One Man's Journey

Rating: 10/10 (4 March 2017)

When it comes to the greatest dramatic films ever produced, "Forrest Gump" has to be near the top of that list. Put succinctly, it has everything a movie could possible hold: adventure, great characters, drama, emotion, and humor. There are very few films that combine all those things with such aplomb as director Robert Zemeckis does with "Gump".
For a basic plot summary, this movie tells the life story of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a man who, on the "scale of normal", falls a wee bit short in the intelligence department. However, via the guidance of his beloved Mama (Sally Field), the constant wanting for childhood sweetheart- turned-wild child Jenny (Robin Wright), and friends like Bubba (Mykelti Williamson) and Lt. Dan (Gary Sinise), viewers are shown a life that, despite coming from such a simple man, has touched so many others.
There are two primary reasons why "Forrest Gump" will resonate through the ages:
First, is the Gump character himself. Not only did it rocket Tom Hanks to super stardom, but it is one of the greatest representations of life ever put on the big screen. Even though Forrest is obviously "slow", he has qualities about him that we all wish we could mimic. He doesn't get caught up in the "b.s." of life, instead just taking things at face value and living life in the moment. As a result, he has a knack for showing up at the right place at the right time. Sometimes, we get so caught up in the minutiae of our everyday lives that we forget to just "live"...something Forrest does like no other.
Secondly, this movie is a reflection of its times. I think there are so many baby boomers who, like Jenny, thought that counter-culture (drugs, hippies, etc.) was the best route into adulthood. What many of them realized, however, was that such behavior could not last forever, and eventually you have to come back to reality. In this case, Jenny has a Forrest to come back to, which provides the primary drama of the film.
Overall, "Forrest Gump" is a landmark effort in cinema, as it is one of the only movies that can still hold up perfectly despite being only about "the journey", so to speak. It can be watched by viewers of pretty much all ages and enjoyed on some level. The film is on television so much these days that sometimes it gets a little over-exposed, but it still remains a special piece of filmmaking.