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'''''Forrest Gump''''' is a 1994 film starring [[Tom Hanks]] and directed by [[Robert Zemeckis]], and based on a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. It's the tale of a good-natured but simple-minded man [[Historical In-Joke|touching important events and people]] from [[The Fifties]] to [[The Eighties]] (ranging from [[Elvis Presley]] to several presidents), rising to his own measure of fame and fortune in the process, mostly by just being himself. But he's forever pining for his childhood sweetheart Jenny (played by Hanna Hall [[Timeshifted Actor|and]] Robin Wright), who takes a different path in life that sometimes intersects with his.▼
▲{{quote| [[Hello]]. [[The Name Is Bond, James Bond|My name is Forrest. Forrest Gump.]]}}
▲''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 film starring [[Tom Hanks]] and directed by [[Robert Zemeckis]], and based on a 1986 novel by Winston Groom. It's the tale of a good-natured but simple-minded man [[Historical In-Joke|touching important events and people]] from [[The Fifties]] to [[The Eighties]] (ranging from [[Elvis Presley]] to several presidents), rising to his own measure of fame and fortune in the process, mostly by just being himself. But he's forever pining for his childhood sweetheart Jenny (played by Hanna Hall [[Timeshifted Actor|and]] Robin Wright), who takes a different path in life that sometimes intersects with his.
Forrest's journey takes him from his native Alabama to the jungles of Vietnam, from walking in corrective leg-braces to running across North America, from misunderstood country boy to champion ping-pong player to shrimp tycoon, without ever quite losing the undying optimism of the era.
The film was a major box office hit, earning $677,387,716 worldwide (behind only ''[[The Lion King]]'' that year). The critics loved it; it went on to win six Oscars and numerous other awards. Thought by some to be one of Hanks' most memorable movies, ''Forrest Gump'' is also acclaimed for its soundtrack, peppered with dozens of iconic songs of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
{{tropenamer}}
* [[The Gump]]
{{tropelist}}
* [[Actually Pretty Funny]]: When Lt. Dan asks if Gump has found Jesus yet. Gump tells him he didn't know he's supposed to be looking for him. This causes Dan to break out into laughter before he explains what he meant.
* [[Accidental Athlete]]: Forrest ends up as a running back on Bear Bryant's University of Alabama team when a couple of bullies chase him and he ends up running through the school field when the team was practicing. It helps when you consider exactly who he was seen by. For those of you unaware, Paul "Bear" Bryant is universally considered to be one of the greatest American football coaches of all time.
* [[Achievements in Ignorance]]: Forrest is so dense that he routinely attempts things other people wouldn't even consider, and so single-minded that he puts his maximum effort into everything he does. As a result, he meets spectacular success while the skeptics are left scratching their heads.
* [[As Himself]]: Both Presidents [[John F. Kennedy|Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson|Johnson]] play themselves posthumously and interact with Forrest through the use of archive footage.
** The same technology was also used with [[Richard Nixon]], Alabama Governor George Wallace, and [[John Lennon]]. A more straight version of this trope occurs in the Lennon scene, where Dick Cavett plays himself, made to look younger through make-up.
* [[Be Careful What You Wish For]]: As noted in the [[Foreshadowing]] entry, Jenny tells Forrest that her dream is to "be up on a stage with just my guitar and my voice..." She gets that dream, all right. Since she neglected to say whether she'd be wearing clothes in that goal, she also ends up doing it in her birthday suit.
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* [[Brick Joke]]: Bubba's momma serving dinner, then being served to.
** At the beginning of the movie, Forrest tries to get to know the bus driver, Dorothy Harris, because his mother has told him not to take rides from strangers and , Forrest being as dense as he is, to him introducing themselves won't make them strangers anymore. At the end, {{spoiler|Forrest Jr. immediately says upon being greeted onto the bus: "You're Dorothy Harris, and I'm Forrest Gump."}}
*** there was an even funnier call back to it where he introduces himself to the Army Bus driver, who rather than give his name, yells at him to get him on the bus.
** When Forrest first ventures out in Nam with Lt. Dan's platoon. Dan orders them to get down and shut up. Forrest takes the time in his narration to introduce his fellow soldiers, with Tex being the last one introduced. When Forrest is later searching for Bubba, Tex is the first wounded soldier he finds and rescues.
** When Forrest is with Lt. Dan celebrating New Years he rejects one of Dan's girlfriend's Long Limbs Lenore. When Forrest meets Jenny again years later, she's kept a scrapbook of his international Jogging. One specific page has a picture of him in the National Enquirer saying "Go Go Dancer Says.... Forrest Made Me His Secret Lover." But Forrest being Forrest had a response line under it saying "I don't know her."
* [[Buffy-Speak]]: Forrest's general [[Verbal Tic]]. This leads to a nice [[Historical In-Joke]] when he ends up being a shareholder in "some sort of fruit company" (Apple Computers).
* [[Calling Your Bathroom Breaks]]: Forrest announces this while meeting JFK of all people...
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* [[Dead Presidents]] and [[Not So Dead Presidents]]: "I went [to the White House], ''a-gain'', [and met] the President, ''a-gain''." The [[Running Gag]] is that he meets almost all of the ones he reasonably could. He even moons LBJ (sort of on request).
** He asked if he could see the spot...
** Tom Hanks also invoked the "a-gain" when he won the Best Actor Oscar for Forrest Gump, having already received one the year before for his role in ''[[Philadelphia (
{{quote|
* [[Death Seeker]]: Lt. Dan, who's lost an ancestor in every major American war. He gets over it after {{spoiler|surviving Hurricane Carmen}}.
** In the book's sequel ''Gump and Co.'', {{spoiler|he gets killed by friendly fire during Operation Desert Storm}}.
* [[Deep South]]: Greenbow, Alabama
* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: A subversion is that he frequently praises Forrest for his dedication and obedience...in the exact same tone of voice he'd use to berate anyone else.
** Of course, he does offer some backhanded compliments along the way.
{{quote|
'''Gump:''' To do whatever you tell me, Drill Sergeant?
'''Drill Sergeant:''' GODDAMNIT, GUMP! YOU'RE A GODDAMN GENIUS! THAT'S THE BEST OUTSTANDING ANSWER I'VE EVER HEARD! YOU MUST HAVE A GODDAMN I.Q. OF 160! YOU ARE GODDAMNED GIFTED, PRIVATE GUMP! }}
** Here's another one:
{{quote|
'''Drill Sergeant:''' '''GUUUUUUMP!''' WHY DID YOU PUT THAT WEAPON TOGETHER SO QUICKLY, GUMP?
'''Forrest Gump:''' ...You told me to, Drill Sergeant?
'''Drill Sergeant:''' JESUS H. CHRIST! This is a new company record! If it wouldn't be a waste of such a damn fine enlisted man, I'd recommend you for OCS, Private Gump! YOU ARE GONNA BE A GENERAL SOMEDAY, GUMP, NOW DISASSEMBLE YOUR WEAPON AND CONTINUE! }}
* [[Dude, Where's My Respect?|Dude, Where's My Respect]]: Lt. Dan wanted to die in combat, so naturally, he doesn't take living with amputated legs too well. And watching Forrest receive a Medal of Honor from the President himself sure didn't help.
{{quote|
'''Forrest:''' That's Lt. Dan... [turns around and sees Lt. Dan] Lt. Dan!
'''Lt. Dan:''' They gave ''you'' the Congressional Medal of Honor!
'''Forrest:''' Yes sir, they sure did.
'''Lt. Dan:''' They gave you, an imbecile, a moron who goes on television and makes a fool out himself in front of the whole damn country, the Congressional Medal of Honor?!
'''Forrest:''' Yes, sir.
'''Lt. Dan:''' Well, then, that's just perfect! Yeah, well I just got one thing to say to that. Goddamn bless America. }}
* [[During the War]] ([[The Vietnam War|Vietnam]])
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* [[Engineered Public Confession]]: Inverted: During Forrest's stump speech during an anti-Vietnam rally that he somehow got convinced to go to, a large percentage of the speech involving things he was going to admit to the people about his experiences in Vietnam during the speech actually ended up ''missed'' because a Pro-Vietnam police officer pulled the plug on the mike, and the mike's sound output was only restored right when Forrest finishes up the statements. Of course, that didn't stop Abby Hoffman (who apparently heard the whole thing) from expressing sympathy about what happened in his experiences.
* [[Exact Words]]: When he receives the medal of honor from Lyndon B. Johnson, Johnson jokingly expresses interest in seeing the wound on Gump's butt. Gump interprets this as being literal, and... [[Mooning|obliges his request]].
** Jenny also was inflicted with this trope (although the
* [[False Soulmate]]: Jenny to Forrest.
* [[Foreshadowing]]: "I wanna be up on a stage with just my guitar and my voice..."
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* [[The Hedonist]]: Jenny becomes this in her adulthood.
* [[Historical In-Joke]]: So many that not all of them made it to the movie.
* [[I Was Just Joking]]: Not actually said, but it was strongly implied that [[Lyndon B Johnson]]'s "desire" to see the wound on Forrest Gump's butt was actually intended to be a joke. Forrest, being Forrest, [[Exact Words|interprets this literally]], and proceeds to [[Mooning|oblige his "request"]] on live TV, causing [[Lyndon B Johnson]] to chuckle to himself and say "goddamn, son!"
* [[Identical Grandson]]: Lieutenant Dan's ancestors are all played by Gary Sinise; all of Mrs. Blue's ancestors are played by the same woman who plays Mrs. Blue, Forrest's namesake General Nathan Bedford Forrest, the founder of the Ku Klux Klan, is also played by Tom Hanks.
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** A less straightforward example is when Forrest's mother had to sleep with the principal just to allow Forrest to have a regular school environment instead of a special needs environment. During the mom and the principal's... "pleasure time", The Principal is faintly heard panting from outside. When the Principal afterwards asks Forrest whether he says anything at all, Forrest's response is to mime said panting (without realizing what it meant).
* [[It Will Never Catch On]]: Forrest doesn't seem too impressed by the "Fruit Company" Lt. Dan suggested he invest in, which we see is really Apple Computers, now Apple Inc.
* [[Jerk
* [[The Long List]]: "Shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo..."
* [[Luke, You Are My Father]]: Forrest {{spoiler|finds out he has a son via Jenny}}. [[Epileptic Trees]] say {{spoiler|this might not be the case, but Forrest is the only reliable parent Jenny can find}}.
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* [[Mooning]]: Forrest Gump does this to President Johnson. See [[Exact Words]] for more details.
* [[Narration Echo]]: On multiple occasions, due to Forrest's thoughts being so straightforward.
{{quote|
'''Mrs. Gump''': We've had all sorts of visitors. }}
* [[Noodle Incident]]: Forrest's speech during the Vietnam protests, lost to everyone except those standing near him because the microphones have been sabotaged, but it moves those people to tears. According to Tom Hanks, it goes something like this:
{{quote|
* [[No Infantile Amnesia]]: Averted: Forrest Gump explicitly states that he has absolutely no recollection of his birth.
* [[No One Gets Left Behind]]: Forrest's [[Crowning Moment of Awesome]].
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* [[Playing Gertrude]]: Sally Field, who plays Mrs. Gump, is just ten years older than Tom Hanks. And on top of that, they previously played love interests in the film ''Punch Line''.
* [[Popular History]]
* [[Potty Emergency]]: Happens to Forrest, simply saying "I gotta pee!" as he meets [[John F. Kennedy|President Kennedy]]. Drinking a dozen Dr. Peppers will do that to you.
* [[Puppy Love/Sandbox|Puppy Love]]: Jenny and Forrest as children.
* [[Rage Against the Heavens]]: Lt. Dan in the storm scene.
* [[Running Gag]]: It's subtle, but in every photo of Forrest, his eyes are closed.
* [[Scarpia Ultimatum]]: A rather loose variation.
{{quote|
* [[Seemingly-Profound Fool]]
* [[Seen It All]]: After a while, Forrest finds it hard to work up enthusiasm for meeting Presidents after meeting virtually each one during his life.
* [[Shot in
* [[Significant Birth Date]]: Jenny's date of birth {{spoiler|which can be seen on her tombstone}} is July 16, 1945 - the date of the Trinity test in New Mexico, the world's first successful test of the atomic bomb. {{spoiler|Her date of death - March 22, 1982 - is also the date that the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' launched on its 3rd mission (STS-3)...which landed at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.}}
** The latter would at first glance seem not so significant within the film's context as {{spoiler|the Columbia disaster happened long after the film's release.}} However, the backup commander for mission STS-3 was Ken Mattingly, who was portrayed by Gary Sinise (Lt.Dan) in [[Apollo 13]], which also starred Tom Hanks.
* [[Significant Monogram]]: Jenny Curran.
* [[Single-Target Sexuality]]: Forrest has eyes for Jenny. No one else.
* [[Sleeper Hit]]: Paramount didn't see the film being a big hit and only opened in 1,500
* [[Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter!]]: Lieutenant Dan rides out Hurricane Carmen clinging to the mast of a small boat, challenging the lightning and waves to kill him while giving God the middle finger.
** Which, according to Forrest after, results in Dan's religious epiphany.
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* [[This Is My Story]]: "Hello, my name is Forrest, Forrest Gump. Would you like a chocolate?"
* [[This Is Sparta]]: Lieutenant Dan's [[Smite Me, O Mighty Smiter!]] antics.
{{quote|
** Also:
{{quote|
* [[Too Quirky to Lose]]: Forrest, in general.
* [[Try Not to Die]]: One of Lieutenant Dan's two standing orders for his platoon. (The other one is to always, ''always'' change your socks for clean ones regularly.)
* [[Unflinching Walk]]: While carrying the somewhat heavyset Bubba to the shore in Vietnam, an airstrike is raining bombs down just behind Forrest's heels. The only acknowledgement he gives of the explosions is a slight increase in walking speed near the end of the shot. It's made especially impressive considering he has a fresh bullet wound in his buttocks.
** Which may sound vaguely humorous, especially remembering Hanks' pronunciation of the word, but just take a moment to think about what it actually means. He either has a bullet or a jagged piece of debris lodged in a part of his body that is moving and flexing around with every step he takes, even
* [[Unfortunate Names]]: Forrest is named after Nathan Bedford Forrest, founder of the KKK. Awkward, seeing how he would describe Bubba as "[[Department of Redundancy Department|My best good friend.]]"
** Forrest specifically says his mother named him after Nathan Bedford Forrest so he would remember what the KKK did. Forrest being Forrest, he didn't really understand what the KKK was.
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* [[Unwanted Rescue]]: Lt. Dan was furious that Forrest saved his life, rather than leave him to die. He eventually gets over his rage.
** Later in the film, when Lt. Dan fiercely defends Forrest after their female companions call him 'stupid', the implication becomes that while Lt. Dan loses his legs, gets lost in his own misery, and spends decades watching the world fly apart, Forrest is his polar opposite -- innocent, kind, confused and, above all, ''happy''. Lt. Dan doesn't want ''anything'' to spoil that.
* [[Wearing a Flag
----
{{quote|''And that's all I have to say about that.''}}
{{reflist}}
{{Academy Award Best Picture}}
[[Category:Historical Fiction]]▼
{{Golden Globe Award Best Motion Picture Drama}}
{{Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time}}
[[Category:{{PAGENAME}}]]
[[Category:Film]]
[[Category:National Film Registry]]
▲[[Category:Films of the 2010s]]
[[Category:Academy Award]]
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