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Thursday, June 03, 2010

Forrest Gump Over View

By Elvia Dominguez

Forrest Gump, released in 1994, ended up becoming one of the most successful movies of the 20th century and was based on a 1986 book of the same name written by Winston Groom. The movie starred Tom Hanks, Robyn Wright Penn, Gary Sinise and Sally Field.

Although the movie had some pre-production troubles with casting and finding a director who was prepared to make the movie, it ended up winning seven Oscars and grossing $677 million. It became an instant hit and gave birth to a number of movie quotes that have entered popular language even to this day.

The storyline centers on Hanks' character Forrest Gump. Gump is from Alabama and although he has a low IQ and is considered throughout his childhood to be simple, he manages to live an entirely amazing life. The twists and turns of his life see him present at some of the sixties, seventies and early eighties most important events and meeting highly influential people from politics to pop culture.

The movie starts with Gump sitting at a bus stop and he begins recounting his life to a woman who disbelievingly listens to this gentleman tell of his life and its amazing twists and turns. Gump is offered a football scholarship to the University of Alabama and following this enlists in the US Army.

After university he enrols in the U. S Army and is sent to Vietnam where he befriends Bubba who will influence his life in a number of ways. Gump becomes a war hero after rescuing many of his platoon, but is off on medical leave for some time. During his convalescence he takes up ping pong and is sent as a national champion to Maoist China. He is decorated by the U. S President with the medal of honor and then becomes a successful businessman.

All throughout his life Gump is enamoured of his friend Jenny who he met on his first day of school. Jenny was an abused child and ends up being a damaged adult who follows a number of self-destructive paths. Gump however, is blind to her weaknesses and they end up together. Gump also manages to become involved in setting up Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. And this becomes a multi million dollar company. He becomes very wealthy when his business partner ends up investing in a little known company called Apple.

Both the book and film are an interesting mix of irony, humor and poignancy. The film will make you laugh, cry and feel fondness for your fellow man and that is probably the secret of the film's immense success. When you finish the movie you are left feeling that we can all be a part of something great and that perhaps by living more simply in ourselves we can achieve more in life.

Forrest Gump is at once entertaining and funny as well as offering a deeper story line that is filled with symbolism. The fact that it became one of the most popular and highest earning movies of the 20th century is amazing when you consider that the directorship was offered to two others who turned it down before Robert Zemekis and casting the movie was not as simple as one would imagine with roles being rejected by a number of high profile Hollywood actors.

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