Book or Movie? Two separate monsters...

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2007)

Having seen the movie and read the book, I feel it necessary to make an observation. Even though the movie is based on the book, it is remarkably different. In the book, Forrest goes into space; Bubba is white and meets Forrest in college; Forrest runs as a candidate in the senate; Forrest does not serve under Lieutenant Dan in the Army, but meets him in hospital afterwards; Forrest's mother and Jenny do not die (they do kick it in Gump & Co. though); and there is also Forrest's wrestling career and his friendship with the orangutang Sue that should be mentioned too. The book is a fantastic piece of literature and should be on every college syllabus everywhere. But if the film had been taken directly from the book, I doubt it would have been so successful. The film includes fantastic sequences (Forrest running and influencing pop culture; Forrest directly influencing John Lennon) that do not appear in the book. The way Forrest is tied into the last 40 years of American History is great, if a little convenient. I wonder though, whether the sequel will follow Gump & Co. or whether they will create another new monster.