Forrest Gump
Oh my God. It was such a GOOD movie!!! Can't believe I'm 13 years late (It came out in 1994). No wonder people kept talking about the character. For some reason, I always assumed it was something like "Army Daze". Dont' ask me why.
The thing about the movie is that it gives you a sense of hope and makes you believe in the goodness of life again. But it is depressing (some would say comforting) to know that some things just happen to you, even/especially if you didn't particularly ask for it. Forrest Gump knew nothing about football and yet he became an All-American football star and even got to meet the President of United States and had 15 free Dr Peppers. He didn't know what the Vietnam War was about and yet he came back with a medal. He knew nothing about the "shrimping business" and yet because of a promise he made to a dead comrade (and "best good friend" in his own words), he went into the shrimping business with the $25 000 he got from endorsing ping-pong paddles (oh ya he was a ping-pong star too and was part of the team to China during the ping-pong diplomacy). And because some Hurricane destroyed the whole shrimping industry and his boat was the only one surviving, he made it big in the shrimping business. He and his partner, Lieutenant Dan (who lost his legs during the goddamn war) even appeared on the cover of Fortune. Lieutenant Dan later invested in a "fruit company" whose stocks soared. Guess which company it is? Clue: Ipod.
And Forrest Gump had a childhood sweetheart who offered him the seat beside her on the bus when no one wanted Forrest to seat next to them cos Forrest was a dimwit and all. They were like peas and carrots until high school and in fact, all the way to college. Whenever the neighbourhood boys pick on Forrest (like throwing stones at him), Jenny, the childhood sweetheart would say this: "Forrest, run, Forrest!" And ran he did. In fact he ran so fast that he even got a scholarship to play football in college. Otherwise, there was no way he could have gotten to a college. In fact, his primary school principal didn't want to admit him initially cos his IQ was 75 and below normal. His mother had to give the principal sexual favours before he would agree. It was all very sad.
Jenny had a rough childhood. The father either beat her and her sisters up all the time or "touched them inappriopriately". The film didn't make it clear even though he sure as hell looked like a alcoholic with a bad temper. That was probably why she led a wild life for the better part of her life. She separated and reunited with Forrest a couple of times until finally she married Forrest when their son was about 5 (it could have been 7, I'm bad at gauging kids' age) and she was down with some terminal illness.
The first time Forrest told her he loved her she didn't believe Forrest knew what love was about. He probably didn't at that time. The second time he told her he loved her she said she loved him too and they had sex. It was quite nice. But she left the next day. The third time it was she who said she loved him and asked him to marry her. And she did love him till the day she died. It was all very sad and romantic. For some reason, I kept thinking Jenny was played by Keira Knightley. I mean she felt right for the character. Isn't that weird?
There is a saying in Chinese that goes something like this: Silly people have their own brand of luck. I think that's what happened with Forrest Gump. Be a little nicer to people around you, even those you would consider unsavoury characters. You never know how your life's gonna be changed by these people.
5 out of 5 popcorns for Forrest Gump.
The thing about the movie is that it gives you a sense of hope and makes you believe in the goodness of life again. But it is depressing (some would say comforting) to know that some things just happen to you, even/especially if you didn't particularly ask for it. Forrest Gump knew nothing about football and yet he became an All-American football star and even got to meet the President of United States and had 15 free Dr Peppers. He didn't know what the Vietnam War was about and yet he came back with a medal. He knew nothing about the "shrimping business" and yet because of a promise he made to a dead comrade (and "best good friend" in his own words), he went into the shrimping business with the $25 000 he got from endorsing ping-pong paddles (oh ya he was a ping-pong star too and was part of the team to China during the ping-pong diplomacy). And because some Hurricane destroyed the whole shrimping industry and his boat was the only one surviving, he made it big in the shrimping business. He and his partner, Lieutenant Dan (who lost his legs during the goddamn war) even appeared on the cover of Fortune. Lieutenant Dan later invested in a "fruit company" whose stocks soared. Guess which company it is? Clue: Ipod.
And Forrest Gump had a childhood sweetheart who offered him the seat beside her on the bus when no one wanted Forrest to seat next to them cos Forrest was a dimwit and all. They were like peas and carrots until high school and in fact, all the way to college. Whenever the neighbourhood boys pick on Forrest (like throwing stones at him), Jenny, the childhood sweetheart would say this: "Forrest, run, Forrest!" And ran he did. In fact he ran so fast that he even got a scholarship to play football in college. Otherwise, there was no way he could have gotten to a college. In fact, his primary school principal didn't want to admit him initially cos his IQ was 75 and below normal. His mother had to give the principal sexual favours before he would agree. It was all very sad.
Jenny had a rough childhood. The father either beat her and her sisters up all the time or "touched them inappriopriately". The film didn't make it clear even though he sure as hell looked like a alcoholic with a bad temper. That was probably why she led a wild life for the better part of her life. She separated and reunited with Forrest a couple of times until finally she married Forrest when their son was about 5 (it could have been 7, I'm bad at gauging kids' age) and she was down with some terminal illness.
The first time Forrest told her he loved her she didn't believe Forrest knew what love was about. He probably didn't at that time. The second time he told her he loved her she said she loved him too and they had sex. It was quite nice. But she left the next day. The third time it was she who said she loved him and asked him to marry her. And she did love him till the day she died. It was all very sad and romantic. For some reason, I kept thinking Jenny was played by Keira Knightley. I mean she felt right for the character. Isn't that weird?
There is a saying in Chinese that goes something like this: Silly people have their own brand of luck. I think that's what happened with Forrest Gump. Be a little nicer to people around you, even those you would consider unsavoury characters. You never know how your life's gonna be changed by these people.
5 out of 5 popcorns for Forrest Gump.
