20) Forrest GumpDirector: Robert ZemeckisYear: 1994Plot Summary: A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events - in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. Yet, despite all the things he has attained, his one true love eludes him.
It's not uncommon that my taste in films contradicts what many people love. Take the Pirates Of The Caribbean franchise for example, three movies which I loathe every minute of, or even the Twilight saga, which I find to be among the most painfully dull, tedious and misogynistic crap that has been released in the last few decades.
When I tell people I don't like these movies, I generally get a reaction comparable to breaking into their homes and pissing on the family pets. But at the end of the day, I'm content with my opinions on these films although they differ from what most other people might think, and I feel that I have justified reasons for disliking of them.
However, there's one movie I dislike that has always troubled me: Forrest Gump. While, Twilight and Pirates Of The Caribbean received average reviews from critics and didn't win any major awards despite their success, leading me to believe that I'm not misunderstood in my contempt for them, Forrest Gump went on to win a ton of Oscars and was loved by both critics and audiences alike. Therefore, I have always felt like I am missing something everyone else falls in love with.
But even after watching it again with some of my friends (this must be the 4th of 5th time I have seen the film) I can't seem to understand what people think is so great about Forrest Gump.
Firstly, I've never found there to be an engaging narrative despite its long running length. The film is mainly a series of elongated spoofs featuring Forrest Gump getting mixed up in famous historical events and not a single one of these events seems to add to Gump's character or forward the plot whatsoever and the majority of them lack any humour, wit, drama or emotion.
It's not even like using these historical events to tell a story makes Forrest Gump informative or educational and it certainly doesn't offer any interesting perspectives on American history. Maybe it's the history geek in me talking, but the film just seems to take care more about its production design and special effects than actually trying to capture the meaning, reaction or effects of what events like Vietnam or the Watergate Scandal had.
In a way, I find this to be a little offensive. Surely a director should seek to try and capture more than just the images of the period or event that is part of the narrative. Let's look at Talk To Me, for example, while the Martin Luther King assassination is only a tiny part of the story it at least portrays the shock and disillusionment of black Americans at the time. Even in the terrible Channing Tatum romance I was dragged to earlier this year, Dear John, the scene involving the attacks on 9/11 was done in a powerful, effective manner to show the impact of what happened on that tragic day. Forrest Gump doesn't even seem to care about the events in portrays as long as it looks good on screen.
Moreover, I find Tom Hanks' Oscar winning performance to be very tedious. Yes, he's playing someone who is slow and unintelligent, but he doesn't do it with any emotion or any depth. While I don't love the film, Dustin Hoffman does almost the exact same job in Rain Man but he makes you like his character, giving him a personality and a three-dimensional quality that Hanks doesn't even come close to achieving here. Hoffman deserved his Oscar, Hanks didn't. But at least Gump is likeable unlike Jenny who, by the film's finale, I was almost relieved to watch slide into death.
Wow, look at that rant above me! And I still hadn't moved onto how offensive I found the right wing morals of Forrest Gump to be. But you get the idea. So let's just leave it at this: No matter how many times I watch this 1994 Oscar winning 'drama' I can't help but shake my head in disbelief at why so many people love this awful movie.
2/5
5 comments:
Brrrrrace yourself.
I completely agree!
In fact. After your rant. I hate it more.
\o/
Waheeeeeey! I almost forgive you for your comments on The Third Man. :P Haha. I knew someone like you would understand. :)
Rejoice!
People say Benjamin Button was nothing like Forrest Gump. It's. the. Exact. Same. Formula. 'tards.
Agreed. But Benjamin Button was vastly superior to Forrest Gump though even if they were very similar. It's not without its faults, but I thought it was genuinely very moving and powerful stuff. :) And you already know my love of Blanchett, Pitt and Fincher. :)
Haha, they're definitely top tier guys but I found Button quite empty. Pretty enough to make it not average though.
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