Jenny is bad.

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2020)

Let me start out with I love Tom Hanks, and I love the simplex movies he tends to star in. I don't have any complaints about the movie, in terms of cinematography, actors, or premise/theme. This review is about a specific character. That character is Jenny.
I strongly dislike Jenny and now I will go into detail.
Let me start out by saying, the way they wrote her character is oddly realistic in my opinion and that's part of the reason I have any judgement about her at all. As a teen (first time I saw the movie), I didn't understand why Jenny was so reckless, but now I understand that it stems from her childhood.
However, this is where it begins fumbling for me. Jenny went to college. This means that she has an understanding that hard-work and effort will bring some form of success. With that being said, it VEXES me how she treats Forest. She treats him horribly. She does not owe him anything in the first place, so her constant toxic, recurring and random appearances in his life are exactly that.
After meeting so many men that treated her bad, you would think she would have given him an actual chance earlier on. Forest, although "mentally challenged" had about the same understanding about the world around him as any other male his age. He was well-built and attractive, and conversational. It makes sense, in an aspect, that because she was abused; she constantly searches for comfort in men that hurt or abuse her. It also doesn't, because again, she went to college. She had in her mind that she owed herself more, and then gives that away.
Whether directly or indirectly, she's manipulating Forest throughout the movie and this is supported by her eventually having a child with him. Why have a child with someone you don't take seriously UNLESS you feel like they are benefitting you in some aspect? It's frustrating to watch her take advantage of his simple mind. She knows what she's doing. She's operating on a level, he can't comprehend, which is again -manipulation.
She has no sense of self, and apparently no empathy either. If being abused has caused her to seek negative partners, behave dangerously, and more; then why would she constantly push her way into Forest's life at random times? And if she's behaving unconsciously, with no intentions (or unknowingly) because she was abused, then why is she able to spend time with other people and give them her quality time?
Jenny is a careless, and a bit of a heartless individual, and her character irritates me off.