Gumped!

Rating: 6/10 (4 September 2009)

***SPOILERS*** Incredibly schmaltzy movie about this borderline mentally retarded, with an IQ of 75, person who despite his disability gets himself involved in some of the most earth shaking events, in some cases even initiating them, of mid to late Twentieth Century America.
It seems that fame glory and even fortune, which he's seems to be totally oblivious to, magically takes to Forrest Gump, Tom Hanks, like a bee or hungry bear takes to honey. Forrest despite having the mental capacity of an eight year-old ends up being a student, with a straight D average, at the highly touted Alabama State University and, after miraculously recovering from polio as a child, it's top 10 football team's star running back. Forrest is also the major reason that Alabama State was disaggregated despite the state's very pro segregation Governor, George Wallace, standing at the doors of the university not allowing black students to enter!
Among the many achievements credited to Forrest is him, as a polio stricken youngster, teaching "The King"-Elvis Presley-how to swings his hips and shake his behind, while preforming on stage, that made him the rock & roll legend, while still alive and after his death, that he was to become. The film gets more and more ridiculous as it goes along with Forrest not only becoming a national war hero-in him receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor as well as a VC bullet in his behind-in the Vietnam war but being involved in the biggest anti-war demonstration against that war, by just happening to be there, at the same time!
Not only is Forrest a war hero he's also a vastly successful businessman, in him cornering shrimp market, a stock market whiz in him buying up hundreds if not thousands of shares in that up and coming "Fruit Company"-Apple Electronics- for peanuts but is also the man-not Woodward & Burnstein- who broke the story of the Watergate break-in which had President Nixon resign from office in disgrace! While accomplishing all that Forrest in his spare time became the world champion Ping-Pong player defeating China's best at the Summer Olympics!
Despite all his accomplishments Forrest feels that something is missing in his life in him being on the outs, she feels that he's somewhat of a weirdo, with his childhood sweetheart Jenny Curran, Robin Wright Penn. It's when Jenny gets pregnant with or without, it's never really fully explained in the movie, Forrest's child that she in her being an unwed mom, and addicted to crack cocaine, decides to finally give in and marry the big schlump. It's after that premature happy ending that Jenny is to find out that she's dying of an incurable disease, obviously AIDS, and leaves a totally confused and befuddled Forrest holding, together with little "Forrest Gump Jr", the bag. In the end we see Forrest, like at the start of the movie, sitting on a bench waiting for the bus to take little Forrest to school as he munches on a box of chocolates reflecting on his incredible life that can happen not in real life but only in the movies!