An Everyman For Today

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2007)

The movie Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zmeckis and written by Winston Groom, is a fascinating film with a lot of great themes. It was released in 1994 with a great actor, Tom Hanks playing the main character Forrest Gump. It won six Academy Awards, which proves that many people liked the film.
This story is set in a very small fictional town in Alabama, which presents the whole world. It is a microcosm of the world. The filmmaker wanted viewers to empathize with Forrest. He wanted us to know how stupid it is to judge people by intelligence and appearances. This film has a very long time setting, from the late 1950s to the late 80s, to show the growth of America and its loss of innocence, in modern times.
Winston Groom presented the characters in a very interesting way by using some of the characters surrealistically but some very realistically. Forrest Gump, who is played by Tom Hanks in the film, is presented as an "everyman". He is used surrealistically and is a character that is used symbolically. This has a universal appeal. His story applies to every single one of us.
Forrest Gump was born in a small town in Alabama as an idiot, and had an IQ of 70, which is low compared to "normal" kids. He is judged upon intelligence and appearances, but some of the things he says actually have deep meanings. Tom Hanks was perfectly cast. His gestures, face expressions, and the way he talked made the character seem alive and very realistic. Sally Fields, who played Mrs. Gump, did a great job presenting the determination of the mother's character. She is a very realistic character. Mrs. Gump is willing to do anything for her son. She is very protective and she didn't want Forrest to go to a special school, so she even slept with the Principal of a school to make him allow Forrest to go to that school. Jenny, who is played by a wonderful actress Robin Wright, is also a realistic character. She was the only child who was nice to him in school, and that's why Forrest falls in love with her. When she was young, her father physically but also sexually abused her. Jenny's dad symbolizes bad fatherhood, whereas Mrs. Gump symbolizes good motherhood. Jenny has a lot of disappointments in her life and also tries to commit suicide, which shows how parenting is important and can ruin one's life. Lt. Dan is a super realistic character that Forrest meets during the Vietnam War. During the war he loses both legs and nearly dies, but Forrest saves his life. Forrest helped Lt. Dan not give up his life, but start a new fresh life catching fresh shrimps together. They start up a shrimp company and make a lot of money. This develops the theme of true friendship.
There are many other themes in this story, such as determination, tolerance, and parenting. But I think there are two very clear and important themes. "Life is a like a box of chocolates" is one famous Forrest Gump quotations. This quote hints us one of the theme of this story. It sounds unintelligent, because he is holding a box of chocolates and says it while he's taking one out and eating it, but if you think about it, it has a very deep meaning. You don't know what's going to come up in your life, just like you don't know what kind of chocolate might come out. Life's unexpected. But is it really just destiny, or can life be chosen? The quote, "Stupid is as stupid does" tells us another important theme. It's telling us not to judge by appearances or intelligence. Winston Groom is giving us a very important lesson: judge on actions, not reputation.
Overall, the casting and acting of the actors, and each of the four story elements were well presented. The setting and the idea of the universal theme were very well developed. Also, the idea of Winston Groom to present the characters both realistically and surrealistically was brilliant. I think that this movie is very effective and it has messages that teach people a lot of things. Forrest Gump is a movie that everyone definitely should see.