A MUST SEE DVD REVIEW: Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump is a 1994 drama film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom and the name of the title character of both. The film was a huge commercial success, earning US$677 million worldwide during its theatrical run making it the top grossing film in North America released that year. The film garnered a total of 13 Academy Award nominations, of which it won six, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

The film tells the story of a man with an IQ of 75 and his epic journey through life, meeting historical figures, influencing popular culture and experiencing first-hand historic events while being largely unaware of their significance, due to his lower than average intelligence. The film differs substantially from the book on which it was based.

Main Casts
Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump
Robin Wright Penn as Jenny Curran
Gary Sinise as Lt. Dan Taylor
Mykelti Williamson as Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue
Sally Field as Mrs. Gump
Michael Conner Humphreys as Young Forrest Gump
Hanna R. Hall as Young Jenny Curran
Sam Anderson as Principal Hancock
Margo Moorer as Louise
Peter Dobson as Elvis Presley
Siobhan Fallon as Dorothy Harris
Sonny Shroyer as Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant
Richard D'Alessandro as Abbie Hoffman
Geoffrey Blake as Wesley
Haley Joel Osment as Forrest Gump Jr.
Dick Cavett as Himself

Directed by Robert Zemeckis

DVD Review
By Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas)

What's there not to like about this film? It seems to have everything: crisp direction, outstanding acting, a compelling narrative, life lessons worthy of affirmation, highly innovative special effects, and a soundtrack whose CD continues to be a bestseller. It received and deserved five Academy Awards and could have received others as well. Of special interest to me is director Robert Zemeckis and his crew's brilliant integration of material from Winston Groom's novel with historical material in the 1960s and 1970s. I am not referring to Sonny Shroyer as Paul ("Bear") Bryant or Peter Dobson as a young Elvis Presley; rather, to the inclusion of footage of John F. Kennedy and George W. Wallace in scenes in which Forrest (Tom Hanks) appears. What is fact? What is fiction? Who cares?

Another question: "Where's Forrest?" At various points in his life, he is outrunning childhood tormentors on bicycles, scoring touchdowns for the University of Alabama, attending a White House reception, proving himself worthy of a Congressional Medal of Honor for heroism in Viet Nam, attending a major peace rally at the Lincoln Memorial, launching what becomes a highly profitable shrimp company named in honor of a Viet Nam comrade, defeating international ping pong champions, creating a "smiley face" which makes another person wealthy, jogging thousands of miles throughout the United States, re-settling in his family home, reuniting with a young son he did not know he had, marrying his beloved Jenny....

Some people have told me they think this film is "corny" and that Forrest is "dumb." If "Stupid is as stupid does," what he accomplishes suggests otherwise. However, who he is as a person is far more important to me. I admire Forrest because he is a thoroughly decent man whose wisdom cannot be measured by I.Q. tests or net worth. I would be proud to have him as a son or son-in-law, as the father of my grandchildren, and as a next-door neighbor. Who wouldn't?

FYI: The special features which supplement the DVD version of this film are among the most informative I have examined thus far. Why is that not also true of so many other great films? Perhaps Mrs. Gump is right: "Stupid is as stupid does."

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