All these years later I can't wrap my head around why people loved this film

Rating: 2/10 (16 September 2019)

Yes, there were a few good moments, and a few interesting cuts from old newsreels of the past in U.S. history, but that is not enough to make a good movie.
There is nothing that ruins a movie for me more than miscasting. Clearly most viewers would disagree with me, but I found Tom Hanks' portrayal of Forest Gump entirely unconvincing. "Acting dumb" throughout a movie and talking slow does not make for a great portrayal. Juliette Lewis did a GREAT job as a mentally challenged or disabled person in "The Other Sister." I thoroughly enjoyed her performance, so don't go thinking I just don't like "slow" people. I just really, really disliked Hanks' rendition of the character.
Another character in the film who had a lot less screen time still riled me: Sally Field -- as Forest Gump's mother?! Listen. Sally is young-looking for her age, always has been, and in fact it would be biologically impossible for her to be Hanks' mother since she is only 10 years older than him. Add to that her youthful appearance and I'd believe her in a role as Hanks' younger sister better than as his mother!
Lastly, Robin Wright. The character she played was totally unbelievable to me. Enough said on that.
I DID enjoy the performance of Mykelti Williamson (who played Bubba, the guy who loves shrimp so much), but his accent was way off to this viewer who grew up part of my life near the Louisiana border.
All in all, it's one of the worst movies ever -- and convinced me that the overall movie-viewing public has very different taste in films than me!