A big meal that's easy to digest but nonetheless delicious

Rating: Null/10 (3 November 2000)

OK, unlike some of you, I am not going to slam this film out of anger just because it beat out "Pulp Fiction" and "The Shawshank Redemption" on the 1994 awards circuit. Yes, this film was made with broad eyes and simple minds. Yes, it partially served as a candy-coated time capsule for those narcissistic baby boomers. Yes, as usual, the film is loaded with Zemekis' right-wing ideals clumsily disguised as cuddly Hallmark Card sentiments. One thing that may have bothered people is how American this film is. It is SO American, so much so that I ask you to think of a recent film that is so American that isn't completely set in some military environment. Nonetheless, I loved the epic scope and reach of this film. It restored my belief that people still want to make "magical" films. The breadth of this film is as close to an old MGM musical as we're going to get these days.
I don't think Tom Hanks was playing over-the-top (that endeavor belongs to Al Pacino), he hit the note just right with his mix of innocence and morality. Gary Sinise got damn lucky with this film. Like Richard Gere, Sinise suffers from the John Travolta syndrome; they're all good actors who have a habit of picking bad movies. But Sinise must have known how juicy this role was, his poker-face reaction to the New Year's party is just incredible. Robin Wright-Penn also gave a great performance, and you have to give credit where credit is due; The role of Jenny is one of a few female characters in film whose purpose of existence is not defined solely through the male lead (although her story is chronicled on a separate timeline than Forrest's). The Bubba character was given a good dose of sympathy to prevent him from becoming a Southern country-boy caricature. And his friendship with Forrest demonstrates an indifferent towards American racism that only a child is capable of (also remember, these two guys are from the South). I was most impressed with the song medley they concocted for the running sequence. The scene takes place in the late 70's, and they choose all these classic 70's songs that have themes of movement or travel ("Go Your Own Way," "Running On Empty," "On The Road Again," "Against The Wind"). It is all edited together quite wonderfully. I'm not a huge Zemekis fan (I think his Spielbergian tendencies are a little obvious at times), but this is a beautiful film.