FORREST GUMP

Forrest Gump is the widely-acclaimed movie based on the book of the same name. The film, for those few who haven't seen it or at least heard of it, stars Tom Hanks in the title role of a retarded, uh, I mean, mentally-challenged man named--you guessed it!--Forrest Gump.. In spite of Forrest's obvious, for lack of a better word, challenges, he runs into an amazing string of good luck and ends up doing pretty damn well for himself. The film also features the other beloved character Lt. Dan played by Gary Sinise who is Forrest's commander in the Army in Vietnam who ends up losing both his legs during an attack and is rescued by Forrest. As a result, they begin a lifelong relationship and even go into the shrimping business together. Forrest even has a love-interest in the flim named Jenny played by Robin Wright who contracts AIDS from another man and becomes pregnant with Forrest's child after they have . . . well, you know! This film would undoubtedly be in a lot of people's top ten favorite films list of all-time. Me? Not so much! But, then again, does that surprise you? Actually, I liked this film more than I thought I would, but, as I think I stated before, I automatically get turned off to a film (or anything else, for that matter) that people make a big damn deal about (Star Wars being a major exception). I also got a little turned off to this film because I've actually known people similar to Forrest Gump in my home-state of Arkansas (though they weren't as, shall we say, likeable as the Gump character) in that I saw people who got an unbelievable string of good luck in spite of their--again, shall we say--handicap (and, no, I'm not referring to Forrest's type of handicap, if you know what I mean!). This movie also shows that movies are just like a box of choc-o-lates: you'll NEVER know what you're gonna get!