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Since the dawn of cinema, films, by their very nature, have contained hidden
meanings. If a particular auteur has purposefully included a critique or
celebration of a set of circumstances that occur in reality, it's simply
treated as commonplace - the audience pays attention during its theatrical
run and moves on to the next social commentary when hype has died down. The
1994 Best Picture winner about a bumbling gentleman with an I.Q. of 75
though will last forever in a filmgoer's psyche with its exploration of
every major American occurrence from the 1950s to 1980s. Robert Zemeckis'
film may differ from the original source material (Winston Groom's 1986
novel) but he, along with his star Tom Hanks, have instilled large giggles
and quiet truths, basic structure and intriguing complexity, and a fine
comedy and drama equilibrium into events. Forrest Gump is so much
more than an enchanting film however as the covert connotations mean more
than a simple stab at artificial pop melodrama. Zemeckis' magnum opus is a
little less innocent than a box of chocolates.
Concisely, Hanks' Gump somehow manages to involve himself in very
significant incidents without realising he's the guy in the right
place at the right time on such momentous occasions. The sweet-natured
native of Greenbow, Alabama appears to be a descendant of the Ku Klux Klan's
founder Nathan Bedford Forrest; he gyrates his hips in a meeting with Elvis,
is an All American Football Player, drinks some Dr. Pepper in an assembly
with JFK, shows LBJ his wounded buttocks, has a gathering with Richard Nixon
and then catches the Watergate burglars whilst staying in the hotel,
convenes with John Lennon on a chat show, participates in 'Nam, becomes an
expert at Ping-Pong, owned shares "in some fruit company" (Apple Mac), and
owned a shrimp business. Furthermore, it's interesting to note that Zemeckis
uses start-of-the-art (for 1994) computer imagery to generate the noteworthy
characters Gump seemingly meets in his providential life. Meanwhile, the
pursuit of love interest Jenny (Robin Wright Penn) also keeps our hero
active. Wright Penn appears to appreciate the vast canvas Zemeckis and
screenwriter Eric Roth have manufactured and, whilst Gump works his way
through his amazingly fortunate existence by involving himself involuntarily
in modern culture episodes, Jenny takes the counterculture route. Like Gary
Sinise's Lieutenant Dan (Gump's comrade and mentor), Jenny embodies the
repulsive underbelly of a civilization undergoing revolutionary change -
drugs, Black Panther marches, and suicide attempts are in stark contrast to
the conduct of her dense devotee. Gump's most cherished friends (apart from
Mykelti Williamson's ingenious Bubba) seem to have an inherent resistance to
societal conformity and those who do adhere to the rules of society
(characters such as Bubba's maid mother) get rewarded in the end.
Tom Hanks once called the film "non-judgmental and therefore,
non-political". Indeed, to those who care about/are educated in the history of
America in the 21st century it is impossible to view the film without
reading into blatant overtones of certain beliefs. Furthermore though,
beyond the endless reading one could undertake into the brief municipal
'text', and the odd death Gump encounters on his voyage, Forrest Gump
is one of the best feel-good movies of all time. Like Hanks' Gump, Al
Pacino's Tony Montana from Brian De Palma's Scarface is a mesmerising
lead performance, inspiring dozens of catchphrases and countless imitators.
Unlike the Cuban, however, Gump epitomises the bright side of the American
Dream and Zemeckis just illustrates the rise and further rise of a genuinely
nice fellow - Forrest simply grows stronger and stronger after every
challenge he is presented with, defying all odds. For this reason, Hanks'
second consecutive Oscar winning role exemplifies arguably the greatest hero in the history of cinema. It's no wonder the film was so critically and
commercially successful as people still believe and are encapsulated by
magic.
The extras
Two commentaries are contained on the double disc set. The first featuring
the trio of Zemeckis, producer Steve Starkey and production designer Rick
Carter contains long pauses however and one can tell that Zemeckis' voice is
compiled separately. The director's contribution is also from interview
footage rather than a play-by-play screen specific track and therefore the
long pauses grow frustrating. Producer Wendy Finerman's effort about the
book to movie transition though contains even longer pauses but both tracks
are not exactly poor, they are just in need of obvious improvement. Onto
Disc Two, and the thirty minutes "Through the Eyes of Forrest Gump" is
basically promotional material. The documentary produced in 1994 does a good
job at providing insight but it isn't ultimately rewatchable. "Seeing is
Believing" looks at eleven visual effects scenes which add up to over an
hour in total. "Through the Ears of Forrest Gump" isn't really required but
it's a decent inclusion nonetheless. "The Magic of Makeup" is eight minutes
on the hairstyles and costumes, and the "Screen Tests" are very interesting.
The Robin Wright Penn tests where Hanks says Forrest's dialogue in his
normal Californian twang are extremely surreal. Haley Joel Osment's tests
are the sort of material awards academies would use to give a retrospective
on a successful career if the famous child actor ever made it into the
big-time. "Building the World of Gump" is hosted by Rick Carter and is just
over seven minutes of sets and design exploration. Trailers and a photo
gallery are also included but it seems as if the package could have been
better but in ways that aren't exactly noticeable aside from more
involvement from Hanks and Zemeckis. It hardly justifies the "Special
Collector's Edition" tag.
The summary
From the scrapheap of humanity because of his dim-witted nature, to a
prospect of normality when he enters education, and then somehow, to an
unheard of string of successes, Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump is
truly miraculous. The warts-and-all illustration of America, Tom Hanks'
exquisite turn, and the killer soundtrack are just a select few highlights
of a splendid film.
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