{"id":2784,"date":"2016-01-09T16:02:36","date_gmt":"2016-01-09T21:02:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=2784"},"modified":"2026-10-27T10:15:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T14:15:11","slug":"forrest-gump-1994","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=2784","title":{"rendered":"Forrest Gump-1994"},"content":{"rendered":"

Forrest Gump-1994<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Robert Zemeckis<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Tom Hanks<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #362<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"60000724\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed January 9, 2016<\/p>\n

Grade: A<\/strong><\/p>\n

Awarded a bevy of Academy Awards in 1994, Forrest Gump is a film that is ingrained in many people’s memories, as it was a monster hit in the mid-1990s.<\/p>\n

Some complained that the film’s unrealistic nature was silly and the story too saccharine. Still, it is an innocent, sweet piece about a simple-minded man’s journey through life and the insurmountable success he achieves.<\/p>\n

I adore the film largely from a sentimental standpoint and for the memories it conjures up when I watch it years later.<\/p>\n

I find the film to be a comfort.<\/p>\n

Zemeckis, a feel-good film director (Back to the Future, 1985, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, 1988), carves a whimsical tale of a fellow, Forrest Gump (played brilliantly by Tom Hanks), a slow-witted but gentle soul from Alabama, and his decades-long journey through life.<\/p>\n

His lifelong love is Jenny (played by Robin Wright), a troubled girl who relies on Forrest throughout their decades-long friendship.<\/p>\n

Forrest is always in the right place at the right time and influences historical events in his innocent way.<\/p>\n

Forrest Gump is unique for its clever editing, which weaves Forrest into real-life historical events, a big part of the film’s appeal.<\/p>\n

In one instance, Forrest meets with Richard Nixon and reveals the Watergate scandal. He also met President John F. Kennedy after winning a football scholarship.<\/p>\n

And who can ever forget the numerous lines made famous from the film- “Stupid is as stupid does” and “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.”, to name just two.<\/p>\n

What I love most about the film is its heart, and the relationships Forrest shares with the central characters in his life are rich in depth. Forrest’s haggard but kind mother (Sally Field) loves her son, and they share a tender, emotional relationship.<\/p>\n

When Forrest enlists in the Army during the Vietnam War, his grizzled commanding officer, Lt. Dan Taylor (an Oscar-nominated performance by Gary Sinise), surprisingly becomes one of Forrest’s closest friends.<\/p>\n

The film takes a darker turn when we begin to see a more human side to Taylor after a horrible accident, which leaves him without legs. To counterbalance this tragedy, Forrest is comically wounded in the buttocks.<\/p>\n

I am not sure whether I love or loathe Jenny as a character.<\/p>\n

Wright does a great job of showing her vulnerability, and her terrible upbringing can excuse some of her actions and lead her to take advantage of Forrest, arguably for her own gain.<\/p>\n

Still, she has Forrest’s heart, so she cannot be all that bad.<\/p>\n

A favorite scene takes place in Washington, where Forrest speaks at an anti-war rally.<\/p>\n

In the crowd, Jenny recognizes Forrest, and their reunion is sweet. Jenny, now a hippie and expelled from school, returns to Forrest’s life.<\/p>\n

The fates of both Jenny and Mrs. Gump are scenes that will undoubtedly require tissues to get through, as they are tender and emotional as can be.<\/p>\n

Zemeckis’s Forrest Gump (1994) has emotion, sweetness, and heart, and those are great qualities in a film.<\/p>\n

It isn’t too sappy, overwrought, or manipulative; instead, it tells an honest story.<\/p>\n

Oscar Nominations: 6 wins-<\/strong>Best Picture (won)<\/strong>, Best Director-Robert Zemeckis (won)<\/strong>, Best Actor-Tom Hanks (won)<\/strong>, Best Supporting Actor-Gary Sinise, Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published (won)<\/strong>, Best Original Score, Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup, Best Film Editing (won)<\/strong>, Best Visual Effects (won)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Golden Globe Nominations:\u00a0<\/strong>3 wins-<\/strong>Best Picture-Drama (won), <\/strong>Best Director-Robert Zemeckis (won), <\/strong>Best Actor-Drama-Tom Hanks (won),\u00a0<\/strong>Best Supporting Actor-Gary Sinise, Best Supporting Actress-Robin Wright Penn, Best Screenplay, Best Original Score<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Forrest Gump-1994 Director Robert Zemeckis Starring Tom Hanks Scott’s Review #362 Reviewed January 9, 2016 Grade: A Awarded a bevy of Academy Awards in 1994, Forrest Gump is a film that is ingrained in many people’s memories, as it was a monster hit in the mid-1990s. Some complained that the film’s unrealistic nature was silly … Continue reading Forrest Gump-1994<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,42,12015,49,192],"tags":[1498,1838,1839,12131,11560,11292,1348,1837,963,11822,945],"class_list":["post-2784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1994-films","category-bestpictureoscar","category-best-picture-drama-golden-globe-winners","category-comedies","category-dramas","tag-dick-cavett","tag-gary-sinise","tag-haley-joel-osment","tag-hanna-r-hall","tag-mykelti-williamson","tag-peter-dobson","tag-robert-zemeckis","tag-robin-wright","tag-sally-field","tag-siobhan-fallon-hogan","tag-tom-hanks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2784"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24942,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2784\/revisions\/24942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}