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Forrest Gump won the 1994 Oscar for Best Picture, as did Robert Zemeckis for Best Director and won Tom Hanks a second Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor, making Hanks the second actor in movie history to win back to back Outstanding Lead Actor Oscars. The film was a box office smash that struck a chord with America, and I liked it too, but my appeal for this film has definitely diminished with each re-watch.
The film is a look at contemporary pop culture through the eyes of a physically and mentally challenged young man named Forrest Gump who was raised by a strong-willed but loving mother (Sally Field) who raised her son to always know he was special, but not handicapped in anyway.
The film follows Forrest from his childhood, that he spent in leg braces, to football hero, to military hero, to Olympic champion ping pong player, and independently wealthy business owner. Along the way we also see Forrest actually being present during the racial picket lines at Brown vs Board of Education, meeting John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and John Lennon and getting his first guitar lesson from Elvis, who happened to be a guest at his mother's boarding house for a few days. The film even credits Forrest with the invention of the smiley face. And through it all there was Jenny...the little girl Forrest met on a school bus with whom Forrest fell in love with instantly, and though Jenny never returned his feelings, she was loyal to him while simultaneously using him when she needed him and pushing him away when she didn't.
Zemeckis has done an admirable job of mounting Eric Roth's elaborate screenplay based on a book by Winston Groom, but I think the film is asking us to swallow an awful lot here. It was just hard to accept an awful lot of what is presented here. His coincidental presence at history-making events is just a little hard to take, but I even had a bigger problem with the character of Jenny. Her shameless manipulation of Forrest is a little hard to take and I hate the fact that when she gets sick, she finally comes running back to Forrest so that he can take care of her child, who she claims to be Forrest's child. Yes, I went there...I have never been completely convinced that that child is really Forrest's considering Jenny's lifestyle when she was away from Forrest, but I digress.
What does work here is Hanks' performance...as always, Hanks does make you care about this poor soul and my heart went out to him every time he fell victim to Jenny's machinations. Robin Wright Penn is solid as Jenny and I don't blame the actress for my dislike of the character. Sally Field seemed a bit young to be playing Hanks' mother, especially since she played his romantic interest in Punchline six years earlier, but the performance works. Gary Sinise received a supporting actor nomination for his kinectic performance as Lieutenant Dan, Forrest's commanding officer when he was in the army, whose permanent injuries suffered during the war force a reconnection with Forrest during peacetime.
The film also boasts impressive art direction, cinematography, and a gorgeous musical score, but the film still rings hollow for me, due to everything the screenplay is asking us to accept, especially a really unappealing leading lady. 6/10
Forrest Gump won the 1994 Oscar for Best Picture, as did Robert Zemeckis for Best Director and won Tom Hanks a second Oscar for Outstanding Lead Actor, making Hanks the second actor in movie history to win back to back Outstanding Lead Actor Oscars. The film was a box office smash that struck a chord with America, and I liked it too, but my appeal for this film has definitely diminished with each re-watch.
The film is a look at contemporary pop culture through the eyes of a physically and mentally challenged young man named Forrest Gump who was raised by a strong-willed but loving mother (Sally Field) who raised her son to always know he was special, but not handicapped in anyway.
The film follows Forrest from his childhood, that he spent in leg braces, to football hero, to military hero, to Olympic champion ping pong player, and independently wealthy business owner. Along the way we also see Forrest actually being present during the racial picket lines at Brown vs Board of Education, meeting John F Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and John Lennon and getting his first guitar lesson from Elvis, who happened to be a guest at his mother's boarding house for a few days. The film even credits Forrest with the invention of the smiley face. And through it all there was Jenny...the little girl Forrest met on a school bus with whom Forrest fell in love with instantly, and though Jenny never returned his feelings, she was loyal to him while simultaneously using him when she needed him and pushing him away when she didn't.
Zemeckis has done an admirable job of mounting Eric Roth's elaborate screenplay based on a book by Winston Groom, but I think the film is asking us to swallow an awful lot here. It was just hard to accept an awful lot of what is presented here. His coincidental presence at history-making events is just a little hard to take, but I even had a bigger problem with the character of Jenny. Her shameless manipulation of Forrest is a little hard to take and I hate the fact that when she gets sick, she finally comes running back to Forrest so that he can take care of her child, who she claims to be Forrest's child. Yes, I went there...I have never been completely convinced that that child is really Forrest's considering Jenny's lifestyle when she was away from Forrest, but I digress.
What does work here is Hanks' performance...as always, Hanks does make you care about this poor soul and my heart went out to him every time he fell victim to Jenny's machinations. Robin Wright Penn is solid as Jenny and I don't blame the actress for my dislike of the character. Sally Field seemed a bit young to be playing Hanks' mother, especially since she played his romantic interest in Punchline six years earlier, but the performance works. Gary Sinise received a supporting actor nomination for his kinectic performance as Lieutenant Dan, Forrest's commanding officer when he was in the army, whose permanent injuries suffered during the war force a reconnection with Forrest during peacetime.
The film also boasts impressive art direction, cinematography, and a gorgeous musical score, but the film still rings hollow for me, due to everything the screenplay is asking us to accept, especially a really unappealing leading lady. 6/10