Forrest Gump review - genre, quotability, special effects, acting

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2017)

The movie Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, released in 1994, is a highly awarded movie, though despite its praise it wrongfully only received a 71% rating on rotten tomatoes. This movie takes place mainly in Alabama between 1944 through 1982. Through the eyes of Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks), a man with an IQ of 75. Despite Forrest's low intelligence, he's able to overcome that by being apart of many historical events. The movie shows pieces of these events such as Elvis Presley's appearance on TV, John F. Kennedy's murder, George Wallace's murder, the Vietnam war, hippie culture, the moon landing, John Lennon's murder, the aids breakout of 1981, and many other historical events that took place from 1944 to 1982. This movie is loved by many as it can appeal to a wide range of people with the use of genres, its quotability, the advanced editing, and the amazing acting by Tom Hanks.
While many movies will fall under the genre categories of comedy, action, romance, etc., Forrest Gump doesn't have just one set genre. Forrest Gump includes many aspects from different genres making it appeal to a wider range of people. It includes genres such as epic, action, drama, romance, and comedy. According to stardust, "the statistics portal", "Films within the comedy, adventure, action and drama movie genres generated the most box office revenue". Creating a film the falls under the four most popular genres is incredibly smart because it is likely the film will have something in it to appeal to nearly everyone. One main point this movie shows is that someone can make a difference no matter who they are or what their intelligence level is. It's important that this point doesn't just discuss one type of person but that anyone, no matter who they are or their intelligence is can make a difference.
Since this movie has been released it has been quoted in daily conversations, thanks to the amazing writing done by Winston Groom. It has also been referenced in more movies and TV shows than I can count. One of the most quoted lines from the movie would be, "My mama always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'"-Forrest. This quote was voted as the #40 movie quote by the American Film Institute. I think this quote really stood out as everyone knows life is a mystery. Even if you think you've planned everything things are going to come around and change that. Although Forrest didn't really have his life all planned out many things came about that quickly changed his course. He was simply handed a flyer to apply for the U.S army, which immediately led to a scene of him finding a seat on the bus that took them there. Having been given this flyer led to him enlisting in the army which led to him becoming a "war hero" which led to many other things and great opportunities. Despite the unlikelihood of all of these events happening to one single person, we all know that life is unpredictable.
Forrest Gump's special effects were outstanding for the time it was made. The special effects team on this film won an Oscar for the editing of the movie and even created a new term called "gumping" as they were able to place Tom Hanks' character in the previously recorded historical footage. The special effects team used CGI to edit Tom Hanks face over people who were actually there. They were then able to edit any other hand and arm movements. The editing in the film allowed Forrest to meet John Lennon, John F. Kennedy, and Richard Nixon. Often times these characters would be shown talking to Forrest Gump but obviously that couldn't have happened so they used voice-overs to make it seem like the conversations were actually taking place. The amazing special effects team on this film won an Academy Award for Best Film Editing.
Another aspect of this film that made it so great was Tom Hanks portrayal of Forrest Gump. When they first started filming they wanted Tom Hanks to have an eased southern accent but the little boy who played young Forrest had naturally thick southern accent that was hard for him to change. So the director talked to Tom Hanks and they decided it would be best if Tom Hanks changed his character's accent to match the boy's natural accent. Tom Hanks spent hours sitting around talking to and recording the boy talking to try to match it perfectly. Having put in the extra effort to match the accents showed how dedicated Tom Hanks was as, in the end, it's completely believable that the boy just grew up and his accent stayed. John Travolta was the original choice to portray Forrest Gump but I am so glad he turned it down as I can't imagine anyone else playing Forrest Gump. The extra effort the Tom Hanks put into this movie doesn't just show through the accent but also through his amazing acting skills and his believability.
The movie Forrest Gump got a very underrated score on rotten tomatoes, but I think it deserves much better as it was an amazing film that took the audience through historical events through the eyes of a man with an IQ of 75, but in the end his IQ didn't really matter as he was able to accomplish so much that the average person wouldn't even dream of. With the use of genres, its quotability, the special effects, and the amazing acting by Tom Hanks this movie has won many awards including six Oscars.