Support makes the Difference

Rating: 9/10 (24 September 2013)

This movie is excellent because of its supporting characters. The movie takes place during the 1950's to 1970's, and follows the journey of a simple man living in Alabama, named Forrest Gump. The movie starts off with him describing his childhood to a complete stranger, while waiting for a bus at the bus stop, and continues to tell his story to several different strangers. When he is telling his story he reveals that he fought in Vietnam, met a few presidents, and even won the Medal of Honor. Throughout his story, Forrest has a huge impact on the people in his life, which also have the same effect on him. I like the movie Forrest Gump because the plot hooks you right from the beginning, with supporting characters that make their own unique contribution to Forrest's life.
In Forrest Gump there are four supporting characters named Mama, Lieutenant Dan, Jenny, and Bubba. Each of these four supporting characters has an effect on Forrest's overall story. Mama is Forrest's mother, and is the foundation for his life. Mama is the character who raised him, taught him right from wrong, and was always able to help him by explaining the aspects of life in a unique way. For example, when Forrest asks what happened to his father, his mother says "he is on vacation" and uses this to explain that the father left them. Lieutenant Dan is the Lieutenant in charge of Forrest while he is serving in Vietnam. Lieutenant Dan is the man that inspires Forrest to be a better person, and to never leave a man behind. After Vietnam, the two of them go into the shrimping business together and make a lot of money. Initially when Forrest first meets Lieutenant Dan, Dan is very hostile. Once they go into the shrimping business together, Forrest mentions that Dan has "coming to Jesus" moment, which I think was influenced by Forrest. Jenny Curran is in my opinion the most important supporting character in the entire movie, because she is constantly Forrest's object of affection. In the beginning of the movie, they first meet on the school bus, where Forrest compares Jenny to an angel. From that point on, they become best friends and is mentioned that they are "like peas and carrots". In every significant event in Forrest's life, Forrest always mentions something about Jenny or that he misses her. They have several encounters throughout the entire movie, with one of them resulting to parenthood for Jenny and Forrest. Towards the end of the movie, Jenny reveals that she has some kind of virus but the doctors do not know what it is, and ends up asking Forrest to marry her. Forrest and Jenny get married, but unfortunately Jenny dies shortly after. This leaves Forrest to raise their son on his own. Bubba is the last supporting character, and is Forrest's other best friend, besides Jenny. Forrest meets Bubba in Vietnam, and persuades Forrest to go into the shrimping business.
Overall this is a must-see movie because of its use of supporting characters to heavily influence the main character's thought process and way of life. It is more interesting to watch a movie or TV show when you care not only about the main character, but the supporting characters as well. You're more intrigued to watch the entire movie because you want to know what the resolution is for everyone, because it is fairly easy to predict the outcome for the main character a majority of the time. In conclusion, I like the movie Forrest Gump because the plot hooks you right from the beginning, with supporting characters that make their own unique contribution to Forrest's life.