Superman + Homer Simpson = Forrest Gump

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2003)

Hollywood produces this kind of feel-good movie all the time: They're corny and over-sentimental, they promote traditional family values and are an example of how the little guy can live the American dream, y'all. And Forrest Gump is guilty of all of this, but somehow it all fits together and is an entertaining and genuinely moving film.
Tom Hanks excels as lovable half-wit Forrest (kind of a cross between Homer Simpson and Superman) and gets into all sorts of nutty adventures whilst exploring America's recent social history. But essentially this is the story of Forrest's fruitless pursuit of his childhood sweetheart Jenny. Forrest's mental backwardness is never really taken too seriously in the film, but it forms a constant and unspoken division between Forrest and the girl of his dreams, and it is this subtle undercurrent throughout the whole film which makes is so watchable.
However, it's cringe-worthy and moving in equal measure - the scenes in which Forrest meets Elvis and John Lennon are incredibly naff. But overall it succeeds. Bizarrely, the film won the 1994 'best picture' Oscar ahead of Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption, and whilst it's clearly not in the same class as either of those two, this is the best corny, over-sentimental, feel-good film I've ever seen! 7/10.