The American Dream Lived Out Through The Eyes Of A Simple Man

Rating: 8/10 (31 January 2005)

1994 was the year where being dumb ruled in the cinemas. Two out of ten top grossing movies of this year was about really idiotic or simple-minded people. The first one being the Jim Carrey vehicle "Dumb And Dumber" and the other one being "Forrest Gump" Though the first movie just made the viewers laugh with puerile humour, the latter movie provides a nostalgic travel through important events through history. It is the second movie that I am going to talk about in this review.
Spoiler Plots Dead Ahead!!! The movie's story is really "simple" to pardon the pun. It is about this character that has a very low I.Q., who while waiting for a bus, seems to tell his life experiences to folk next to him. It can be considered that this plot seems to be really going nowhere, however Forrest life is pretty unique. He seems to bumble into very important historical events in America's history without ever realising. These events last from the 1960's to the 1990's. He got to meet very famous people like J.F.K., Lyndon Johnson, Elvis, and John Lennon during his life. He fought in the Vietnam War, and made a million in the shrimp business and investing in some kind of fruit computer company. Even though he has experienced all these amazing events and people, the only thing that makes him going is his relentless love for Jenny, who is a childhood sweetheart who seems to push him away.
Tom Hanks acting is absolutely amazing in this movie, and probably did his best role as the slow-witted Forrest Gump. He seems to play the everyday man who seems to be in extraordinary events in most of his movies, so therefore he is ideal in this movie. Sally Field plays one of the most understandable and lovable mothers who do not seem to be so saccharine sweet. Gary Sinse seems to play a really good role of Lt Dan Taylor, and I thought that Robin Wright Penn was pretty good as Jenny.
The soundtrack was essential to this movie, since it seems to accentuate each scene with great poignancy. Also the music in this movie got me at least singing to it, though I was not even born in half the decades that the soundtrack had in it.
It would have to be said that I actually liked this movie. I am not a big fan of nostalgic movies, since I don't usually seem to connect to such films like that. Also I am a bit of a cynic when it comes to such films like these. Yet this movie seems to hit a a nerve with me and I really enjoyed it and makes me escape to such a fantasy life like Forrest Gump. Also this movie seem to show some social undertones, such as the constant aftermath of Vietnam, (nowadays this would be Gulf War II), the fighting against racism, (befriending Bubba during such racial tensions), and sexual and physical mistreatments of women (shown many times with Jenny). A final point to say is that in this movie, the portrayal is that Mr Gump is seen as a stupid person. However, it is the line which portrays the irony in this movie, "Stupid Is As Stupid Does".
It shows the rest of the people in this movie who seems to act out this line, such as Jenny who seems to be in a constant spiral downwards into hedonism and drugs, and Lt. Dan who seems to have gone mad when he lost his legs. The movie shows that Gump only views the world in simple terms and his morals are never waivered when everyone else's are flipping back and forth over the blurry line of right and wrong.
In conclusion, I think this is one of the most heart warming movies I have ever seen and it is up there with "It's A Wonderful Life" sentimentality with dark overtones. However I am still a cynic when it comes to movies.