Forrest Gump (1994)

There was a time when I was younger that going to the cinema was a real event. Maybe it was the fact that I was young, maybe it is looking back through rose tinted specs, but the early to mid nineties left me with great memories of going to the giant UCI cinema in Swansea. 10 screens, that’s right 10 screens for your viewing pleasure. Now I can't quite remember but I'm sure they weren't all playing superhero movies or rom-coms. I look back on this as a mini golden age for cinema going. In the space of a few years some truly fantastic films were released including Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Terminator 2 and Braveheart. All are pure Hollywood blockbusters to the core, and I mean that in the best possible way, no sarcasm intended for once.

It really feels that Hollywood has lost the knack for producing these movie 'events'. I especially felt this on re-watching Forrest Gump. Tom Hanks plays the unlikely hero, a man with an IQ of 75 but a heart bigger that anyone's. This is a touching and often funny tale, a life story told by Forrest as he sits waiting for a bus to take him to see Jenny (Robin Wright), the troubled girl he has always loved. This central relationship is the main focus of the film but there are also some brilliant lesser characters, none more impressive than Gary Sinise as the angry Lieutenant Dan. For a film that packs in so much story it always impresses me how much depth these characters have.

I also forgot how original this film was. It places Forrest at the scenes of countless historic events. He teaches Elvis how to dance, meets JFK, fights in Vietnam, Meets Nixon and starts the Watergate scandal, inspires John Lennon to write Imagine, the list goes on and on. Many of these meetings are cleverly achieved by putting Hanks into old film reels with effects that do not look old even today. Even if you are a cold hearted monster that has no time for Forrest you would still be caught up in the 'spot the famous person' game the film seems to play. When you add to this cultural miscellany a soundtrack of some of the best songs of the eras depicted you get a film that never feels dull or slow. Jimi Hendrix's version of All Along the Watchtower playing as they patrol in Vietnam is perfect.

It was also a film that launched a host of iconic catch phrases, none more so than 'run Forrest run!' OK it probably was used in a mean way in a playground near you but it just shows how much this film passed into the public consciousness. Other notable efforts include 'life is like a box of chocolates' and 'stupid is as stupid does'. My point is that despite being a big budget, star studded film, Forrest Gump was brave and original. Despite this it achieved the success it deserved and became a film watched by almost everyone. What does Hollywood do with big budgets these days? Makes f*$*%*g Transformers 3 of X-Men 5 that’s what! Who is going to look back on films like that in 15 years time with fond memories I wonder?

9/10