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Post by Deleted on Apr 7, 2022 7:01:55 GMT -5
There's an irony here...Forrest succeeds in a jaded world. People are hating on him here because he's not jaded enough.
The portrayal of his disability isn't realistic? This forum is literally founded on acceptance that Superman can fly and Spider-Man can stick to walls. No, Forrest is not a documentary on the real-world challenges someone with his disability would have. It's likewise pure fantasy.
The question is...does the fantasy demean people with that disability? Well, let me borrow a line from the classic Jimmy Stewart movie Harvey when the cab driver finds out that Stewart's character Elwood is going to a facility where a treatment will stop him from seeing "Harvey" (considered a delusion):
"He's going to come out of there a perfectly normal human being, and you know what stinkers they are."
If there truly is something to be found beyond the basic feelgood nature of the film (which I don't disagree this is primarily), it's more the statement of the people and world around Forrest. Why would it take a character like Forrest to inspire us? I think the movie hits more on the nerve of unpleasant reality that many supposed "normal people" who should be much more capable than a Forrest simply don't. Many squander their capabilities routinely. They lose their childhood wonder and excitement at some point, and this does not often lead to happiness later in life.
Personally this movie really touched me back in the day. Interestingly enough, my wife and I tried watching it again a couple of weeks ago after not having seen it for many years. I found it really difficult this go around and couldn't make it through the whole thing. But a couple of decades of life experience was I think the reason. Life has gotten too "real" for me over the years with the tragedies I've now witnessed first hand. Seeing what Forrest's mother did for her son to get him into school, the abuse Jenny suffered as a child...not such a feelgood movie perhaps after all with an older lens now. These are harsh life realities, and despite the light-hearted improbable successes Forrest has along the way to balance this, I felt a lot more gravity this go around.
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Post by Icctrombone on Apr 7, 2022 7:08:45 GMT -5
A lot of terrible things happened In That movie.
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 7, 2022 10:46:38 GMT -5
A lot of terrible things happened In That movie. True. The most terrible was that it continued after the credits rolled and that insipid theme played.
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Post by mikelmidnight on Apr 8, 2022 10:35:18 GMT -5
At the risk of this turning political ( too late) , I saw the movie without the politics that some want to graft onto it. It was a silly movie where a person who was mentally slow fell into many fortunes and where many characters with flaws and tragic histories ended up with logical conclusions to their actions.
I propose as a counterbalance: Being There, in which the same thing happens but the overall tone is satiric rather than saccharine.
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Post by Marv-El on Apr 8, 2022 11:48:44 GMT -5
Everybody talks about him like he's some great actor, but he always seems the same to me. That's my biggest fault with Hanks. It seems like he plays every character the same way ( his way) regardless of how different that character may be from himself. For example, having read a few of Dan Brown's novels, Hanks wouldn't have been my first choice to play Langdon on-screen. I have two films starring Hanks that I do enjoy. The first is The Money Pit, a comedy with Shelly Long. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is which is a slapstick comedy. That's plays to Hanks' initial strength which I think suits him best, playing an average Joe who gets caught up in farcical situations and how he reacts. This movie always makes me laugh and smile. The other is Saving Private Ryan. Part of why I think Hanks may be looked upon as 'America's Favorite Actor' is his demeanor, outlook, and perceived values. That works quite well in this film. I also won't fault him for afterwards, teaming up with Spielberg (I believe) to produce Band of Brothers, another series that I enjoyed as well.
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Post by Duragizer on Apr 8, 2022 14:51:56 GMT -5
My favourite Tom Hanks film is The 'Burbs. Of course, I imagine any actor could've played his part and the movie would've played out pretty much the same.
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Post by badwolf on Apr 8, 2022 15:42:52 GMT -5
The only Hanks film I can remember seeing is Splash. In the theatre.
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Post by kirby101 on Apr 8, 2022 16:35:10 GMT -5
Anybody seeing just his last three films, Greyhound, News of the World or Finch and says he is not a great actor is delusional.
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Post by berkley on Apr 8, 2022 19:42:46 GMT -5
Everybody talks about him like he's some great actor, but he always seems the same to me. That's my biggest fault with Hanks. It seems like he plays every character the same way ( his way) regardless of how different that character may be from himself. For example, having read a few of Dan Brown's novels, Hanks wouldn't have been my first choice to play Langdon on-screen. I have two films starring Hanks that I do enjoy. The first is The Money Pit, a comedy with Shelly Long. It doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is which is a slapstick comedy. That's plays to Hanks' initial strength which I think suits him best, playing an average Joe who gets caught up in farcical situations and how he reacts. This movie always makes me laugh and smile. The other is Saving Private Ryan. Part of why I think Hanks may be looked upon as 'America's Favorite Actor' is his demeanor, outlook, and perceived values. That works quite well in this film. I also won't fault him for afterwards, teaming up with Spielberg (I believe) to produce Band of Brothers, another series that I enjoyed as well.
I think that's part of it. And that's fine - as long as you happen to like that particular screen persona. I imagine I'm the same as most viewers, there are some I like and some I don't: There are some actors, like, say, Cary Grant or Clint Eastwood, that I can watch playing variations of their usual screen persona and almost always enjoy it, even when the movie itself isn't that great in other respects. Then there are others, for example Hanks, Tom Cruise, that I find a turn-off even when every other aspect of the movie is to my liking. And of course there are levels of like and dislike within each of those two broad categories.
The Money Pit might be the other Tom Hanks movie I saw back in the 80s, I'd probably have to watch it again to make sure. I know it wasn't Splash, because I've only seen about 5 minutes of that on when it played on network tv a few years after the theatre release. And apropos to what I was saying above, as far as I remember, I didn't mind either movie for the most part - except for Hanks himself.
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Post by chadwilliam on Apr 8, 2022 20:39:16 GMT -5
Everybody talks about him like he's some great actor, but he always seems the same to me. Though I have nothing against him, I don't understand the adoration he receives either. That "Everyone loves Mr. Rogers; everyone loves Tom Hanks; therefore, it stands to reason that Tom Hanks should play Mr. Rogers" mentality makes no sense to me other than simple Oscar pandering. And now he's playing Col Tom Parker in some Elvis bio because... "slap some make-up on him, put his name in the credits, and bingo - perfect casting!" I mean, who's going "hmm, Overweight, aged, Southern carnival barker with a slight Dutch accent chomping on a cigar... got it! Tom Hanks!" What? Because he played an ersatz Brian Epstein ('prim and proper British gentleman') in 'That Thing you Do?' Is he really that versatile? It would be like finding out that the world suddenly adores, I don't know, Jon Lovitz or something. When did that happen?
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Post by badwolf on Apr 8, 2022 20:48:19 GMT -5
Watching him try to play Mr. Rogers was so cringe-inducing.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Apr 8, 2022 22:17:33 GMT -5
At the risk of this turning political ( too late) , I saw the movie without the politics that some want to graft onto it. It was a silly movie where a person who was mentally slow fell into many fortunes and where many characters with flaws and tragic histories ended up with logical conclusions to their actions. Let's not get this thread locked also. I admit haven't watched it since it was in the theatre, but I didn't see any politics in the movie, I saw a film maker playing with a new toy (being able to insert an actor semi-seemlessly into historic footage). It was a fun gimmick, but I never saw any desire to revisit it.
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Post by Icctrombone on Apr 9, 2022 4:12:56 GMT -5
I enjoyed the soundtrack most of all.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 9, 2022 5:50:45 GMT -5
My wife and I were up late last night watching movies, and she wanted to watch The Princess Bride. It's one of her old favorites so I've seen it with her many times (much as she's watched my old Star Wars films a million times).
Suddenly it clicked for me...the actress who played Jenny in Forrest Gump, SHE's the Princess Bride. It was one of those "how did I never make that connection?" moments, total mindbomb.
So back on the consensus topic, I wouldn't suggest the Princess Bride is universally loved, but all I'm saying is I've heard MANY a lady of a certain age declare their adoration for this film. And in my case, a happy marriage means general consensus on it as well.
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Post by Prince Hal on Apr 9, 2022 6:28:38 GMT -5
At the risk of this turning political ( too late) , I saw the movie without the politics that some want to graft onto it. It was a silly movie where a person who was mentally slow fell into many fortunes and where many characters with flaws and tragic histories ended up with logical conclusions to their actions. Let's not get this thread locked also. I admit haven't watched it since it was in the theatre, but I didn't see any politics in the movie, I saw a film maker playing with a new toy (being able to insert an actor semi-seemlessly into historic footage). It was a fun gimmick, but I never saw any desire to revisit it. And it had been done (without that technology) to arguably greater effect eleven years earlier by Woody Allen in “Zelig.”
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