I remember when this film, Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, came out in 1994. I could not believe what a beautiful and touching movie this film was. Tom Hanks plays Forrest Gump as a grown up and displays one of the best acting performances I have ever seen. Even though the movie is over a decade old, it still reigns on my top ten lists of favorite movies.
This movie follows a character by the name of Forrest Gump. He has a low IQ, but he knows what love is; and he knows he loves Jenny (Robin Wright-Penn). It starts out with him sitting on a bus stop bench telling people in the community who sit down next to him. As a child, he had bad legs; later on he finds Jenny, and they are almost always together. One of the most famous phrases of the 90's came out of this film; "Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're goanna' get."
As they get older and the Vietnam War era hits, he is sent off to war. He writes to Jenny every day, but he has no idea what is going on with her back home. She is really bad into drugs and sex, and really messing up her life. He then meets a man by the name of Lieutenant Dan (Gary Sinise), who really makes a difference in Forrest's life by telling him all of these horrible things about life.
The end of the movie is so touching, and the musical score is absolutely beautiful. Tom Hanks has always been one of my favorite actors, but he proved his ability to act in this truly unique and touching film. "Forrest Gump is the story of a man who rose above his challenges, and who proved that determination, courage, and love are more important than ability" (Lake).