Jon Monsarrat review: an overly sappy soap opera

Rating: 2/10 (5 April 2002)

I'm an action movie guy. Primarily, I like it when things blow up. So to begin with, "Forrest Gump" was not going to be my kind of movie. But I like an intelligent film that has something to say, and I think I "get it" about this film. It's a journey through modern American history, showing a window into mainstream culture from the plight of the main character.
Unfortunately, the film is incredibly sappy. Everybody who can possibly get hurt gets hurt. If it's a sunny day, it will start raining in this film. Then we get to linger on this melancholy in endless melodramatic scenes. Meanwhile Forrest, who is stupid as a stump (unlike brilliant actor Tom Hanks who plays him) is an anti-hero who lets others push him around. There's no deep theme, and the movie is sub-intellectual.
These things built up into what is essentially an amateur script surrounded by a blockbuster hype and star cast. "Forrest Gump" is basically a soap opera, and I do mean to conjure images of daytime TV at its worst.
Who should see this film:
-- Soap opera fans
-- Everybody else, run for the hills -- even if you do have
an artistic film school depth
I'll give "Forrest Gump" a 2 out of 10, because it at least maintained a consistent tone throughout. If you don't like the first ten minutes, stop watching.