FORREST GUMP. Directed by Robert Zemeckis; written by Eric Roth; produced by Wendy Finerman, Steve Tisch and Steve Starkey for Paramount. Starring Tom Hanks,Robin Wright and Gary Sinise. Rated PG-13.
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"What a long, strange trip it's been" has been used to describe the 1950's through the 1970's, the period of time covered by Forrest Gump. It's an apt description of the movie, as well.
Rambling and eccentric, it perhaps tries to cover too much ground. But Hanks' wonderful performance holds everything together and makes it into a rewarding entertainment.
Forrest (Hanks) grows up in Alabama with an IQ of 75 (just below normal on the school chart) and a Mama (Sally Field) determined that he not consider himself "stupid." As the 20th century progresses, and things get stranger and stranger, Forrest, more or less accidentally, becomes an All-American football player, a infantryman sent to Vietnam, and a world-class ping-pong player.
Along the way, he meets several Presidents, Black Panthers, embittered veterans, etc., all the while keeping both his basically sunny outlook on life and his childhood attachment to Jenny (Wright). Some of the encounters are just plain silly (like young Forrest meeting a not-yet famous Elvis). But most of them are both technically amazing (as Kennedy, Nixon and others appear convincingly to speak to Forrest) and quite witty (he shows LBJ the scar from his war wound, for example).
For most of the movie, Forrest is telling his story to skeptical, yet fascinated, fellow travelers waiting at a Savannah, Georgia, bus stop. His matter-of-fact way of speaking, and his rock-bottom common sense give a new perspective to events from assassinations, to Watergate, to the March on Washington.
Hanks is a marvelous actor, and it seems he's shown us new ranges of his talent in each new movie lately. Forrest is probably one of his most demanding roles, since he is a comic figure, but we might feel uncomfortable laughing at him. Hanks makes it okay, though, since he makes it clear that Forrest accepts himself completely. He, and we, acknowledge Forrest's limitations, but also admire his strengths.
Forrest Gump is Hanks' show, from start to finish, but his co- stars give him admirable support. Wright, the ethereal Princess Bride herself, does an excellent job as the self-destructive Jenny. She looks the part of hippie hedonist perfectly, and her affection for Forrest has the ring of truth to it. Sinise gives a powerful performance as Forrest's Vietnam C.O., Lt. Dan.
Although your eyes will grow a little moist at the end, Forrest Gump is ultimately a feel-good movie of the first order. Go see it and perk up your summer.
August 3, 1994