AmateurMovieReviews.com

There's really only one movie that I possess which I can watch over and over countless times and never get tired of. One movie that I can watch without wanting to skip through the "boring" scenes. One movie that always chokes me up at the emotional parts even though I know they're coming and have seen them so many times before. That movie is Forrest Gump, the 1994 Oscar winner for Best Picture of the Year.

The film stars Tom Hanks in the title role. We start the movie with Forrest sitting on a bench waiting for a bus, and he's obviously anxious to go see someone. While he's waiting, he opens up a box of chocolates and offers one to the woman sitting next to him. Although the woman declines, Forrest keeps talking to her. He notices her shoes, which sets him off on a narrative about his life. We flashback to his childhood, and see that he grew up with a single mother who ran a boarding house in Alabama.

Forrest was not a "normal" boy. His IQ was much lower than that of other kids his age and he walked funny enough to require the use of special braces on his legs. He was what we might call slow, but not quite fully retarded. He could fend for himself, but had a naivete of character that would come to define him throughout his life.

Forrest's mother, played by Sally Field, does everything in her power to convince Forrest that he is a normal boy. She makes sure that he can go to the regular school despite not having the minimum IQ required, and she tells him that he can do anything that other people can. She refuses to allow Forrest to believe that other people are better than him and, after someone refers to Forrest as stupid, reminds him that "Stupid is as stupid does."

Although the first woman that Forrest was talking to at the bus stop eventually leaves as her bus arrives, another person takes her place, so Forrest keeps on talking. We are going to get the full narrative of his life up to that point, and it has certainly been a full life. As we will see, Forrest has been directly involved in every major event in American history in the four decades of his life.

The rest of the movie consists of the same kind of back-and-forth crossovers between the past and the present. We get to witness Forrest go to college on a football scholarship, where he plays for the Crimson Tide under legendary head coach Bear Bryant. We see Forrest go to Viet Nam, where he gets shot, earns the Purple Heart, and the Congressional Medal of Honor. We see Forrest go to the White House to meet presidents. And so forth and so on.

Through it all, Forrest wishes his one true love, Jenny (Robin Wright), would agree to marry him. Jenny, however, is constantly involved with the wrong crowd and soon gets into drugs. Nevertheless, she does come in and out of the picture quite frequently.

Forrest Gump covers so much ground during its running time that it would be impossible for me to touch on all the magical moments that the viewer is in for. Instead, this is a movie you simply must experience on your own in order to enjoy its full impact.

The first thing you'll notice about Forrest Gump is the tremendous performance turned in by Tom Hanks. Prior to this movie, Hanks usually starred in comedies like Turner & Hooch and Joe Versus the Volcano. I never considered him a serious actor before, but I was overawed by what he did in Forrest Gump. He won the Best Actor Oscar that year, and deservedly so. As film critic Roger Ebert said, it's hard to imagine anyone else playing Forrest. Additionally, Sally Field, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise (as Lt. Dan), and Mykelti Williamson (as Bubba) were all truly memorable as well.

Forrest Gump is a movie that takes viewers on a unique journey that won't soon be forgotten. It will make you laugh and make you cry. Most of all, it will make you notice and appreciate the goodness of the human spirit as embodied by Forrest. This is a movie that you must have in your collection.