So far, the movies that I have seen which focus on the span of a character's life have all been nothing short of amazing. I'm not talking about biopics. Although many of those can be good also if the person who is the topic of the film intrigues me. The ones I mean are those where the film follows a fictional character from early on in life and takes us thru all their different experiences. "Forrest Gump" is one such film.
The reason why these type of movies tend to thoroughly entertain me is when done properly, they run the gamut of emotions. As they course the years of this person's life, we get to see all the trials and hardships they epxerience. Such as the awkward years that produce infinite laughter. With "Forest" its the young Forrest and the leg braces. While there's nothing funny about the braces themselves, they find a way to make it humorous. Such as one of the most famous lines from the movie:
The southern accent which Tom Hanks gives the character narrating it and the visual of this gangly boy running out of his leg braces is enough to make anyone laugh. Or at the very least smile. Ever since seeing the flick, whenever I think of someone running for nearly any reason, that line keeps running (no pun intended) thru my head. Complete with the same accent and all.
The reason why "Forest Gump" remains such a sensation is because that same awkwardness we see with Forest during his childhood years remains with him all throughout life. He's comfortable talking with anybody and everybody about anything and everything because he doesn't know what it means to not be sociable. His mother (played beautifully by Sally Fields) tries to keep him as innocent as possible for as long as possible. That causes him to say and do things that most of us would either think twice about or not even do at all.
What works the best is the several interactions they cause Forrest to have with famous historical figures. The way they seamlessly insert him in actual historical footage so you think. You would think he really did give the book to one of the sistas who was the first to integrate the University of Alabama. Or that he really not so accidentally moon the President when trying to show him a his Vietnam wound.
But I think what causes Forrest to resonate so well with several different walks of life is because Hanks made Forrest so personable. There's something about Forrest's simplistic nature that can put everyone at ease. He leads us to believe that any obstacle can be overcome if you just don't over-think the problem and have faith.
Hanks had quite the run in the early 90s. For a few years, he was putting out hits like it was nobody's business. Picking a favorite Hanks film would be no easy feat and several of them could easily be Vault Picks. However, this one just sticks with me the most. Hanks never stepped more out of his comfort zone than with greater success than he did with this one.
