How did Bob Zemeckis (Romancing the Stone, Flight) and
co know they had something good on their hands?
I ask because the story of a low IQ southern man who bumbles his way
through life and becomes involved in some of the most significant touchstones
in American history and becomes world famous and a millionaire and winds up
with the love of his life and transforms the lives he comes in contact with for
the better is one of the dumbest sounding plots I’ve ever heard. Maybe in an animation setting you could get
away with this but live action? Really?
And if that wasn’t enough of a challenge the filmmakers
decided to play with the tone. About
half the time it’s fairly whimsical with Forrest (Tom Hanks (That Thing You Do!, Tales from the Crypt)) having silly encounters with various Presidents
of the US where he embarrasses himself or he becomes a world class ping pong
player. You know, fun for the whole
family type shit.
But there are really serious moments too like an all out war
sequence where Forrest’s platoon gets massacred around him in Vietnam and his
best friend dies in his arms. Three or
four assassinations are referenced, racism, domestic abuse, incestual
pedophilia and drug abuse all show up.
It’s such a bizarre mix.
Keeping one foot firmly in reality has to be one of the main
reasons for the film’s success. This
decision cuts the fairy tale angle enough to make the entire story more
palatable. Otherwise it would be much
too saccharine. Striking that balance is
a tight rope walk and a half though.
Of course Tom Hanks is another huge reason the picture
works. He sells the character one
hundred percent with the ultra thick Alabama accent and constant far off look
in his eyes. The key might be that Hanks
pulls off this performance without a hint that you should feel sorry for him. Forrest may not be too bright but he’s got the
biggest heat of gold in the whole goddamn world. He also excels at every endeavor in his life. He’s never surprised at this success but it’s
not something he expects either. This
attitude combined with the fact that he’s a hard worker intensely focused on
whatever the task is at hand makes his accomplishments feel earned which is
incredibly important.
Forrest had a rough upbringing with only his mother raising
him, he was bullied by other kids, he almost died in Vietnam, his soulmate Jenny
(Robin Wright (Toys, Moneyball)) keeps pushing him away and his mother
died sorta young. So these victories of
becoming a college football star and suddenly owning a wildly successful
shrimping company where he’s set for life money-wise seem valid.
On a technical level the film is a marvel as well. There are many beautiful shots of the Gump
residence and the surrounding property, some of the slick camerawork like the
long floaty opening shot are neat and the effects shots where they insert Forrest
into old historical footage are seamless.
I mean it’s startling how good that shit looks. The only issue is the overdubbing of the
famous people in the footage is absolutely terrible. I don’t know how they got one aspect so perfect
and completely dropped the ball on another.
Weird.
So I guess it’s no surprise that Forrest Gump is still
good. I think we were all fully aware of
the massive corniness when it came out so there’s no revelation there either. It was embraced back then for its genuineness
and I’m doing the same here today. Despite
the odds the moments that should be inane are touching. It’s kinda like being served a grilled cheese
sandwich with a side of peas and carrots at a very fancy restaurant. That sounds like a strange and less than
stellar idea but dammit it’s pretty tasty.
And that’s all I have to say about that.
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