ly rooting for the film during the Academy Awards while I was in Vegas (can you imagine me sitting in a Vegas hotel room watching the Oscars instead of being out on the Strip?). That year, Forrest Gump had to compete against one of my other favorite movies, The Shawshank Redemption (though it wasn’t one of my favorites at the time) and Pulp Fiction.But for some reason, Forrest Gump hasn’t held up very well over time. When I am asked what my favorite movies are, Forrest Gump has slipped from the top spot, to at least the 5 spot – trailing far behind: The Godfather, American Beauty, Adaptation and The Shawshank Redemption. So why did this classic American film slip so much? Was it the Forrest Gump-craze that swept the nation, not unlike the craze we would go through five years later with Titanic, that somehow detracted from the film’s quality and message? Was it a perceived lack of real-life, everyday themes? Was it just another role where Tom Hanks played the good guy? Was it being desensitized to the improbable events that made the movie so memorable in the first place? Was it too cute of a film to be taken seriously, despite winning Best Picture?
On Sunday afternoon, I sat down to critically watch Forrest Gump – to answer some of those questions and to once and for all figure out if this movie is deserving to be called one of my favorites, or one of those movies from my movie-watching-youth, that I thought was good, only to grow-up and realize the movie is terribly flawed.
Like I did with the birthday celebration last week, here is a running account of Forrest Gump …
- Ahh yes, the classic feather-dropping scene kicks off the movie, accompanied by the beautiful Forrest Gump Theme. Great start. I may have just spotted a few goosebumps on my arm.
- As Forrest sits at the bus stop, on that legendary park bench, he picks up the feather and opens up his suitcase. Thanks to the zoom button on the remote control to the DVD player, I am able to zoom-in and see what some the contents of Forrest’s suitcase are: his ping-pong paddle, his Bubba-Gump Shrimp hat, an I Love New York pin, a Fortune Magazine with him and Lt. Dan featured on the cover, and the Curious George book that he places the feather in.
- First memorable line on the movie, “life is like a box chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” One of the traits of a great movie is the ability to create memorable and quotable lines. While Forrest Gump doesn’t provide a lot of adult wisdom like, “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.” Or a lot of quotable humor like, “a little push-push in the bush.” It does have a surplus of dialog that has found a permanent home in the American language. Quite an accomplishment.
- We flashback to Forrest’s childhood … He is getting braces put on his legs while his family physician smokes in his face. Ahh, the good ole’ days when smoking was pretty much acceptable anywhere. Nothing says health better than a doctor smoking in the examination room. Of course back then, Johnny Carson smoked on-air while doing The Tonight Show and smoking was allowed on airplanes. Amazing what we didn’t know about smoking fifty years ago.
- I am quickly getting tired of the voiceovers. As the great Robert McKee once said, “God help you if you use voiceover! Any idiot can write character narration!” Hanks and Field are acting their brains out right now - there is no need to tell me what they are thinking and feeling – I can see that on their faces and in their performances.
Of course, three of my all-times favorite movies, Adaptation, The Shawshank Redemption and Goodfellas, all contain extended voiceover. I think the best way to use voiceover is to tell details of the plot/story that would be too long and unnecessary to explain in scenes, and avoid using it to explain characters emotions.
- In one of the more … um … how would you describe it? … unforgettable scenes, Mrs. Gump has sex with Forrest’s elementary school principal in order to get Forrest admitted into public school. I’m not a psychologist, but listening to your mom screw your school principal has to be seriously psychologically damaging, right? Of course, the way Forrest openly mocks the principal’s sex sounds/grunts after he proudly says to Forrest, “your momma sure does care about your schoolin’, son,” is classic.
- Moments later, Forrest asks Mrs. Gump what is “vacation,” and she replies by saying, “vacation is when you go somewhere, and you don’t ever come back.” Evidently, Mr. Gump left Forrest and Mrs. Gump, and Mrs. Gump’s explanation is to tell Forrest that his Dad went on “vacation.” Kinda a dangerous strategy. What happens later on in life when someone tells Forrest to take a vacation - it’s going to scare the crap out of him.
- In the first of a many run-ins with celebrities, Forrest meets Elvis Presley, who is staying at the Gump house. In the following scene, Mrs. Gump has sex with Elvis, and as he is leaving tells Forrest, “your momma sure does care about rock ‘n’ roll, son.”
- In one of the many heartwrenching/breaking scenes, Forrest rides the school bus for the first time only to be summarily rejected by all of his classmates. Ouch. For personal reasons, this scene hits a little too close to home. That’s all I have to say about that. Anyway, this is also where Forrest meets his destiny, Jenny. Jenny, like a true woman says, “are you stupid or something?” Which leads to memorable line #2, “Momma says, stupid is as stupid does.” Sounds like true love.
- Call me sappy, but I love the “peas and carrots” analogy.
- Despite Sally Field only being 10 years older than Tom Hanks, she is doing an exemplary job as his mother. To Forrest, his mother is larger than life and the source of all wisdom, and Field is just nailing the part.
- However, Forrest just remarked that, “Momma says miracles happen every day …” Dang it, it’s an oxymoron to say that miracles happen everyday! Almost by definition, miracles can’t happen everyday. Didn’t we just discuss this like two weeks ago!? I guess I need to forward my posting to the Gump’s. I take back what I just said about Sally Field.
- “Run Forrest, run!” 3rd memorable line of the movie. I wonder what Forrest runs the 40 in?
- Thanks again to the remote for the DVD player, I am able to watch the Univer
sity of Alabama football sequences in super-slow motion. Turns out, when Forrest returns the kickoff for a touchdown, he avoids 15 defenders from the opposing team. For those of you who don’t follow football, each team has 11 players on the field. The fact that Forrest just returned a kickoff against 15 players IS a miracle.After the game, Mrs. Gump has sex with Alabama head football coach, Paul “Bear’ Bryant, even though Forrest has a full-ride football scholarship to the university. As the coach leaves, he tells Forrest, “your momma sure does care about special teams, son.”
- In another awkward sex scene, after touching Jenny’s breasts, Forrest inadvertently ejaculates all over Jenny’s roommate’s bathrobe. Welcome to college dorm life! Afterwards, Forrest remarks that he is “dizzy” and needs a sandwich.
- All-American football player Forrest Gump heads to White House to meet JFK. While Forrest is chugging Dr. Peppers, Mrs. Gump heads into the Oval Office and seduces the president. As JFK leaves the East Wing, he tells Forrest, “your momma sure does care about the Cuban missile crisis, son.”
- After college graduation, Forrest is cornered by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who convince him to join the Army and head to Iraq. On the Army bus, Forrest meets his new best friend Bubba Bush, who tells him how much he like shrimp as Forrest corrects his grammar and tells him how to pronounce the word, “nuclear.”
All joking aside, the supporting characters gives this film a lot of its life. While Hanks gives his normal A+ Hanks performance and Forrest’s charm is endearing, and the cameos and historical references are interesting; Bubba, Momma Gump and Lt. Dan are the glue that holds the film together. Bubba’s simplicity, sincerity and childlike friendship, Momma Gump’s unconditional love and Lt. Dan’s anger and pain, are what adds context to Forrest’s almost fairytale like, though inspirational, stories. Without them, we have no contrast to Forrest’s innocent world. If Mykelti Williamson, Sally Field and Gary Sinise don’t dominate in those roles, we lose the emotional impact of film, and it unequivocally comes across as hokey.
(I also think that it’s the strength of the supporting roles that separates a really good movie from a great movie. For example, without stellar performances by the Fitt’s next door, the Real Estate King and Angela Hayes, American Beauty loses way too much of everything to be considered a great movie. Same with Fredo, Sonny, Luca Brasi, Tessio, Clemenza and Tom Hagen in The Godfather. Or Brooks, Warden Norton, Hadley, Bogs and Tommy in The Shawshank Redemption. While it’s obviously important to have the right people in the lead roles, often the supporting roles is what gives the film its character (pun intended). To further illustrate this point, lets look at an example from professional sports. While the Bulls absolutely needed Michael Jordan on the team to win their championships, it was the emergence of Scottie Pippen, in combination with the supporting performances from Steve Kerr, Dennis Rodman, John Paxson, Horace Grant and Bill Cartwright that took the Bulls from a good team to a dynasty. That same philosophy applies to movies.)
Back to the movie …
- During basic training, some of Forrest’s Army buddies masturbate to a picture of Jenny in Playboy. Poor Forrest, that one had to hurt.
- In one of my favorite scenes, before being sent to Vietnam, Forrest goes to visit Jenny who is “performing” at a local “venue.” Of course, the “venue” is a strip club and Jenny is singing prior to stripping. Forrest totally ignores all of those rather large and important details and instead views the setting and circumstances as Jenny’s dream of being a folk singer coming to fruition.
I have to admit every time I watch this scene I can’t help but be envious of Forrest’s optimism. Okay, maybe his 75 IQ doesn’t allow him to see past the things that us normal adults do , but the ability to overlook or ignore all the ugliness that is surrounding Jenny in the name of love is admirable. Wouldn’t it be great if we were able to do that in similar situations?
- You know you are watching a movie about Vietnam when the song, “Fortunate Son” is playing while viewing footage of helicopters flying over a jungle.
- One of the more interesting debates that surrounds Forrest Gump is who is smarter, Bubba or Forrest? On one hand, Bubba knows everything there is to know about the shrimping business, but Forrest may not be a smart man, but he does know what love is. I think I’ll tackle this debate in a future posting.
- During the Vietnam sequences, two songs play that have great beginnings before anything is sung: “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield and “Turn! Turn! Turn!” by The Byrds.- Okay last time I will make this joke … Mrs. Gump flies to Vietnam and has sex with Ho Chi Minh. As he leaves the tent, he says to Forrest, “your momma sure does care about ending this war, son.” Okay, I’m done with that joke now.
- Forrest gets shot in the ass, Forrest saves Lt. Dan, Bubba dies, Jenny doesn’t receive any of Forrest’s letters (at this point I think we can actually hear Forrest’s heart breaking on film … or at least mine breaking for him), Forrest gets awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, Forrest learns he’s a savant when it comes to ping-pong and is sent back home to States.
Whew. A lot just happened. Most movies slow down and lose pacing in the middle of the second act, not this film.
- Forrest de
livers a powerful, yet silent address at an anti-war rally in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. According to IMDB.com, this is what Forrest says after the speakers are unplugged and we can no longer hear him talking, “Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that."- Forrest finds his way to New York and into the company of a bitter and legless Lt. Dan. When Forrest tells Lt. Dan his plans of becoming a shrimp boat captain, he responds by saying the day that happens, is the day he’ll be an astronaut. In a related story, both Tom Hanks and Gary Sinise’s next film is Apollo 13.
- Lt. Dan thanks Forrest for saving his life in a nearly flawless scene. What detracts from the scene is the voiceover. Lt. Dan jumps off the boat and into the water to make his peace with God. Gary Sinise is in the acting-zone right now and it’s pretty obvious why he is swimming. We didn’t need Forrest to tell us – the scene would have played better with just the musical score in the background and the sight of Lt. Dan swimming.
- Momma Gump dies of cancer leaving Forrest even more alone. His best-friend Bubba has died, so has his mom, and Jenny is off in California getting beat-up by drug abusers and doing lines of cocaine. Something tells me that Forrest would trade his millions of dollars in wealth for just one of those people to be back in his life. I can’t help but wonder how many people would sacrifice their best-friend or their true love, to never have to worry about money again and be obscenely rich? In fact, at this point in the story, Jenny is one of those people.
- Jenny finds her way back to Forrest again. It’s amazing how in life, just as in film, how certain people are destined to be part of your life forever. Anyway, Jenny and Forrest continue to strengthen their relationship, which climaxes when Forrest proposes to Jenny on the Fourth of July. Jenny, not realizing what she has and undeserving of Forrest’s unconditional love, quickly rejects him.
That night, she has sex with Forrest, as I bite my tongue not to make any ill-timed 40-Year Old Virgin jokes. Jenny, learning from the success of this technique earlier in the film decides to run away from Forrest again. “Run Jenny, run!”
- At the end of The Godfather, Part II, Michael is all alone; and there is a scene with him sitting outside of his house with this just amazing look on his face as he reflects on his life and how he got to where he is. After Jenny leaves Forrest for the fifty-fourth time, Forrest sports the exact same look. The difference is that Michael got what he deserved, Forrest didn’t. (Side note: Forrest Gump and The Godfather, Part II are probably both Hanks and Pacino’s best performances)- Forrest’s heartbreak leads to the most controversial part of the movie - the running sequence. Forrest Gump comes in at over 3+ hours and if there is a part of the film that drags, this is it. It’s necessary because it gives Forrest time to heal from Jenny’s wounds, and losing everyone in his life that meant anything to him (except for Lt. Dan), and it gives him something to do on a daily basis. At this point in his life, Forrest doesn’t have any friends, doesn’t need to work, and can only cut the grass so many times in a week – so it’s obvious he needs something to fill his time - and that is what his running does.
Interestingly, both Jenny and Forrest need to run during this time in the movie in order to heal and find there way back to each other, and eventually conclude their love story. Jenny metaphorically runs while Forrest literally runs.
While the running scenes are relevant, creating the “Shit Happens” bumper sticker and the “Have a Nice Day’ t-shirt are totally unnecessary. At this point in the story, we already appreciate how Forrest, an ordinary man with very few god-given gifts, takes those limitations and parlays them into personal, and often time historical, victories. What the film should be focusing on instead is the completion of Forrest and Jenny’s love story and their character arcs. Forrest’s place in history is secure, lets not waste time on gimmicky ideas that are unnecessary in furthering along the story.
- So finally, Forrest and Jenny are reunited one last time and we learn that Forrest is the father of Jenny’s young son. In what is the most moving and emotional scene of the entire movie, Forrest terrifyingly and reluctantly asks Jenny if Forrest, Jr. is smart or dumb. I swear, I almost cry every time I watch this scene. Not wanting his son to experience the same struggle, pain and ridicule that he did, is just perfectly acted by Hanks and is a poignant glimpse into the character’s heart. Shortly after, destiny is fulfilled and Jenny’s life is redeemed, as Forrest and Jenny finally get married. Also during this time, Lt. Dan’s journey to happiness is complete, as we learn he now has a new fiancée and new prosthetic legs, both allow him to walk upright again (the warm look Lt. Dan and Forrest share prior to the wedding parallels in greatness only to the look Ray Kinsella and his father share at the end of Field of Dreams).
Of course the final tragedy of Forrest and Jenny is that their time spent as a married couple is too short – for Jenny is dying of … well, we don’t know, but it’s strongly suggested she is dying of AIDS. This time though, Forrest is not left alone, as he now has the greatest and most literal symbol of Jenny and his love, as he is left with Forrest Jr. to raise.So what’s my conclusion about Forrest Gump?
I can’t help but think that reason Forrest Gump hasn’t held up over time is because we were oversaturated by Forrest Gump-mania – the Bubba-Gump hats and t-shirts that lined every Blockbuster for about two years, the Bubba-Gump chain restaurants, the simple, yet easily repeatable dialog that became an essential part of our everyday vocabulary for about a year – the movie was so popular and was freakin’ everywhere you looked, that you never got time to sit back and appreciate the film for what it is.
Robin Wright’s performance as Jenny has to be one of the most underrated lead performances in movie history – she wasn’t even nominated for an Academy Award – and Jodie Foster in Nell and Susan Sarandon in The Client were – yikes (does anyone even remember those films?). Jenny’s life is the opposite of Forrest – unloved by her parents, attractive, smart, missed countless opportunities to do the right thing, typical flower-power girl of the 60’s, and so much wasted potential. And Robin Wright nails Jenny’s tragic descent and eventual salvation flawlessly.
AFI released their top 100 love stories last year and Forrest Gump didn’t even make the list – don’t worry though, Roxanne and The American President did. In perusing that list, I noticed that too many “great” love stories are flash-in-the-pan romances. Like in Titanic, Jack and Rose know each other for less than a week. In Pretty Woman, Edward and Vivian only know each other for about six days. In Sleepless In Seattle, Sam and Annie know each other for about 15 minutes. Truly great love stories in movies are those that are more substantial, like in When Harry Met Sally; Harry and Sally are friends for 10 years prior to falling in love. Or in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Holly and Paul are friends for some time before they begin their romance. And in Forrest Gump, Jenny and Forrest wait more than 25 years before they get married. I think these movies are stronger, more meaningful love stories because they closely resemble the great loves in our own lives. I can’t think of a single person who fell in love over the course of a week, but I know dozens of people who married their best friend.
I still love Forrest Gump as much today as I did when I saw some 10+ years ago – but I love it for different reasons now. Before I loved it because it was an inspirational tale about a below average, sometimes funny, sometimes wise, guy who lives an extraordinary life and plays an active part in some of the most interesting events in our history, with some of the most interesting historical figures; all the time maintaining his innocence and optimism. While I still feel that way, what I love now are the relationships. The way Forrest and Lt. Dan look at each other at Forrest’s wedding, marking the end of their long journey. The way Mrs. Gump used her special perspective to try to make Forrest’s life more normal, “if God had intended all of us to be the same, he would have given us all braces on our legs.” The way Bubba and Forrest lean on each other in Vietnam so neither of them have to sleep with their heads in the mud. And of course, Forrest and Jenny. Maybe I am more sensitive to their story because of issues that are going on in my life or maybe I am just getting old, but there is something wonderful about a love that despite all their differences and obstacles, and despite Jenny’s tendency to drift in and out of Forrest’s life, not realizing what they shared - that despite all of that, they were still destined to be together. I think that's pretty cool.
And ... That’s all I have to say about that.
(PS – I promise my next post will be much shorter!)
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