Andres Bonifacio Integrated School

Welfareville Compound, Brgy. Addition Hill, Mandaluyong City

Mariah Crizia A. Chan

Forrest Gump
1994
DIRECTED BY: Robert Zemeckis

INTRODUCTION

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." However, when
you watch Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks as Forrest and Robin Wright as Jenny, you
know you are going to get a lot of laughs and even a few tears. The screenplay for the 1994
movie was written by Eric Roth, based on the novel by Winston Groom. The story follows
Forrest through 30 years of trials and tribulations, placing Forrest within historical moments
of history, and in pursuit of his one dream--his “most special friend,” Jenny. According to the
Washington Post, Forrest Gump won Oscar awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Hanks),
Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Film Editing, Visual Effects and Adapted Screenplay. The
movie was well deserving of these awards since the acting and the visual effects were
extraordinary

SUMMARY

In 1981, at a bus stop in Savannah, Georgia, a man named Forrest Gump recounts his life
story to strangers who happen to sit next to him on the bench. As a boy in 1956, Forrest has
an IQ of 75 and is fitted with leg braces to correct a curved spine. He lives in Greenbow,
Alabama with his mother, who runs a boarding house and encourages him to live beyond his
disabilities. Among their temporary tenants is a young Elvis Presley, who plays the guitar for
Forrest and incorporates the boy's jerky dance movements into his performances. On his
first day of school, Forrest meets a girl named Jenny Curran, and the two become best
friends.

Bullied because of his leg braces and dim-witted appearance, Forrest flees from a group of
children, but when his braces break off, he is revealed to be a fast runner. With this talent,
he receives a football scholarship at the University of Alabama in 1962, where he is coached
by Bear Bryant, becomes a top kick returner, is named to the All-American team, and meets
President John F. Kennedy at the White House. In his first year at college, he witnesses
Governor George Wallace's Stand in the Schoolhouse Door and returns a dropped book to
Vivian Malone Jones, one of the students admitted over state resistance.
After graduating college in 1966, Forrest enlists in the U.S. Army. During basic training, he
befriends a fellow soldier named Benjamin Buford Blue (nicknamed "Bubba"), who
convinces Forrest to go into the shrimping business with him after their service. Later that
year, they are sent to Vietnam, serving with the 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta
region under Lieutenant Dan Taylor. After months of routine operations, their platoon is
ambushed while on patrol, and Bubba is killed in action. Forrest saves several wounded
platoonmates – and Lieutenant Dan, who loses both his legs. Taylor is embittered to have
been saved by Forrest; he would rather have died in combat like his ancestors before him,
but he is returned to the United States. Forrest is awarded the Medal of Honor for his
heroism by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
At an anti-war March on the Pentagon rally, Forrest meets Abbie Hoffman and briefly
reunites with Jenny, who has become a drug-addicted hippie and anti-war activist. He also
develops a talent for ping-pong, and becomes a sports celebrity competing against Chinese
teams in ping-pong diplomacy, earning him an interview alongside John Lennon of the
Beatles on The Dick Cavett Show. He appears to influence Lennon's song, "Imagine".
Forrest spends 1972 New Year's Eve in New York City with Lieutenant Dan, who has
become an alcoholic, still bitter about his disability and the government's apathy towards
Vietnam veterans. Forrest's ping-pong success eventually leads to a meeting with President
Richard Nixon. For this event, he is given a room in the Watergate complex, where he
unwittingly exposes the Watergate scandal.
Discharged from the army, Forrest returns to Greenbow and endorses a company that
makes ping-pong paddles. He uses the earnings to buy a shrimping boat in Bayou La Batre,
fulfilling his promise to Bubba. Lieutenant Dan joins Forrest in 1974, and they initially have
little success. After their boat becomes the only one to survive Hurricane Carmen, they pull
in huge amounts of shrimp and create the profitable Bubba Gump Shrimp Company.
Lieutenant Dan finally thanks Forrest for saving his life. Dan invests in early Apple stock,
which Forrest thinks is "some kind of fruit company", and the two become millionaires.
Forrest gives half of his earnings to Bubba's family for having inspired the shrimping venture.
Forrest returns home to his mother and cares for her during her terminal illness from cancer.
In 1976, Jenny – recovering from years of drugs and abuse – returns to visit Forrest. He
proposes to her, and that night she tells Forrest she loves him and the two make love,
though she leaves the next morning. Heartbroken, Forrest goes running "for no particular
reason" and spends the next three years in a relentless cross-country marathon, becoming
famous for another feat before returning to Greenbow. In 1981, Forrest reveals that he is
waiting at the bus stop because he received a letter from Jenny, who asked him to visit her.
Forrest is finally reunited with Jenny, who introduces him to their young son, whom she
named Forrest Gump Jr. Jenny tells Forrest she is sick with an "unknown virus". The three
move back to Greenbow and Jenny and Forrest finally marry, but she dies a year later. The
film ends with Forrest sending his son off on his first day of school.

ANALYSIS

The films' actors success in portraying their characters is a major factor in the film's awards.
Tom Hanks and Robin Wright worked well together, just like “peas and carrots." The on-
screen chemistry between the two was phenomenal. I felt a real connection between the
two, finding myself mad at Jenny when she blew Forrest off and in tears when he told her
that he was heading to Vietnam. Mokui’s Movie Review states “Tom Hanks IS Forrest
Gump…He breathes life into the guy and you will feel what Forrest feels" (1994, par 1).
James Berardinelli states, “Robin Wright gives the best performance of her career,
surpassing what she accomplished in The Playboys” (1994, par2). Another performance
that stands out is that of Gary Sinise. Sinise plays the part of Lieutenant Dan Taylor, whose
life is saved by Forrest during the Vietnam War. James Berardinelli writes, “In this movie, his
Lieutenant Dan Taylor is riveting" (1994, par 3). I thought that Sinise was quite convincing
with his emotions throughout the movie, as if he was really a disabled vet who had lost both
legs in the war.

CONCLUSION
Just as good as the actors were those working behind the scenes with the special effects.
Throughout Forrest Gump the special effects were incredible. During Lieutenant Taylor’s
scenes, I was convinced that he really didn't have legs. I was studying the scenes, looking
for any signs of legs, trying to figure out how it was done. It turns out that each and every
frame was painted over to give it the true to life values that it holds. Also bringing the movie
more credibility was the ability to place Forrest in history making events. These events
ranged from Forrest teaching Elvis how to swing his hips to meeting Presidents for various
accomplishments. These television clips of Forrest were done with such finesse that they
look real. Critic Brian Webster (2003) states, “This is handled virtually flawlessly; if you didn't
know better, you'd believe that a fellow named Gump really did tell President Lyndon
Johnson that he had been shot in the rump while acting heroically in Vietnam" (par 2).
Rolling Stone (2003) states, “The effects dazzle, though never at the expense of the story”
(Travers, par 2).
This story, complete with the Oscar winning performances in both acting and special effects
is perfect for those in need of a dose of goodness. My family enjoys watching Forrest Gump
together for rejuvenation, to view someone with true values of honesty, friendship and family.
Forrest, with his heart of gold and his low IQ, never gives up. He always looks for the best in
every scenario. The movie opens with a feather floating down over the city, landing at
Forrest’s feet. Near the end of the story, Forrest questions, “Do we each have a destiny – or
do we just float around accidental, like on a breeze?” As you are contemplating this
question, the feather reappears and floats through the countryside right up into the ending
credits

REFERENCES

Berardinelli, James. “Review: Forrest Gump” (1994) Retrieved 3/7/03 from http://www.movie-
reviews.colossus.net/movies/f/forrest.html
“Mokui’s Movie Review” (1994) Retrieved 3/7/03 from
WIKIPEDIA