I know I’m among the minority when I say this, but I hated the movie Forrest Gump. It is one of the only movies I have walked out of before it ended.
The entire movie is about things that happen to someone. Not just someone, either, but an idiot. I am mystified that this movie did so well, and on the other hand, it makes perfect sense that it was conceived, produced, and eventually adored in America. Isn’t that the new and improved American Dream? To have great stuff happen without really doing anything?
Forrest acts completely on whims and has no meaning or thought to anything he does. And he is celebrated for that. Celebrated and rewarded financially. The movie depicts a hero, and I think entertainment should strive for something better. I think it’s a terrible message to send to anyone, and I’m not speaking only about our youth. We can celebrate simplicity or the simple things without celebrating meaningless action based on nothing.
How much of the movie that the audience liked was that it made it okay to laugh at “slow” people. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard people say that “life is like a box of chocolates” line in a horrible approximation of his voice. Or the shrimp lines, or “Lieutenant Dan!”. Was part of the draw that the movie that it made us feel less guilty about laughing at people who are mentally challenged?
And the music. The over-rated and totally generic soundtrack. Don’t go there. They managed to pick the most popular song from each performer. The most overplayed songs. And then just some terrible songs. Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head was in one of the greatest movies of all time (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), in a totally random scene that I’m convinced was thrown in because someone high up liked the song and really wanted it in there, and it was still terrible. It did not enhance Forrest Gump and the entire soundtrack was obviously put together with profit dollars in mind.
My distaste for this movie runs so deep that I think less of people who like it. Which is very trying because sometimes when I like someone, I try to keep Forrest Gump out of the equation. I can’t respect someone who enjoyed this movie.
He said and she said 
Yikes. Who thought that a movie based around the good intentions of a kind hearted man could receive such a scathing review? I think the review loses a little credibility too when the author chooses to call Forrest an “idiot” while later trying to make the case that the movie was a hit because people like laughing at the “mentally challenged”. Hmmm.
I couldn’t disagree with this review more. While there have been more mentally CHALLENGING movies for the NPR crowd, there were a number of reasons why this movie did so well. Not the least of which I would attribute to ‘new technology’ at the time – watching a feather drift through the sky or inserting Forrest into real footage from the 60’s. That was break through stuff ‘back then’. Plus, the movie was sweet, entertaining and you really like Forrest Gump who was a genuinely kind person and remained optimistic even through challenging times. You also can’t forget that Forrest Gump is a love story.
Good things should happen to good people. In the age of Obama, what could be a better lesson?
I am commenting here, because I can see both sides of this. I really only have one point, for me this movie was a walk through our current history as a country. I thought it was an interesting tour of recent events if nothing else. I tend to learn the most about history when it is set with in an anecdotal story that depicts past events and grabs my attention.
For example, what do I remember from my high school history class, that Katherine the Great was A. Russian and B. Had a contraption so that she could do it with livestock. Why do you remember that… great STORY!
I am not saying F-Gump was an entirely factual representation of current events, but it was a way to peak ones interest enough for them to maybe read up on some of the event once they left the theater.
I do remember this movie giving Gump credit for the “shit happens” slogan that was running rampant in the 80’s… I still haven’t decided if that makes me want to laugh or cry. ha. OH, laugh it is!
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/35b0167b17/the-curious-case-of-forrest-gump
We all saw Forrest Gump when we were in high school, right? And we kind of thought it was cool, right? Well, now it’s 15 years later and we should realize that it’s really saccharine and way, way too long. I will give Tom Hanks credit though, because he started the whole winning-awards-for-playing-retarded looong before it went mainstream.
I think actually Leo takes the cake on that one… ala what’s eating gilbert grape.
nifer is right.
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