Forrest Gump

A movie like a box of chocolates

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Once in a while you get to see a movie that you just can’t get enough of. You had such a good time watching the movie that you tend to go back and watch it because of the sheer joy of watching it. Forrest Gump is one such movie which you can watch for a zillion times and still not get bored with it. Even after years since it became a big hit and swept the Oscars of its year it still feels as fresh today as when it was first released.

It is the story of a man named Forrest Gump and his adventures through life. He is someone who is a bit slow as far as mental abilities are concerned. You see his IQ is 5 points less than normal. So much so that his mother has to sleep with the local school principal to get him admitted into a school. Early on Forrest learns most of the things about life from his mother, who explains things to him in as simple a term as possible.

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At school he is befriended by Jenny Curran, a girl who is physically and sexually abused by her father. Forrest falls in love with her from the very beginning itself. She on her part never lets on how she feels about him. However it is clear that she cares for him. As they grow up Forrest meets others who play a significant part in influencing his life. He meets Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue while serving together in the army at Vietnam. Bubba tells him all there is to know about the shrimping business. This later on helps Forrest to make a fortune from shrimping.

He also meets his commanding officer Lieutenant Dang while serving in Vietnam. Lieutenant Dang’s faimily members has fought and died in every war America was involved in. He therefore wants to die in the line of duty at Vietnam. However his plans are thwarted by Forrest when he saves him from an air raid. His legs however are amputated in the attack. He later on joins Forrest in his shrimping business thereby becoming a millionaire himself.

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He meets Jenny again after coming back and finds her to be going down a road of destruction. She has taken to drugs and prostitution and seems keen not to drag Forrest into her doomed life. However she does make love with him once and leaves him while he is sleeping. A heartbroken Forrest begins to run all over the country and becomes a celebrity. But one day he gets a letter from Jenny that changes his life once again.

The best part of Forrest Gump is its screenplay. The movie’s catchphrases like “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get” or “Stupid is as stupid does” has achieved iconic proportions. The various situations in which Forrest finds himself in like meeting dead presidents, achieving success in sports, meeting other famous celebrities and generally being in the middle of all the major events in America’s most tumultuous period, is so well integrated into the plot that one cant help but enjoy it. It makes you laugh and cry at the same time and makes poignant remarks on life. Even Forrest, who achieves everything he didn’t wish for finds it hard to achieve the one thing he really wants; Jenny’s love.

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The other major plus point of the movie is its superb cast. Tom Hanks, Sally Field and Gary Sinise all give superlative performances. Tom Hanks pays the character so well with the right touch of humor and poignancy that it is difficult to think of anyone other than he would have been able to do justice to the role. Gary Sinise gives an explosive performance as the crippled Lieutenant Dang and holding together the movie in its middle stages. He is so good that there are stages when he overshadows even Hanks.

A mention has to be made of the visual effects in the movie. Forrest Gump is a prime example of how to make CGI a medium of telling the story rather than making it the primary focus of the movie. So often we have seen good movies being undone due to their over indulgence with effects. Here however it brings to life one of the most magical moments in the movies like that of Forrest’s meeting with President Kennedy of Forrest playing ping pong.

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The overwhelming theme of the movie is its positive outlook towards life. Almost every major character in the movie finds contentment in their lives. The movie shows how someone like Gump, who should ideally have no chance of succeeding in life, makes it big just because he flows according to life’s various currents. The movie gives the message of sticking on with life and not giving up no mater how tough the going might get. Both life and the movie are like its recurring catchphrase “like a box of chocolates, you never know what you are going to get.”