Life is Like a Box of Chocolates ⭐

Forrest Gump is my all time favorite movie. Believe it or not, I’ve been writing one movie review everyday for a year. Today is the anniversary of when I wrote my first review. So I felt it was appropriate for me to review a special movie. If you’re at all familiar with my blog, you know that Forrest Gump is number one on my list of “Top 10 Favorite Movies.” Today I’ll finally tell you why it’s my favorite. There are many reasons actually, but I’ll first start with my history with the movie. Unlike most movies I claim are my favorite, I actually didn’t grow up watching Forrest Gump. Nor was my first viewing experience all that special. My brother saw the movie before in school and he decided to show it to me when it was on TV. I watched it on AMC (edited and with commercials) when I was about 14 and Forrest’s voice made me laugh. I don’t even recall what I thought about it at first. So how exactly did it become my all time favorite movie? It was a slow process, but I eventually came to realize that it was. I began to watch the movie more and more as time went on. I was watching it every time it came on TV, when it was On Demand, I bought it on DVD, and before I knew it, I knew the whole movie by heart…

“Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get”

Forrest Gump is about a man named Forrest, Forrest Gump. A Southerner from Greenbow, Alabama with an IQ of 75. All his life people assumed he was just “stupid or something.” Well “Stupid is as stupid does,” because Forrest managed to play college football, serve in the United States Military, receive the Medal of Honor, play on the All-American Ping Pong Team, captain a successful shrimp boat, become a millionaire, run across the country for three and a half years, meet three presidents, meet a young Elvis, and meet John Lennon on The Dick Cavett Show. Forrest Gump begins and ends with a feather. It’s framed with the iconic shot of Forrest sitting on a park bench, eating a box of chocolates, and telling people his entire life story from when he was a kid to why he’s sitting on a park bench. One of its central themes revolves around his ability to run really fast. It actually helps him in most of his aforementioned accomplishments. Between the many many historical events Forrest takes part in, the real focus is on the people in his life. Starting with his mama. Mrs. Gump is a strong willed single mother who loves her son unconditionally. She teaches him important life lessons in a way he’ll understand and he quotes her throughout the entire movie. Forrest Gump is also a love story. That’s where Jenny comes in. Forrest has been in love with Jenny since they first met as kids. She was the first person to show him kindness when nobody else would. Their stories happen simultaneously, and come together every so often. He then meets Bubba in the Military. His best good friend who knows everything there is to know about the shrimping business. He also meets Lieutenant Dan. His commanding officer whom he saves from dying and ends up losing his legs in the process. Like Jenny, they also run into each other several times throughout the movie. Forrest Gump is a drama, but it can also be labeled a comedy, war, romance, and even epic. Now that you know the story, this is why it’s my all time favorite movie…

“Run, Forrest, Run!”

Forrest Gump is simply a perfect movie. The way I define my favorite movies is actually the way my mom defines her favorite movies. She defines it as a movie that you can rewatch several times and never get tired of it. A movie where you care about the main character. A movie that makes you feel whatever it’s supposed to make you feel. And finally, a movie that you feel a connection with. It took me awhile to realize it, but the more I thought about it, Forrest Gump actually fit all those qualifications and more. I also love to do impressions and Forrest Gump is one of my favorite impressions to do. Its got an incredible soundtrack, its endlessly quotable, the special effects are unbelievable, you learn a lot about American history (which makes it a perfect classroom movie), every actor gives a great performance, it makes you laugh, it makes you cry, and it even makes you think. There’s also a religious aspect that I personally appreciate. Honestly, how can anyone not love this movie? Well it has received some backlash, but I still don’t get why. Most people probably don’t even know that it’s based on a book. A book that’s drastically different and doesn’t compare to the movie at all. People point out that it has a bad moral, that the romance is one sided, that it’s too feel good. First off, Forrest is not meant to be a character who goes through a lot of character development. He does what people say, but he helps people by doing it. He’s caring, protective, and always does the right thing despite his limited intelligence. Second off, the romance is not too one sided. Jenny comes from a difficult upbringing and it’s very likely she’d make bad decisions. Forrest was always there for her even when she wanted to push him away. And in the end, they were better together then apart. Third off, “too feel good.” What does that even mean? I don’t know about you, but I’ll take feel good over relentlessly depressing anyday. Forrest Gump even managed to win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor Tom Hanks, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing at the Academy Awards among some pretty stiff competition. While some people might not understand it, Forrest Gump is my favorite movie. It never fails to make me laugh, give me hope, and the ending makes me cry every time I see it (every time). One of Robert Zemeckis’ absolute best. “And that’s all I have to say about that.”

“Sometimes, I guess there just aren’t enough rocks”