Going trough the motions

Rating: 5/10 (8 November 1999)

The first time I saw Forrest Gump, I loved it. On the second time around, I saw how terrible it actually is. There is not as much a plot as an idea. It's like watching "Look who's talking", where the writers thought that simply having a baby talk was plot enough to fill a hour and a half.
You all know the premise of this movie. The life of a retarded man in 20th century America. He does a lot of unusual things, which all turn out ok and trigger key historical events. This is funny. Then the writers see that two hours have passed, and have to conjure an ending. They kill off Forrest's wife and have Forrest give a tearjerking speech like only Tom Hanks can. This is uplifting. There. Now go home and feel good.
Some of my friends saw the film as plain all-american propaganda. In my opinion however, the film doesn't really take itself seriously enough to just be a vehicle for the American dream. In fact, Forrest Gump could have been a biting satire. As the audience is clearly supposed to laugh at Forrest's improbable success, the film could be seen as a parody. Mostly all the humour comes from the fact that the audience knows that the events are the exact opposite of what would happen in reality. The filmmakers could even have argued that recent history is so insane, that the events could as well have been caused by someone like Mr. Gump. The movie, however, doesn't have the guts to have lean to the right or left. Forrest's pivotal role in history is treated as a mere light-hearted gimmick, omitting all the possibilities for actual commentary.
The film tries to have it both ways in many other scenes as well. Apparently itÂ´s not PC to bully Forrest, but on the other hand the audience is supposed to laugh at his antics. Forrest as both a war hero and a peace advocate exemplifies this problem. This isn't being ironic, impartial or open to interpretation. Especially concerning the Vietnam war, the writers have obviously not wanted to offend anyone, now matter how derivative it will look. In the end, it only comes off as having nothing to say.