FORREST GUMP
A film review by Chad Polenz
Copyright 1997 Chad Polenz
**** (out of 4 = excellent) 1994, PG-13, 142 minutes [2 hours, 22 minutes] [lighthearted drama] Starring: Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Robin Wright (Jenny), Gary Sinise (Lieutenant Dan), Mykelti Williamson (Bubba), Sally Field (Mrs. Gump), written by Eric Roth, produced by Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch, Steve Starkey, directed by Robert Zemeckis, based on the novel by Winston Groom.
"Forrest Gump" is quite a magical movie. It has a charm I haven't experienced since "Back To The Future" (not surprisingly both films were directed by Robert Zemeckis). It's an enjoyable, and often touching story of a slow man who somehow experiences every major American historical event from the 1950s to the 80s.
Tom Hanks delivers an incredible performance as Forrest Gump, a man who isn't too bright, but is certainly likeable. The story is told from a park bench as he is waiting for a bus, and proceeds to tell strangers his life story. Some of them don't seem to be interested in what he has to say, but we certainly are.
Forrest was born mentally and physically challenged. And since this is a story about a child who is different, he is ostracized by the other children, expect for one sweet girl named Jenny.
The immediate chemistry between young Forrest and Jenny is very sweet. It's hard to explain why the film is so touching so quickly. Maybe because there's a real sense of innocence to it, that Forrest isn't quite clever enough to figure out what's really going on, and the love he has for Jenny isn't typical Hollywood stuff.
But the film is not an intense drama, it is lighthearted and has a satirical, comical effect at times. For instance we learn how Forrest (played by Hanks from age 17 up) has a gift for running fast, and this allows him to succeed by playing football, even though he doesn't know the rules. When Forrest scores a touchdown he keeps running back to the locker room until someone tells him to stop. This kind of subtle humor is scattered throughout the movie and makes it so charming and enjoyable.
However, not everything is so cheery in this picture, as Jenny (played by Wright from age 17 up) grows up to become a drifter. When Forrest is in boot camp he finds out that she posed for "Playboy" and was expelled from college for it. She then becomes a stripper of sorts, and Forrest comes to her rescue, but is never really able to save her in the long run.
This was the only problem I had with the film, the Jenny character does not seem to keep with the rest of the story. She and Forrest were best friends as children and we see her always coming back to him, and then running away. As Forrest proceeds to go through amazing situations such as fighting in Vietnam and becoming a champion ping-pong player, Jenny falls into a life of drugs and abusive relationships.
Special mention must be give to Gary Sinise who gives a great supporting performance as Lieutenant Dan Taylor, who claims Forrest cheated him out of his destiny when he rescued him from death in Vietnam. The chemistry between the two is of absolute contrast, with Forrest being a naive optimist, and Dan the realist pessimist who hates everything, but for some reason finds friendship in Forrest.
Even in the midst of all these situations that are quite tragic, it still is able to present them in a very lighthearted and high spirited manner, and that's what makes "Forrest Gump" great. Maybe because Forrest is ignorant, and if ignorance is bliss, we'll absorb this mindset and find it enjoyable.
(10/30/96) (1/29/97) (6/13/97) [also by Zemeckis: "Back To The Future," "Back To The Future Part II," "Back To The Future Part III"]
please visit Chad'z Movie Page @ http://members.aol.com/ChadPolenz/index.html
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews