The world from a different viewpoint

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2011)

I watched this a very long time ago, but I never really appreciated this movie. It must have been because I was very young. I wasn't even born when the movie first aired! However, I do remember a few scenes from this movie. The ones that stuck with me throughout the years were the very, very sad scene of Bubba dying and the oh-so-famous quote: "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." This movie starts with a feather floating in the background, getting flown all over in the place, when finally it lands beside some dirty rubber shoes. The owner of these shoes, Forrest Gump, picks it up and keeps it. He just sits there, quietly all by himself, when a woman sits beside him on his bench. He then greets her and thus, begins the narration of his life story.
His story is wonderful. I loved everything about it. Forrest wasn't exactly the brightest crayon in the box. On top of that, he couldn't even walk properly. His IQ was a poor 75 and he couldn't even get accepted into a public school. But his mother did everything for Forrest. His mother was great. You could see she struggling.
I thought it was very cute the way Jenny and Forrest's friendship blossomed. How she invited him to sit beside her. The way they hung around with each other in their tree and just talked about anything and everything. Jenny was very protective of Forrest. When the first bullying encounter happened and Jenny told Forrest to run? That made my skin have goosebumps. It just felt good. "Run, Forrest! Run!" I also never realized back then that Jenny was having trouble with her father. But now, I understand. Jenny's prayer was also.. Amazing. "Dear God, make me a bird. So I could fly far. Far far away from here." That just touched me.
After his friendship with Jenny, Forrest met Bubba during the Vietnam War, after he finished college. During the scene where Forrest first entered the bus, it was like the first day of school all over again! Nobody would let Forrest sit with him. Until he came upon a guy who had a weird lip jutting out. That was the start of their strong brotherhood.
I felt like the time they spent together was so short. I didn't even cry when Bubba died. It was weird since I was expecting to cry, seeing as how Bubba's scene was the one that stayed with me all throughout the years. I'm so disappointed in my lack of emotional attachment. But I still love Bubba. :) It was nice how Forrest went on with his shrimp catching business just for the sake of keeping his promise to Bubba.
The two things that changed during my previous screenings and the one I had tonight were 1.) I liked Lt. Dan more than I thought I would and 2.) Jenny wasn't all that great.
I'll talk about Lt. Dan first. First of all, I didn't even remember him! I was even shocked when I saw that his legs were cut off! See how much that "didn't" affect me. But he was a good friend. He became one of Forrest's best friends. He even stood up for him when one of the hookers called Forrest stupid. I thought Dan didn't care, but that proved me wrong. They even became partners with the whole Bubba-Gump thing. Sweet.
Now, about Jenny. I don't see why Forrest liked her. Yes, I get that they were friends since childhood, but after they grew out of their childhood, she kept leaving him! I was so mad after she left him during "the morning after". At least that sparked Forrest's will to run all over America. Hm.
The ending was great. I forgot all about that. What a welcome surprise. It's just a shame that Jenny died, too, in the end. All of Forrest's loved ones passed away. All he's got left is Little Forrest. I guess in a way, that was nice. He had someone to look after and someone to look after him. :) There were a lot of great cameos that I was on a look out for. I loved that Elvis part! I even took a second look to check if that guy was really Elvis! Yes. I know. It's impossible since he's already dead, but hey! It seemed realistic. There were also meetings with different presidents. And a deal he had with a very famous "fruit company". The cameos just kept coming and coming. And it worked! The main message of this movie was that life just keeps on going. Bad things are inevitable, but you can trust that there will be a million good things that will come your way. It's a movie about life. Forrest Gump teaches you things. He sees the world from a different viewpoint. Not an idiot's viewpoint. But a child-like sort-of perspective. No biases at all. Just an average things-the-way-they-actually-are perspective. This is one movie you mustn't dare miss. Wonderful movie. Just wonderful.