Forrest Gump Review

It would be impossible for me to review this film objectively. It has meant so much to me personally over the years. So I'm not going to try and be objective, because I'd fail. And I'm not going to go into the details of why it's meant so much to me, because no one wants to hear about me. I am also not going to spend much time explaining plot points, because I'm pretty sure everyone has seen this movie. Instead, I'll just lay out some of the reasons why I absolutely love it, and consider it one of my all-time favorite movies.

This 1994 classic from Robert Zemeckis has been re-released in IMAX format across the country for this week only. Such treatment has been given to other movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Top Gun. I decided I had to find a way to catch a showing of Forrest Gump since I wasn't around to see it during its theatrical run. I did, and I must say, the IMAX presentation was quite impressive. I had only ever seen one film in IMAX - it was The Dark Knight Rises - and I remembered really enjoying the experience. While Forrest Gump doesn't have as much grand special effects and action as The Dark Knight Rises, it was still improved, both in audio and visuals, over a standard format screening. I'd recommend tracking down a theater that's playing this movie in IMAX by the end of this week.

So, anyway, now on to the film itself. The performances in Forrest Gump are pretty much all top-notch, particularly that of Tom Hanks, who plays the titular character. Hanks' performance in this movie is probably in my top 5 favorite performances of all-time. And Forrest Gump is among my favorite movie characters. This is largely because Hanks isn't simply reading lines and pretending to be another person. He is Forrest Gump. He completely owns and embodies the role in every aspect of the performance; his appearance, his mannerisms, his facial expressions, his voice. It's all perfect. Robin Wright plays the girl Forrest loves unconditionally, Jenny Curran. She also gives a fantastically authentic performance.

Jenny isn't always the most likable of people. She gets involved in some bad situations, and isn't always hanging around the best of crowds. But even when she's employed at a strip club, touring the country with anti-war enthusiasts and using drugs, or getting very close to committing suicide, Forrest looks at her with the same passionate affection and thinks about her with the same frequency. One could attribute this to his low IQ or even his ignorance as to Jenny's actions, but I'd rather think it's because of his true love for her. As Forrest says in the film a couple times, "I am not a smart man, but I know what love is." Maybe I'm naive or a romantic, or both, but either way, such ferocious and unequivocal love is something that everyone can take to heart and strive to form.

One of the movie's many pleasures comes from its recreation of historical or important events and people. Forrest seems to encounter many of these. Whether its helping Elvis Presley invent his dancing style, being an All-American football player in college, serving in the Vietnam War, receiving the medal of honor, visiting the White House multiple times, appearing on a talk show alongside John Lennon, playing ping pong on the US Army team in a goodwill tour, or unintentionally aiding in exposing the Watergate Scandal, it really seems this guy had the most interesting life you could possibly have, even if he doesn't realize it.

And that's one of the things this movie is about: experiences. We go through a lot in life. And in the moment, things may not always seem beneficial to our condition, and sometimes they're not. But, when we look back on the life we've lived, we realize some of the things we experienced were quite amazing. And sometimes, we don't even realize it. Life is a gift. It's something special that needs to be cherished. The things we do in our life help to determine who we are.

Furthermore, we are given countless opportunities in our lives. It's up to us to seize those opportunities, and choose to do something with our lives, even if it means traveling out of our comfort zones. I've kind of gone on an inspirational rant just now, but the point of all this is to say, Forrest Gump is a reminder to cherish our experiences and seize the opportunities given to us.

In addition to evoking these truths about life, Forrest Gump is incredibly enjoyable as a cinematic experience. It has some guffaw-inducing humor - the whole theater erupted in laughter a couple times during the showing I attended. Additionally, it's a very sweet movie, one that makes me tear up multiple times every time I watch it. This partly stems from the love story between Forrest and Jenny, but also just from the character of Forrest. His innocence and charm are impossible not to fall for, which is yet another testament to Hanks.

It also has one of the greatest screenplays ever written. The dialogue never feels forced; I always believe that the characters are really saying what they're saying, frequently forgetting they are actors reading off a script. The story is ingenious, and the characters are well-wrought and believable.

Forrest Gump truly is one of my favorite movies ever. It's a poignant love story, an entertaining and engrossing study of one of the most interesting lives you could live, and it's an effective reminder to value the life we've been given. You could argue it's too sentimental, as many have, but I don't think of it that way at all. If you haven't seen this movie, then you've either been living under a rock or have been actively avoiding it. If for some reason it's the latter, watch it. You won't regret it.

A+