"Mom always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what your gonna get."

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2003)

FORREST GUMP is one of the most unforgettable films I have ever seen. Director Robert Zemeckis marked his place in Hollywood with the hugely popular Back to the Future trilogy. Tom Hanks climbed the ladder of success starring in comedy movies like Splash and Turner and Hooch in the 1980's, but hadn't had critical success until 1993 when he starred in Philadelphia with Denzel Washington, which won him his first Oscar for Best Actor. The movie also features outstanding performances from little known actors Gary Sinise (Apollo 13, Ransom, Deception), Mykelti Williamson (Heat, Con Air, Three Kings, Ali) and Robin Wright-Penn, credited as Robin Wright, (Unbeakable).
FORREST GUMP starts off with the title character (Hanks) sitting on a bench waiting for a bus when a young woman comes and sits next to him. Here he starts his story by remembering his first pair of shoes, which in the film are leg braces. Forrest tells us how he met his life-long friend Jenny (Wright-Penn), how he served in the Vietnam war and how he spent years running for absolutely no reason.
Hanks plays Forrest Gump in a way that makes us feel what the character is feeling so most that we develop a sort of relationship with him. Gary Sinise has an excellent performance as Lt. Dan Taylor who hates Gump because he saved him in Vietnam because he believes that he should of died on the battle field but late becomes his friend, and who says that Sinise can only play bad guys? Robin Wright-Penn handles Jenny's drug addiction and the scene were she tries to commit suicide brilliantly. Mykelti Williamson plays the part of Forrest's friend 'Bubba' Blue, whom he meets in the army, excellently considering that this is the movie where he gets the most screen time that his ever had in the movies that I've ever seen him in. Sally Feild (Mrs Doutfire, Homeward Bound, Homeward Bound 2: Lost in San Fansico, Legally Blonde 2:Red White and Blonde) plays the part of Forrest's devoted mother very well. The little boy who in years to come would rise to fame, Haley Joel Osment (The Sixth Sense, Pay it Forward, A.I.), make an appearance as Forrest Gump Jr.. Haley, Mr. Simonet (played by Kevin Spacey in Pay it Forward) would be proud. This was one of the best movie's of 1994, others included Pulp Fiction and Speed.*****