I Bet George W Bush Loved It.

Rating: 1/10 (2 April 2010)

Forrest Gump is the story of a guy with a low IQ and his journey through life, encompassing the homespun apple pie America of the 50s when everything was rosy and American interventionism led the world against the evil Communists, the horrible 60s when those nasty dirty hippies tried to usurp American Interventionism and God-given right to invade other people by protesting against the Vietnam War. (Shock, horror, Nixon was right all along!) and the crisis-torn 70s, when all those nasty hippies were now drug-addicted Aids carriers that caused American Interventionism and God-given etc, etc.
You get the point. The issues raised in the movie were far more complex than the mindset on display here, with good and bad on both sides of the argument. America is a wonderful country with wonderful people, but it can't feel good about itself so the film-makers just rewrite history so it CAN feel good about itself. It takes more than a movie of course but apparently people want to be convinced that Interventionism is not such a bad idea; still working well, isn't it? Gump's a decent guy, of course. He isn't judgemental for one thing. Perhaps if we were all afflicted with similar IQs no one would question anything, and American Interventionsm etc etc....
I liked Gary Sinise's performance as the war veteran amputee, just another decent guy who has every reason to feel bitter. Pity the movie then has his character rounding on the left-wing draft dodgers and hippie protesters who didn't go to Vietnam, but tried to stop the conflict; perhaps he would better off rounding on the people who sent him there in the first place???
This is a great movie for reactionaries. "God damn it, I told ya that was the way it was!" Bet they all give it a 10.