightly more palatable) “Shawshank Redemption” can go suck it (And I mean that in the nicest possible way, of course).

 

This is kind of my first love, and seeing it without rose-coloured glasses this time, it thankfully holds up really well. My one issue with the film (and remember, it’s a pretty minor one in an otherwise five star classic), and I’ll get it out of the way now, is with regards to the film’s political point-of-view. In my most recent viewing of the film, I feel I have earlier been too harsh in labelling the film’s interpretation of American History as ‘conservative’. A more apt term for the film’s point-of-view would be ‘Conservative Democrat’ (or whatever the equivalent is in your country. I’m Australian, but the film is American, so we’ll go with the yank vernacular), especially when you hear the origins of Forrest’s name. That still makes it more conservative than me, but hardly a true conservative film, otherwise the film wouldn’t show sympathy for each and every one of its characters.

But at the end of the day, this is just splitting hairs and justifying why it stands at one position lower than my favourite film of all-time, so let me spend the rest of this review telling you why I love this film. Based (apparently very loosely) on a Winston Groom novel, the film succeeds where “Benjamin Button” later failed, in giving us a seemingly real, flesh-and-blood character, whose story was simply magical and extraordinary. I guess you either go along with the ‘magic’ or you don’t, and I absolutely went along with it, and Oscar-winning Tom Hanks has to be a large reason for that in making Forrest seem real under extraordinary circumstances, and utterly sympathetic. It’s a sweet, good-hearted film about a really sweet, good-hearted man. I guess I personally related to Forrest in the way he is treated by other people. When Jenny says ‘You don’t know what love is’, it rang true and painful for me and will ring similarly for many other people with disabilities of all kinds, who have ever been made to feel like they are asexual. When Forrest says ‘I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is’, my heart breaks every time. Everyone deserves love and to be loved. Forrest’s quiet initial reaction to Jenny leaving him subsequently is also heart-breaking. I guess he doesn’t know what a booty call is, but nonetheless he gets the gist of the situation. And if you can put aside the political slant of the film (which really only applies to the trajectories of two of the characters anyway), I really admire Zemeckis and Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (“The Horse Whisperer”, “The Insider”) for giving us a film where we see the world through the eyes of someone with a slight intellectual disability. As fanciful as it is, as funny as it is, it gives people with disabilities worth, a value. We see that Forrest makes it through life in his own way, with his own understanding of the world, and his life is not limited in scope. Yes, it’s fanciful and exaggerated, but the point is still there and very much appreciated. Forrest, although he has his own mannerisms and vocal inflections, is no mere caricature, he’s a fully realised character. Hanks has simply never been better, and you need only look to the scene where he realises he’s a father. Hanks brilliantly conveys the myriad of emotions and thoughts going on inside Forrest. He knows who and what he is, he knows his own limitations and capabilities, and although he made a success of himself, he knows the road ahead isn’t always so easy. If you don’t cry at this poignant moment, you’re simply not human. Interesting thought, though: Does anyone think Jenny might have lied about Forrest being the dad and just wanted him to be financially taken care of? No, me neither, but the possibility is there.

The film’s amusing use of special FX and droll sense of humour work wonderfully in helping to tell the extraordinary tale. The football game, for instance, is funny for more than one reason. The crowd signage is hilarious enough, but even funnier is the look on Forrest’s face before he is given the ball. Is he even paying attention? The subsequent bit with the Dr. Pepper’s is even better. I also found Forrest’s attitude to instances of racism really interesting. I mean, he’s basically ridiculing them and their hatred without even really realising it. If this ‘idiot’ gets it...I mean, think about it. Most of the interactions between Forrest and real-life figures from American history are terrific and seamlessly done. The scene with LBJ, for instance, is a modern classic. However, the audio sync with the John Lennon/Dick Cavett bit is terrible. I don’t know what went wrong there, but I’m surprised no one noticed and bothered to fix it. The Watergate reference, however, works wonderfully well and gets us back on track. Aside from an hilarious cameo by ‘Elvis’, the biggest laugh in the film for me, however, is when Gary Sinise’s Lt. Dan asks Forrest if he knows what it’s like to not be able to use his legs, and Forrest starts to say that he does. Well, he really does. It cracks me up every time, mostly due to Hanks’ hilarious facial expression (Hanks’ posture throughout the film, for some reason also makes me smile). The scene later on where Forrest sees Lt. Dan and impulsively jumps off his sailing boat (whilst waving) is just gorgeous. Meanwhile, Jackson Browne’s “Running on Empty” might just be the most brilliant musical choice of all-time. Think about it.

Some of the things that made me laugh hardest this time might not have even been intentional. I mean, has anyone noticed that ‘The happiest day’ of Forrest’s life is when he meets his girl in front of a giant phallic symbol? Just sayin’. His second happiest moment, meanwhile, is spending time with Jenny as we see them embrace with fireworks in the background. Once again, just sayin’, folks.

It’s not just Oscar-winning Hanks who brings his A-game here, everyone’s pretty much perfect. An Oscar-nominated Sally Field in particular gives her best performance since 1985’s “Places in the Heart” as Mama Gump. She sure as hell ain’t “The Flying Nun” in this one. Mykelti Williamson and Gary Sinise are rock-solid as two of the most important male figures in Forrest’s life, his best friend Bubba, and Lt. Dan. Sinise’s casting is retrospectively very interesting. He’s normally a pro-troops guy in real-life, and here he is playing a disgruntled, disabled veteran of one of the most controversial wars in American history. The only other Conservative actor I can think of to take on such a role would be Jon Voight in “Coming Home”, and I don’t think he was a Conservative at the time. Look out for the “Midnight Cowboy” reference too, it’s pretty hard to miss, and very amusing. Williamson, meanwhile, still hasn’t lived up to the promise he showed here, and it’s a shame because he is very effective here as the rather sweet Bubba. Forrest and Jenny might be like ‘two peas in a pod’, but Forrest and Bubba are like brothers from another mother. Robin Wright has perhaps the hardest role in the film to play as the troubled Jenny. She doesn’t always treat Forrest as well as she should, but mostly through Wright’s performance, we see enough of the turmoil that Jenny is going through that we know she means no harm. She was pretty much messed up when Forrest first met her, and perhaps she was even doomed from the start. It’s a very sad character in quite a sad film. Hell, the film has one of the saddest deaths in cinematic history, if you ask me. Maybe even two, now that I think about it. This is one of those rare movies that makes you sad as often as it makes you happy or makes you laugh. It’s magical.

The soundtrack is also my favourite movie soundtrack of all-time, as is the music score by Alan Silvestri (“Young Guns II”, “The Quick and the Dead”). Like with the film overall, it helps to have a nostalgic streak to appreciate the soundtrack here, as it truly does catalogue some of the best songs of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. In fact, it’s so jam-packed with great songs that some songs like The Doors’ “People Are Strange” aren’t even on the released soundtrack. Hell, that’s not even the only Doors song not on the soundtrack.

I love this film dearly, it’s one of the greatest films ever made, and anyone who doesn’t like it clearly hasn’t got a sentimental or nostalgic bone in their body. It’s also one of the few episodic films I’ve seen that takes several viewings before you even realise it’s episodic. Unlike most episodic films, it isn’t choppy or lacking depth. How is that not movie magic, I ask you?

Rating: A+