Great Film, Horrible Message

Rating: 6/10 (8 May 2001)

I have a difficult time watching (and reviewing) `Forrest Gump'. Despite the brilliance of its actors, of director Robert Zemeckis, and of certain powerful scenes, I find that the overall film itself is a cynical lie. On the surface, `Gump' is a cheerful film about the perseverance of its genuinely sweet title character. Under that sweetness, though is a disturbing, uncomfortable message that says daring to dream is a bad idea.
For the seven people who haven't seen `Forrest Gump', the film deals with the travels and troubles of one Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), an affable man with an IQ of 75 who manages to bounce around key historical events from 1950 onward in `Zelig'-like fashion. Forrest inadvertently teaches Elvis to swivel his hips. Forest accidentally becomes a football star. Forest accidentally becomes a Vietnam war hero, then accidentally becomes a successful businessman. (See a pattern?) Throughout all his travels and misadventures, Forrest is forced to deal with adversity and hardship  and he can never seem to fully capture the love of his childhood sweetheart Jenny (Robin Wright-Penn)  but through sheer niceness and through blind faith in the goodness of others, Forrest invariably manages to push on through his difficulties and to triumph in life.
Again, on the surface, a sweet, glowing, feel-good film. Despite my own misgivings about the film, there's no doubt that Tom Hanks is simply awesome as Gump  he clearly deserved the Oscar he won for the role. He gives Forrest Gump a childlike innocence, but there's more to it that that; there's a certain confidence that he exudes at all the right times, as well as insecurities at his low moments. Forrest Gump is certainly far more complex than the simple figure he appears to be at first glance, and I can't think of any actor who could've played it better than Hanks. Robin Wright-Penn is perfect as Jenny, who makes an astonishing journey through the years between wide-eyed to hardened cynicism to the acceptance and understanding of experience. I'm surprised she wasn't nominated for an Oscar as well. Gary Sinise makes a perfect counterpoint to Gump in the Vietnam era as Lieutenant Dan, another person who can't seem to travel through life quite as smoothly as Forrest does. Combine this with a superbly paced film, with moments both funny and sorrowful (often at the same time), as well as some of the best, subtle uses of CGI effects ever put to celluloid, and `Forrest Gump' should be one of the best films of all time. Right?
In my opinion, no. `Gump' is a bitter, bitter movie. Look at Jenny's dreams and aspirations, how hard she works to attain them, and how little she actually accomplishes. Ditto the dreams of Lieutenant Dan, or Gump's friend Bubba (Mykelti Williamson). For them, their hopes never ultimately amount to anything, not without the `accidental' help of Forrest Gump, anyway. Forrest, who has no ambitions, and never shows any true interest in doing anything, becomes wildly successful by doing nothing. In essence, those who dare to dream in `Forrest Gump' are punished for their ambition, while those who do nothing are handsomely rewarded. Considering that some of Jenny's dreams (and Lieutenant Dan's) are particularly selfish  in fact, a few are downright noble  I found this little understated message to be incredibly disturbing. It bothered me enough to make me not like this film at all, despite all the wonderful moments it does contain.
`Forrest Gump' gets an overall grade of a C+ -- it starts out as an `A', but its dark underlying cynicism drags it back down to that level. But hey, I could be wrong. It's simply the Mad Reviewer's opinion. Good or bad, there's some great performances, and it's also thought-provoking. Watch it for yourself, and let me know what you think.