So, by request, let me talk about why I hated the movie Forrest Gump. Please bear in mind that the following is not really what I'd consider a review; I haven't watched the film recently (nor do I intend to ever again). This is simply going by my memory of seeing it many years ago.In short, I feel the movie glorifies stupidity. And in these times when a shocking number of people seem not to care how our educational standards slip ever lower, I find that an incredibly dangerous message. It's not that I believe only the intelligent should be entitled to success. Nor do I equate a person born with a physical learning impairment to a person who simply doesn't make any effort to be "not dumb." But the film paints this absolutely charmed life for its title character that says "don't worry; you can have a good life, and you don't even have to try."
And if that were that, I'd merely find the film unlikable. But it goes one step farther and actually punishes characters who do want something in life. "Lieutenant Dan" gets his legs blown off. Jenny ends up so down-and-out, she's basically living on the streets. The subtext seems to be that "if only they'd just bobbed about aimlessly through life without actively trying to figure out what they wanted, they could have just fallen ass backwards into happiness by dumb luck like Forrest Gump."
The final insult is that the movie simply reeks of artifice. It doesn't generate any real emotion in the audience, but boy, is it meant to. You can feel the craftsmanship in every dramatic scene, the way it's all been engineered by the EmotoTron 2000. It's calculated and unnatural, and it's sad to see actors like Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, and Sally Field -- all of whom are fantastic and genuine in other movies -- shilling for tears here.
So, that's why I hate Forrest Gump. From the hints I got in the comments of my recent Quiz Show review, I gather I'm not the only one. Anyone else want to share their reasons?
3 comments:
I see your point.
But I've always seen that movie more as a fable than as a serious, believable piece of fiction. What happens to Gump -- not to mention the sheer accumulation of events -- is fairly preposterous to begin with. So to me it feels more like a stride through some of the key moments in American history, through the life of this generic, bland character that's Forrest Gump. Which is not to say he's not interesting to watch; and I always get pretty emotional in some scenes whenever I watch the movie. Especially the one where Gump learns he has a son.
So I wouldn't say Gump succeeds because he is stupid: in fact he's pretty immaterial and serves as a narrative thread that we follow throughout the movie. Gump is anyone; he's everyone.
As for Jenny and Dan getting punished for trying to achieve something in life, I was always struck by the opposite.
Jenny didn't know what she wanted, so she tried everything. In the end I guess she realized she wanted Gump, but that was not part of her plan (if plan there ever was). Yeah, she says she wants to become a folk singer, but she never took any serious steps toward that goal. She just floated on life's eddies, as best she could.
As for Dan, he didn't WANT anything: in his mind he HAD to die on the battlefield. That's very different. It was sort of a twisted family tradition for him, so he blindly trusted in fate or destiny or whatever you call it, without making any real decisions about it. It was all taken care of to begin with. So he also floated along with the rest of the characters.
But I can certainly respect the fact that some people would rather watch *anything* than Forrest Gump. As for me, I'd say I watch it every couple of years. I just love it.
FKL
I've never seen the movie, as I gathered from years of commentary that it would turn out pretty much the same way you describe it. It's like that episode of the Simpsons where that guy goes to Harvard, has a degree in nuclear physics (or whatever) and is constantly upstaged by Homer and his idiocy. Fine for a half-hour sitcom, not for a two-hour movie.
While I'm not going to defend Forest Gump per se, I actually enjoy the movie. To say that Gump, the character, doesn't work hard is just not true. He works very hard he just gets a lot of fortune that is completely unrelated to his hard work and is unjustified to just tell a better story. But everything Gump does he does it with 100% of effort.
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