Forrest Gump is a witty film that depicts serious situations and takes a light hearted spin on them. Forrest the main character in the movie is played by Tom Hanks, who has a low IQ and a disability in his back, that results in him wearing leg braces as a child. During his childhood Forrest is bullied because of his handicaps and can only seek refuge in his one and only friend Jenny. One day as Forrest is being bullied he is able to break loose of his leg braces and be totally free. This leads Forrest to a Football scholarship where he meets the President for the first time. Following his glory days as a Running Back Forrest enlists into the army where he excels. During the war Forrest uses his exceptional running ability to rescue numerous soldiers and is awarded the medal of honour where he once again meets the President of the United States and is totally oblivious to the situation as he moons the President. After his mother dies Forrest runs across the country for 3 years and then just stops, there was no reason for his madness, he just wanted to run. Although Forrest has a tremendously chaotic life there is always one constant, Jenney his long life friend who totally understands him. Forrest following a promise to his war buddy Bubba who unfortunately was killed in Vietnam, starts a shrimp business and becomes from hard work becomes tremendously wealthy. Later in the film Forrest has sex with Jenny and gets her pregnant, so he brings her to his childhood home until she dies of HIV, which she contracted most likely from dirty needles. Forrest lives a happy life with his son and shows everyone that anyone can overcome all their struggles and disabilities through honesty and sheer luck.
When taking a step back from this film I can see why many critics didn’t enjoy the tone and message that was expressed throughout the movie. For me personally I find it really hard to dislike this film based solely on the fact that Forrest is such a likable character. Tom Hanks really dived into his role and played a believable mentally challenged person that meant well. Though I liked the film as a whole I didn’t appreciate the fact that the message that was being expressed essentially illustrated that you can get far in life without working hard. Though the film also expressed that you can exceed in life through honesty I felt the film should have dived deeper into the struggles someone like Forrest would face. That being said the acting was suburb in this film. Tom Hanks played a believable role of someone with a slight disability. Even though the movie can be listed as a comedy Tom Hanks never laughed at his role, but played it seriously. The use of props in this film was also very interesting, for example when Forrest broke free of his braces it shows some foreshadowing into the future where Forest began a life of running. This is illustrated through Forrest becoming a running back, running in the war, and running for 3 years straight.
On a personal basis I’ve watched Forrest Gump a handful of times and each time learn something new, may it I learn about Forrest’s character or the underlining message every scene has. When a movie can teach you something new every time you watch it, it must be considered good. Has a whole I would rate Forrest Gump an 8/10 because it was like watching 5 movies in one since so much occurred during the film. I also enjoyed the acting and use of props, but deducted a couple of stars for the message expressed. That being said I would recommend this film to everyone because it has a little of everything.
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