October 3, 2025 • 51 mins
This week we spring into Robert Zemeckis' Forrest Gump and discuss Tom Hanks' iconic performance, the film's innovative visuals, and its powerful themes of love and resilience.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to the net party.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello everybody at home, and welcome to House Lights, specifically
House of Zamecchas Robert Zamcchis, And tonight we are talking
about nineteen ninety four's Forrest Gump. We are continuing our
journey into Zamechas's work of the nineties. And I am very,
very much excited to talk about this tonight. I feel
(00:42):
almost lighter, you know, kind of like a like a
feather floating through the air. That's that's how that's how
joyful I am tonight. And you know, we promise not
to leave you like a halfway through the podcast like
Jenny does, but we will stay with you the entire time.
And my as Tristan Radel, and with me as always
(01:02):
is the man who has a surprisingly similar voice but
yet loves to teach little kids with leg braces how
to dance John Mills. And also joining us is the
one and only Lieutenant Darren Moser, who is wearing blue
stockings for some reason. He's just constantly wearing blue pantyhose.
(01:27):
But you know, it's neither here nor there, and this
is a this is an audio medium, so you have
to rely on me to tell you these things. But regardless,
this was written by Winston Groom and Eric Roth, starring
the one and only Tom Hanks, America's Dad, And I
am ready to get right into it, how about you, guys.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, I'm interested to get into this specifically because Forrest
Gump is one of those movies. It's such a touchstone.
But I haven't had like a discussion about it in
a long time because you know, I mean, at this point,
it's thirty years ago, and it's like it's hard to
believe that much time has passed, and it's one of
those movies where you can't really recall a time when
(02:08):
Forrest Gump wasn't a cultural thing. Like everybody knows Forrest Gump,
like even people who were born after us, Like you know,
there's still Bubba Gump Shrimp Company at City Walk here
at Universal in Orlando, and I did probably over in
Hollywood too, And it's it is it's crazy because you know,
(02:30):
you just think about it and it's like, this is
such an incredible film, Like it puts into perspective why
everybody forgets that he did Death becomes Her between Back
to the Future Part three and Forrest Gump, like that
in your brain. You just sort of short circuit. You
could come right to this one.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Dared, When was the first time you saw this? Do
you remember?
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Oh gosh, so ninety four?
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
This probably would have been like a rental, like, you know,
definitely a blockbuster rental. It might have even been a
double VHS. It's it's a fairly long movie. I mean
it's not three hours, but it's you know, two and
a half, two twelve.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
This wasn't a double VHS.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Yeah, no, they would have been able to do this
on long play or super long play. Yeah, this wouldn't
have been a short play VHS, but long play could
have covered this.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Well, but just like John stated, this was fun to
revisit because I cannot remember the last time I watched
this movie. It's it is again one of those touchstones,
but you kind of internalize your memory of it, so
you don't feel like, oh, I got to watch this
over and over. So I was glad to revisit it
because I think I remembered the plot in broad brushstrokes,
(03:49):
but I did not remember a lot of the detail,
and that this is not one I it's one. I'm
glad that I didn't leave to oh, yeah, I've seen it.
My memory is good enough, because it was not. It
was not good enough to remember all the finer points
of this movie.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
When I was Okay, So this came out when in
ninety what what did I say, ninety ninety four? Yeah,
this came out ninety four. So I was eight years
old when this came out, and I remember the first
time I attempted to watch this. It was I was
over at my aunt's house and the whole family was over.
I don't know why we were over, but like we
(04:26):
were just we were just having to get together. We were eating,
we're enjoying ourselves, and somebody said like, hey, let's all
like let's keep this party going. You know, nobody wanted
to go home. Let's pop in a movie. And so
they popped in Forrest Gump on VHS and we all
started watching it. And I'm eight years old and I'm
enjoying it. And then all of a sudden, we get
to him in the army and they throw him the
(04:49):
Playboy and then everybody just kind of looks at me
and then like we're like, well, let's let's see where
this goes. And they made it to the dorm room scene,
and that's when my aunt just hit stop and said,
you know what, let's have Tristan watch something else in
the bedroom, and so they put on Home Alone too.
(05:13):
I remember this like it was yesterday, and so I
was in the I was in the bedroom on my
aunt's waterbed, floating up and down watching Home Alone two,
and everybody else was in the in the living room
watching Force Cup.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
See it's it's fascinating to me because I saw this
in the movie theater and you know, there were people
at the time who were, you know, full on young
adults where you had to sort of like elbow them
and be like, that's what just happened in the in
the dorm room scene and they're like oh, and it
was like yeah, yeah, yeah, nudge, nudge, that's what just It.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Was very subtle and downplayed.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
So like I there's there's a part of me that's like,
I don't know if eight year old Tristan would have
necessarily picked up on it, Like it wasn't in your
brain to go there sarily. And but I mean, there
we go a science experiment that will never come to pass,
all thanks to the Ridell family robbing me of that
social experiment. So thanks in retrospect.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And after I have no memory of watching it after that.
I've watched it several times, but I don't remember my
first real time of watching that movie because for some reason,
that was such a formative moment. It just it still
makes me laugh.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
But yeah, okay, so that's that's great. But it's fascinating
to me. You fixate on that first viewing like it's
the other like you know, you've seen it all before,
but like every time you think in the movie, you
think of that first viewing. That's that's kind of what
I think. Really, yeah, that's kind of cool.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Uh So okay, I want to first talk about the
character of Forrest. I want to talk about Tom Hanks's performance.
You know, how he's an accidental witness to history, you
know kind of sometimes people feel like he's a blank
slate And I don't mean that like a he's not
really there, but like we project a lot onto him.
(07:05):
And so, Darren, what do you think about Tom Hanks's
performance of this Because the studio thought his accent was
ridiculous and they wanted him to get rid of it,
and Samchus is like, no, it's gonna work. It's gonna work.
What do you What did you think of his accent.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I didn't have a problem with the accent, because honestly,
he I mean, he talks mostly through narration. He probably
has more lines in narration and voiceover than actual dialogue
in scenes, so it it wasn't jarring. But as far
(07:41):
as the just performance, this is the first time again
watching it in a long time, and nowadays I think
Hollywood and writers and audiences are a little more sensitive
towards the you know, popular actor playing a slow care
like that is definitely not in vogue nowadays. I think
(08:05):
it might have peaked with like radio and things like that,
and now it's almost like an SNL sketch is the
only time you're going to see something like that. So
to that being said, I didn't have a problem with
that part of the performance, but it was the one
of the parts that I felt did kind of age
(08:25):
the film a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Now, that was just for me. I don't know if
that came across to you guys on this rewatch.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah, I see, I don't. I don't know if I
can honestly assess it from that perspective, because it's just
the movie is what it is. So anything I overlay
on top of that is you know, I guess, just
in my brain, I just immediately consider it moot, right.
I think that the accent that he uses is you know,
(08:52):
I think it's it's it's perfectly appropriate, like it's it's
got this. It's not even about the accent. It's that
orst as a character. What makes him work so well
is it's he's a child. He's the eternal child, but
in a very positive way. And so the movie also
never ever takes the stance that he's at a disadvantage
(09:16):
to the world or anything. He's the wise character, he's
the loving character, he's the accepting character. He's the one
that never sees the way other people see, you know,
with labels or judgment or anything like that. If anything,
you know, I think that Hanks's vocal performance actually puts
the audience at ease to understand and accept that positive,
(09:41):
childlike nature of Forest. The reason he's a beloved character
is because he sounds like somebody that you want to
give a hug to, that you know you would love
if you just spent some time with him. So, I mean,
I'm glad Zamecas fought for the accent, I mean anything else.
(10:02):
You know, you could make an argument that it's a
you know, it's an amplified Southern accent, and that maybe
plays into some you know, underlying prejudices that people might
have about people in the South or something. But like
even that, like that's sort of like shoveling onto it.
I think at its core is just that Hanks sounds
(10:24):
childlike through the movie, and I think that's why the
movie works so well and hits the heartstrings so effectively.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Apparently the accent is based off of Young Forest's real
life accent, like the actor who played Young Forest, because
initially Tom Hanks was going to do something much more
subtle or kind of like ease into it or have
it kind of disappear as time went on and he
started he started interacting with Young Forest and Michael Connor Humphreys,
(10:56):
and he said he was talking to them because he's like,
why don't I just do that accent? Because I think
Humphreys couldn't change his voice, and because he was, you know,
he's young, he was a young kid at the time,
and so Hank's is like, how about I just change
my voice to match the kid? And it worked out
and so it was Hanks's instinct to do that, and
(11:18):
so he just spent a lot of time with Humphreys
and that's what he sounds like. I thought that was
really interesting when I read that.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And that is and it is like, this is the
one where Philadelphia was considered a fluke in terms of
Hank's you know, getting the Oscar and giving that performance,
being having gone through the time Hank's wins for Philadelphia,
and it was this feeling of like, wow, the comedic
actor took a big swing and he won. What are
(11:45):
the odds? And then this comes out and it's like
this is the one that cements where it's like, oh no,
he's actually a great actor. It's not just a comedic
actor took a chance like this. This moment in time
is where Hanks is like there's no looking back toward
common like he's just cemented as the serious actor from
this point forward.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah, I think the only thing he dabbles in is
like romantic comedy like You've Got Mail or things like that.
But yeah, everything after this is or toy story. I mean,
you could say comedy as well. But Paul thirteen saving
Private writing Castaway, You're all acting chop type movies.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Yeah, I mean he's he's not doing Joe Versus the
Volcano or The Burbs or Bachelor Party anymore after this movie,
Like that's in the rear view. He's done at that point.
And I think Tristan, that story you share is that's
the behind the scenes Hanks that the people like me
who regarded him simply as a quote unquote comedic actor,
only we didn't see those things back then. We didn't
(12:47):
understand that he was an actor working behind the scenes.
And that's a very thoughtful story what you just shared,
So it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So what did you guys think of him being an
accidental witness to history? Know, like that's kind of the
shtick of the movie. Like it's hard to say, like, oh,
what do you think about that? Because that's was a
cornerstone of the plot and the tail like from you know,
Watergate to Elvis to you know, like so so many things,
(13:17):
like you know, like meeting all the presidents, which we'll
you know, we'll talk about later as we talk about
the CGI. John. Did that did that land for you?
Did you feel like, okay, like could one guy really
witness all this stuff? Or did you find it charming.
You know what did you think?
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I found it charming because again, it's it's the story
of somebody who experiences history the right way quote unquote right.
He doesn't have an air about I went through this
or I went through that. And you see everybody else
around him going through history and they're reacting in different ways.
(13:54):
And if anything, Forrest is the most emotionally well equipped
because he goes through all of these situations, but it
doesn't change him. And it's not I'm not saying that
in a way to you know, obviously demean anything or
anything like that. I'm just saying, like Forrest is that
ideal of I went through a thing and I was
able to contextualize and compartmentalize it and keep moving. And
(14:17):
you know, you see from the very first lessons that
his mom gives him that he's the perfect guy to
have gone through all of these things. Does Is it
a shtick? I don't know if I would call it that.
I mean, yeah, it's a historical, you know, chapter book
sort of thing, and obviously it doesn't get into really
the depth of these events. But I think showing how
(14:40):
Forest represents that we're all going through history and like
sometimes we don't realize the moments we're in how impactful
they are. You know, Like imagine going back through this
and having been somebody who lived through those times and
be like, oh, oh yeah I did. Yeah I was
around for that. You know. Like it's that sort of
thing where so much happens in the span of your
life and so much happens in the world, you know,
(15:01):
like I was there for the fall of the Berlin Wall,
but it doesn't even really come up for me too much,
and like, but when I sit down, I'm like, oh, yeah,
that was pretty big. That was a thing, you know,
like that that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Darren, Okay, I feel like we need before we get
into the supporting characters, because we mentioned that, we have
to talk about the special effects, because this was a
big deal at the time. This was I remember seeing
behind the scenes footage on Extra and Entertainment Tonight about
how this was a big deal, about how they were
using archival footage of presidents and inserting Tom Hanks digitally
(15:37):
into the scene, And I want to know, what did
you think about it at the time, and what do
you think about it now.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, it was one of those things where I think
at the time, it was flawless.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Like you, the.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Moments were sporadic enough and tight enough that you weren't
looking at it too close. You couldn't rewind and pause
and be like, oh, well, oh, they're just stretching the
pixels of the mouth and or that's the part that's
being changed. You're more like, oh my gosh, he's right there,
he's right behind the president. So I think that.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Part worked, you know, really well.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
You know, I was just looking it up out of
curiosity's sake, and for Star Trek Deep Sase nine Trouble
and Tribulation, which is another episode where they take characters
and insert them into archival footage, but that was about
two years after this, So this is the cutting edge
of that type.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
And does it hold up? I think it does as
the story goes.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
If you look at it, you know, three inches on
your you know, three inches away from your high inch monitor, yeah,
you're going to see the pixels move and that part.
But I don't think that distracts from the story. So yeah,
I think it serves the story, It serves the character,
and they even kind of point at it later on
(16:57):
when he's like, and then I met the President.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
I went to the White House again.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Like for him, it's just you know, it's like the
third Thursday of the month, that's when you go meet
the president. Of course, so it worked in that way.
Although I would say, what's even more impressive, and I've
also seen behind the scenes on this is Lieutenant Dan's
leg removal. That was where that had to hold up
(17:23):
in every shot in the way he moved and shifted
his weight. And I think the scene that I've seen
dissected the most is when he's sitting on the floor.
I think he'd fallen out of his wheelchair and he
swings his body around and if his legs had been there,
they would have gone through a small table and that's
where you're like, wait, okay, you didn't just remove it.
(17:47):
And I think the way they accomplished that is the
table wasn't there, and they added the table in post.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
So that you know.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
The archival footage is one thing, but the leg removal,
I think is the even under cherry on top well.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
And the brilliant thing is is it's classic misdirection because
everybody knew that Gary Soneze's legs were being removed digitally,
so we're all paying attention to the legs so they
can get away with inserting the table because we're not
going to stare at the table. It's misdirection and it's
really clever and Zamechas is on the cutting edge to
(18:22):
roll it back to the discussion about the mouth movement.
Even back in the day, as the kids say, the
mouth movement wasn't the best part of it, Like Kennedy
was okay, Johnson was terrible, Nixon was fine, right, but
like it's that sort of thing. But it does really
(18:44):
shine as well with getting him inserted into the background
of scenes like the desegregation moment and showing him behind
the guy, like looking around and everything. That is a real,
real compliment to the photograph because they got the lighting
right because, as we've all seen with plenty of blue screen,
(19:06):
green screen CG compositing stuff, if that lighting is not right,
the character looks flat, doesn't match up right. So that's
where I think they really shine, along with the legs,
is they got the lighting and the film grain right,
and that I know was a labor of love. Like
getting that stuff matched was.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
A film grain because you can't remove the film grain
from archival footage. It's there right, and you can lessenate,
but it you'll it'll make your digital insert stand out
like a sore thumb if they don't match.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yeah, So whoever worked on the edges of him being inserted,
great job, really well done, well done.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I think that's a really fine point. It is like, yeah,
you know, like manipulating the president's is fine, but inserting
Tom Hanks, that's that's where it really shined. So okay,
Jinny robin.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Wright, you mean, because that's how I said, Jenny. It's
so hard after this.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
The poor poor women who were named who went by
Jenny in the nineties, those poor women, they're doomed because
there's no way that there's not a single possibility that
they weren't called Jena at least twelve times a month.
So I'm a big Robin Wright fan. You guys know this.
I felt like she killed it in this role because like,
(20:29):
when you're going up against Tom Hanks doing something as
different as as this and is something that he doesn't
normally do, and yet he's he's still Tom Hanks. He's
always Tom Hanks. It's never like he disappears in the role,
but he's he's doing it different enough to make you
believe who he is, like who he's trying to be.
And with Robin Wright, you know, she doesn't have that opportunity.
(20:51):
She doesn't get to build play a completely different person. Well,
that's not what I'm trying to say, Like, it's it's not, John,
what was the term of looking for it? Like, she's
not she doesn't fall into fall.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Into Yeah, she's not disappearing, she's not inhabiting the character.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
And that's not a knock, you know, it's just that's
the type of character it is. And you know, she's
you know, a symbol of counterculture, you know, going in
and out of history as well and hitchhiking, going through
the hippie movement, you know, like anti government stance and
things like that. And so, John, what do you think
(21:31):
about her performance? What did you think about her character?
Did you have sympathy for her towards the end of
course frustrating with her without the movie through a movie, Like,
tell me about that journey you had with her?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
I want to say, first and foremost, I hate this
sort of modern thing of people coming at it as
like Jenny's the real villain. No that that that bit
was tired. The second that somebody rolled out with it.
It drives me nuts. Jenny is they establish what she
goes through as a kid, and the way that she's
behaving is a very well established behavior pattern in somebody
(22:05):
who's gone through that type of abuse, and I think
it really gets to the point of one of the
lessons of the character of Forrest Gump is that he
never does anything but love her, and except that he's
just always going to give her a chance to make
it right. He's always going to be there for her,
(22:25):
he's always going to love her, he's always going to
see the best in her. And what an incredible lesson
to put out there to say, Look, you know, you're
not going to be defined by the times you screw up.
Just keep getting back up, and I will be there
for you, I will love you. And it's beautiful like
this other stuff that you're laying on there. I think additionally,
(22:48):
Zamechas and this I mean the script and Zamechas, you know,
the film is making an interesting comment. I think that
gets overlooked a lot that they're sort of like these
repercussions and a lot of stuff that we go through
in history and you know, generational and cultural stuff is
(23:09):
sort of like this collective processing of what happened in
our childhoods or in our lifetime sort of thing. Right,
Jenny is a reaction to what her father was, and
it's sort of this thing where it's like that post
war generation raising kids, did you know they were processing
(23:31):
their own things and their own struggles and taking it out.
And I just think that that Jenny's an incredibly layered character,
and I think that she's very much presented at like
with a very sympathetic approach in the film, and I
give Zamechas a lot of credit for that. When he
shows Jenny going on her benders or bouncing around, she's
(23:54):
a person trying to find her identity. And the character
that comes to mind actually is Done Beatle's character from
Boogie Nights a few years later, where he's just going
around inhabiting all of these different personae because he's unsure
of who he is, and then at the end it's
somebody loving him that makes him who he could fully be.
(24:16):
And it's like, I know, that's a weird comparison to draw,
but there are similarities in that arc and I think,
you know, I think Robin Wright's wonderful in this and
I think the way the movie approaches her character is wonderful.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Darren, what are your feelings? I don't even know if
I can't comment anymore, because John, I think you wrapped
it up pretty well there now.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
I think the only thing I would add is as
much as she seems to conveniently or inconveniently float into
Forrest's life or or I guess, show up, there are
times when you realize, well, she's also living these events
just like he is. I think of the rally at
the Washington Monument, like she was there. It wasn't like, oh,
(24:57):
Forrest is going to be there, I'm going to show up. Now,
Well that's I'm going to this event, and we happen
to be there together. So I try to remind myself
it's not just oh, I'm going to go visit Forrest moment,
it's I'm living through history as much as he is.
There are times when she is seeking him out and
vice versa. But yeah, it honestly, just look at it
(25:21):
this way. Can you imagine this story without Jenny?
Speaker 4 (25:24):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Like. There's something gravitational about her in his life that
adds a lens to things, adds a constant to things.
I think it would be a lesser movie if you
were like, oh, just let him go through history. He doesn't,
and maybe he meets her towards the end instead of
a childhood friend. I don't think that would have worked.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, I agree, this is you know, as he talks
about at the beginning, they go together like peas and carrots,
Like they establish from the get go that they come
as a pair, and you know, they float in and
out of each other's lives. And I think that's what
makes it. That's part of the reason why it's so interesting,
is because sometimes we have relationships like that where whether
(26:08):
they're romantic or friendships or family. You know, years can
go by, many many years can go by, and yet
we are drawn to each other, and when we come
back together, we fall in line. We're just like, oh man,
it's almost like no time has passed. And I like
that aspect of it with Forrest and Jenny and John.
(26:29):
I really really agree with what you're talking about. How
like her behavior is. Her type of behavior is well
documented with people who have had this kind of trauma
and this kind of abuse in their childhood. And I
absolutely love her introduction because the actress who plays young
Jenny was a perfect get Oh yes, good lord. I
(26:51):
can't even imagine a better casting than that, because she
looks so beautiful and so innocent and so lovely and
so emotional and powerful just in this tiny little body.
And I love that. Like when we hear Tom Hanks
say like, she was the most beautiful, beautiful thing I've
ever seen, and we see for young force reaction like
(27:13):
he's portraying that she's my god, what is in front
of me? And yeah, soing, but nothing but love for Jenny.
And because when she screw up, when she screws up
or does something that the audience doesn't want her to do,
it's not like, oh I hate this character or anything
like that. It's very much a oh that's a shame.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You just feel like if you hear a family member
going through that, you react a different way and you're like, oh,
I don't want that for you. I want better for you.
Instead of oh, man, look she's ruined in her life.
It's like, no, there's the sympathies baked in from the
first time you see her on screen.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Yeah, yeah, Tasa, I like that you point out the
young actress who plays young Jenny because there's also a fragility.
There's a fragility to her that from that first moment
you see her, and it's I don't know, I don't
know what she ever went on to do afterward, but
I hope she had great success doing, you know, whatever
(28:16):
she wanted to do, uh, you know. And I think
that what I think is beautiful to speak to your point, Tristan,
about how the peas and carrots thing can go in
many different types of relationships. I think Michael T. Williamson
as Bubba is I mean, everybody it's easy to talk
about Robin Wright and Tom Hanks and Gary Sonise, who
(28:39):
I mean talk about a calling card movie like this,
This Gary Sonise was a name after this movie. Everybody
fell in love with Lieutenant Dan. Everybody's heart broke for
Lieutenant Dan. Everybody enjoyed going on the journey with Lieutenant Dan.
But Michael T. Williamson, what a just powerhouse secret weapon performance.
And seeing him paired up with four Forest and seeing
(29:02):
how they meshed. I mean, I have to give credit
to Williamson and Hanks for finding that chemistry. I believed
in Bubba and Forrest. I completely accept every time I
watch this film, that these are two people who belong together.
And I know that you said earlier, and I agree
(29:22):
with it. You never lose Hanks in this but the
scenes with Bubba, I lose Hanks. And I gave Williamson
a whole lot of credit because he finds the energy
that just transforms it in such a way that I
only see Forest and Bubba, and I think probably that's
why I gravitate toward their relationship a lot when I
think about this film.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Now, yeah, I agree. There's also the tragicness. I mean,
when he says things like if I had known that
was the last time we were going to talk, or
you know, he and I should have gone together into
the business, but instead he died there in Vietnam, you're
just like, oh man, And not that I mean, I
don't personally know anyone who tied at Vietnam, but there
(30:06):
are tons of people who do who can relate to that,
to people who never made it home who And there's
so many characters in this that you can imprint on
or imprint a friend on, and that I think is
one of the strengths of the movie overall, especially Bubba.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Yes, especially Bubba but you can't overlook Lieutenant Dan. I
mean Lieutenant Dan is you know, for the longest time,
I had a friend Tom who for years after this movie,
whenever I would see him at some point in the night,
he was a Lieutenant Day and as cream, Lieutenant Day,
and he'd like to be walking up to me, and
it was like it was almost like a signal, like
(30:44):
it's time to leave. Come on, Like he was Lieutenant
Day and ice Cream, and I was like, okay, okay,
gotch Tom, gotcha.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
I think that Okay, that's that's one thing that we
need to talk about the cultural impact of this movie,
because we all have moments like that, and I think,
like my family, I think the one that we have
quoted the most is she tasted Louts cigarettes.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
As in next Smoker. That's uh that that line made
a lot of us laugh in the movie theater, let
me tell you Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
And of course I think the most ubiquitous one is
run Forrest run.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I feel like that's probably the quote of the movie.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Do you disagree to it allmost? I think you're right.
I think life is like a box of chocolates. Is
also you right up there? Or even just the way
you pronounce Jena or Lieutenant Dan, Like there are so many.
It's weird because they're kind of they're quotes, but they're
also just things you say and then everyone goes like,
(31:49):
oh yeah, Forrest Coup. Like it's like you're bringing everyone
back to that moment, which I know is obviously what
a quote does, but it was something different.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
It was a touchstone way in the nineties. It was special.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Yeah. I still remember in the in the late nineties
working at a store and I was like running in
from like icy rain, you know, and somebody who worked
in the store with me was in the parking lot
and I didn't know it, and I start, I start
running to get into the store because you know, the
icy rain is coming down and everything, and I just
(32:23):
hear from across the parking lot run Forest Run, and
like everybody in the parking lot has a laugh. I
think life is like a box of chocolates came out
of the gates strong. But I think over time run
Forest Runs, I've become right go to. I think it's
just it's just overtaken it.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I think the first time I heard it used in
pup culture was in fight Club. I think that's the first.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Time when another movie references you, then you know you're
really a part of the conversation.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
I mean, Forrest Gump exists in the Fight Club universe.
Those people have seen that movie. I know that's a
ridiculous course to say, but it's true.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
No it isn't no, no, no, that absolutely exists. Yeah,
they exist in our world, and I.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Key so and.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yeah, so okay, what else would you say? Has become
a cultural touchstone of this movie, like obviously, like his accent,
the way he says certain words like Jenny and Lieutenant
Dan and things like that, run force, run, life as
a box of chocolates? What else is there with this?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
This movie score by Alan Silvestri has a que that
has been used in so many frickin' trailers over time.
Universal Pictures presents it like you hear it go and
it still gets you. You still get like the goosebumps,
but you're like, oh, you're cheating. I don't want to
see your movie now because you're cheating. You're trying to
(33:53):
trick me into seeing this. This movie's probably not very good,
but yeah, that one queue where the music swells that so.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Much so watching it in this movie, I was like, oh,
so that's right. It came from this, like it's now
so ubiquitous. Like I was almost pulled out of the
movie being like, wait, that's right, it came from this,
not they used it and then they put it in
It's oh man, it's just it was like that in
Robinhood Prince of Thieves.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
That was they were like, oh, used in trailer.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Do you guys remember when the last Samurai music was
used in every single trailer anything to do with fighting
or non America?
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, hey listen, it's a It is
an absolute tip of the hat to Silvestri because he
has this score. He worked with Zamechis on Back to
the Future. Like those are two absolutely iconic themes right there.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Like I was gonna say, well, just those two right
there would submit you in history.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
And then he goes on he does the Avengers theme.
It's like people sleep on his name, Like Silvestri is
like legit, big influence, but people would rather talk about,
you know, Zimmer and Williams and stuff like that, Like.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Those were the two I was about to utter, and
because you're right, it's Williams and Zimmer. That's all everyone
talks about. Williams and Zimmer and you know it's silvestry. Yeah,
it's true. A lot a lot of people don't put
him in the running where he needs to be, uh.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
To answer a lot of interest in I think the
one other touchstone was maybe it's just for me. But
when anytime I have to like list something, I think
of Bubba when he's listing all the ways you can
make shrimp. Yes, and he's just like yes, and I
just kind of get into that drawl, like you know,
(35:45):
it's like shortcut, long cut, fast cut, slow fade, make
it ass all, Like you just kind of go into
that drawl like he does, because because it's a montage
and you just you don't know all the ways of
shrimp and he maybe he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
But it's it's funny every.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Time every time we're talking about dinner and you know,
and and and my wife, like we'll mention like shrimp
is an option, I immediately will start going shrimp, gumbo,
shrimp to femp. I guess that's about it. And it's
just like, yeah, you can't help it. It's a reflex
like a Simpsons quote.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Oh my goodness, So okay. One common criticism, because we've
been We've been loving on this movie pretty hard with
good reason. But one common criticism is that it has
an oversimplified history view of history, kind of a conservative nostalgia.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
Of the past.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
And it's one criticism that I've found very interesting. I
heard this from from a couple of film students in
my younger days who were saying, like, oh, it's the
it's pro establishment and the reason why I I can
see your face, John, And I'm going to explain myself.
(37:02):
And I'm not advocating this. I'm not saying it's right.
I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm just saying the theory
is out there is that Tom Hanks survived. I'm sorry
Forrest Gump survives and becomes a millionaire and has all
these great things happened to him because he only does
what people tell him to do, only what people in
authority tell him what to do. And I find that interesting, Like,
(37:25):
don't discount it right away, Boy is it.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
I didn't even say anything.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
I can I can see your faces. The listeners can't,
but I can see your listeners.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
I just want to say that he's impugning our character.
Right now, I'll speak up for both myself and Darren, but.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
I want okay, but if you disagree with that, that's fine,
but I want to I want to hear it because
I think it's it's interesting because you know, like you know,
like the the his football coach loves him because he
just runs fast and they when they tell him to run,
he runs. When they tell him to stop, he stops.
His drill sergeant loves him because he's so fricking simple,
and he does what he's told.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
He runs way in battle because Jenny told him that's
what he needed to do. He goes and talks at
the Washington Monument and makes history because somebody told him
that he needed to get in line and do it.
He helped, He helped. He becomes a ping pong star
for those same reasons. Uh, you know, he just the
list just goes on and on that like pretty much
(38:25):
the only thing he does of his own accord is
run yeah for like later like across the country.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Yeah, and and love Jenny and forgive Jenny and be
there for his friends. And the thing is people. Okay,
I'm going to start with the particular and the I'm
gonna I'm gonna zoom out, Okay, yes, Jenny tells him
to run, but he runs and saves, he runs back,
he keeps running back. Okay, and yes, his running is
(38:53):
a is a touchstone of his But that scene in particular,
Forrest made it. Forrest was clear, and he turned around
and he went back, and he kept running and he
kept running specifically because he wouldn't leave people behind. He
did the right thing. And I think if anything, moving
out to the macro, oh, well, he does stuff that
(39:14):
people tell him. He's the feather on the wind. That's
the whole point of seeing the feather at the beginning.
At the end is Forrest's life is He's just where
he needs to be when when life, when history needs
him to be there, And in the context of people
quote unquote telling him what to do, he finds a
way unintentionally just because he has such a good heart
(39:35):
of doing the right thing with what he's being told
to do. And it's it is a I think that
what happens with a movie like Forrest Gump is an
inverse of what happens with a movie that I always
love to bring up at every chance. Star Trek five. Okay,
(39:56):
let me explain Star Trek five.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
Listen long time. Yeah, this is a common occurrence.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Star Trek five was curb stomped when it came out,
and you can say with good reason, Okay, people absolutely
made fun of it. They mocked the hell out of it.
When I was in line for Star Trek six, after school,
people were still referencing how much they hated Star Trek five.
It was a laughing stock. And then you flash forward
thirty years and screen Rant and all of these sites
(40:26):
are like, maybe it's time to rethink Star Trek five.
Maybe it's not so bad, guys. The inverse is always
going to happen where something like Forrest Gump, which is
a huge, powerhouse, beautiful film, Eventually somebody's gonna put their
hands on their hips and they're gonna go, well, you know,
if you'll really think about it, shut up, Like, I
(40:46):
hate that sort of trend.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
It's just I call it the Titanic effect.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
I love it. I'm stealing it, and we're going to
use that the Titanic effect. I love that. You are
absolutely gosh darn right, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
I mean I even saw an article in researching this
of people. I guess they re asked people who voted
to give it best picture and a lot.
Speaker 4 (41:10):
Of them were like, well, we actually probably.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Should have given it to Shawshank Redemptions that year, and
I'm like, well, sorry, you didn't. You gave it to
Forrest Gun Like that's what.
Speaker 4 (41:20):
You did, you know, own it. But to your question, Tristan,
I mean, I can see the pieces on the board
that you're describing with him being told what to do, but.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
I totally echo with John says of we see enough
of his childhood and his mother's upbringing of him that
we know this is a character that strives to do
the right thing. And he has a fictional character, so
he's going to be in these crazy situations, and of
course the plot is going to have him do the
right thing.
Speaker 4 (41:52):
But yeah, his.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Running is for the right thing, even when it's not.
It's not always running away, it's running across America just
because it's doing all of that. So, yes, he is
told a lot and directed, but I wouldn't go so
far as to say he's not even as the own character.
It's it's yeah, if a guy hits your girl, we
(42:18):
will all want to react like he does. We want
to do the right thing of in those moments. But
of course it's set up that way, he's the main character.
So but yes, it's in twenty more years we'll look
back again and be like.
Speaker 4 (42:34):
Well, let's take another Crack and Forth comp.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
And it turns out is a great film after all.
And listen, ninety four was a weird, weird year at
the Oscars. Absolutely everybody actually saw every film up for
Best Picture, Like it was one of those weird lightning
in the bottle types of years. And I still, like,
it still blows my mind how strong that year was.
(42:59):
I mean, like, yeah, Shawshank Redemption is also an incredible film.
Pulp Fiction is also an incredible like good Lord, like
out of the gate Man, like it's crazy how strong
ninety four was. But Forrest Gump that was the movie
everybody talked about. Like I knew people who didn't like
pulp Fiction. I knew people who were met on Shawshank Redemption,
(43:23):
but I never encountered a single person who walked out
of the theater of Forrest Gump and was like, eh,
that kind of sucked.
Speaker 2 (43:29):
Like, oh, I'm looking at the list right now, So
top of the list is Forrest Gump. Of course, of
movies that came out in ninety four, Shawshank YEP, pulp Fiction,
The Lion King YEP, Leon, The Professional Clerks, Four Weddings
and a Funeral YEP, Interview with the Vampire, Dumb and Dummer,
Ace Ventura, The Mask, Hudsucker, Proxy, ed Wood, Speed River, Wild,
(43:54):
Miracle on thirty fourth Street, The Crow, Little Giants, The
Santa Claus, Black Beauty.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
A hell of a year, man, it was a hell
of a year for movies.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
It rarely heads Stumbolina, Richie rich D, Two Mighty Ducks,
Little Rascals, three Ninjas kicked back. Okay, we're gett we're
starting to lose steam here.
Speaker 3 (44:10):
Yeah, you're definitely let's love stop stop here.
Speaker 4 (44:15):
Yeah, but ye made it to say okay, John is right. Oh.
Speaker 3 (44:20):
Also, so this had about that I need I need
a new ring tone. Please, I need that as a
ring tone, please, I beg you.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Okay. So the budget was fifty five million and the
box office return was six hundred and seventy eight.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
I made a couple of bucks.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
That's inice four dollars.
Speaker 4 (44:37):
That's a lot of money.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
That's a lot of money. Okay, I'm gonna Darren, can
you look that up for me.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
We gotta know, we gotta know.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
What seventy eight million in today's money.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
And the answer should depress everybody as we realize what
inflation has done.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
So during the during production, they the studio wanted them
to cut lots of stuff, saying, make it sure this
doesn't work. I can't remember exactly what they wanted him
to cut. A lot of the running they wanted him
to cut, which honestly him running across America. I probably
could have cut that too.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
The song is really good, so no.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
But they they wanted to cut a lot. They even
sent a stooge to stay on set to make sure
that he stayed on budget. And Zamechas and Hanks both
gave up big portions of their salary in order to
make the movie happen in the reduced budget. But they
did it by getting points on the back end, smart
(45:33):
so smart Scotty more than his original salary by getting
plants in the back end. I think Hanks walked away
with seventy million in ninety four dollars nineteen ninety four
dollars for this movie.
Speaker 4 (45:47):
So, uh, seven hundred and six hundred and seventy.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
Eight million in nineteen ninety four is one point four
eight billion dollars in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (45:59):
This made more enough money.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Yeah, it's and that's not even counting for like the
how far your dollar winn in ninety four, Like that
money is just worth more.
Speaker 4 (46:10):
It's just oh my gosh, so much money.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
It's not it's not just worth it's also average price
of a ticket. Back then.
Speaker 4 (46:16):
I was think of how much do you sell to make.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
Oh gosh, so even more people, more people saw it
than what were Yeah, anyway, you guys understand, Yeah, listeners understanding.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
Listen, man, when when a movie like this comes along
and you watch it with your girlfriend at the time,
and I mean listen that scene still to this day
when his son played by a then unknown who went
on to do great things Joel Osmond, when he says
I love you Dad, Like, oh my god, Like I
(46:52):
remember being in the movie theater with my girlfriend at
the time and like the scenes building and I'm like,
don't don't you do this to me? Don't know, no,
we haven't been going out that long, and so I
love you dad.
Speaker 4 (47:05):
Boom.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
I just started bawling, like it's just absolutely like a
shot to the heart and yeah, so everybody walks out.
I was like you got to see this film, man,
you gotta see this thing.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
Yeah yeah, Nick, what do we say? Nail the ending?
And I mean that's half the film right there they
did it.
Speaker 3 (47:21):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
Yeah, all right, what a what a point to end?
And to move move on to our personal ratings, Darren
and I always make you go first, how many feathers
in the wind? Are you giving this this movie?
Speaker 4 (47:33):
The cgi feather? Yes? Is it tumbled around? You know?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
It's again it's a ubiquitous movie. It's a movie that
is just will be, was and forever will be. So
you have to give it five for a bump. I
think for its cultural touchstoneness. I will say that was a.
Speaker 4 (47:55):
Factor of my rating overall. Like it is, it's a
great story.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
This is still, though, a movie that I'm probably gonna
watch once a decade. This is not a oh man,
you know, I want to have the feels again or
something like that.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
So that doesn't dimits it at all. It's just a
different kind of movie that you watch in you know,
decade by decade.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
And uh yeah, I got a well a couple of years,
we'll cross that bridge with my young lings and I'm
sure they'll be quoting Run Forest run all the time
after that.
Speaker 4 (48:27):
So five feathers on the wind for Darren John, how
about you?
Speaker 3 (48:31):
Five duh? I mean, like, I'm sure I tipped my
hand early, but like it is like we didn't even
detour for anything. But I think this movie moves so fluidly,
so effortlessly that I remember on this rewatch like I
had to pause it for a second. I was like, oh,
I'm already forty seven minutes into this. It was like
(48:53):
forty seven minutes if it was you know, thirty seconds,
Like you just get sucked in and it's just the
story moves so incredibly well, like this is this is
mind blowing when you think about the fact that Zamechas
does the Back to the Future trilogy, he does what
he does with Death becomes Her, and then he comes
two years later, two years later with this, Like that's insane.
(49:17):
Back to Future Part three is nineteen ninety Death becomes
Hers ninety two, Forrest Scump is ninety four. Like wow,
so yeah, five.
Speaker 2 (49:25):
I'm giving it five two. I mean, it's it's hard
not to Like I could have been a jerk and
said four point five, but I'm not going to because
this is a great movie. It deserves the five and
I could repeat myself with everything that we've said already,
but it's there. Robert Zemechis should be heralded for this,
for this movie, like his direction, how he worked the
(49:46):
cinematography and the editing, and how it was almost like
a storybook in the way that it was shot and
edited together. That's something that we didn't really talk about.
But I love the transition, the transitions I should say,
between sections and scenes, and like when he's closing his
eyes and things really hard and then all of a
sudden we see young Forrest who opens his eyes. Just
little things like that. It's just really great transitions, and
(50:08):
you can tell that it was thought out that it
wasn't necessarily found in editing. It was like, no, this
is what we're going to do to move to this section.
We're going to have him wear a blue plaid shirt
in this scene and then he's going to wear something
similar in the next scene in order to kind of
help transition forward. It was just little things like that.
This was meticulous, This was well thought out. It was exact,
(50:28):
but yet it didn't feel cold and technical. So five
stars easy. Thank you guys so much for discussing this
movie tonight and Darren, what are we doing next week?
Speaker 1 (50:41):
That's right, we're here still in the nineties with Robert Zemeckis.
Next week we're going to be covering nineteen ninety seven's
Contact here on house Lights. Join the Revolution, Join the
net Party.
Welcome to the net party.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
Hello everybody at home, and welcome to House Lights, specifically
House of Zamecchas Robert Zamcchis, And tonight we are talking
about nineteen ninety four's Forrest Gump. We are continuing our
journey into Zamechas's work of the nineties. And I am very,
very much excited to talk about this tonight. I feel
(00:42):
almost lighter, you know, kind of like a like a
feather floating through the air. That's that's how that's how
joyful I am tonight. And you know, we promise not
to leave you like a halfway through the podcast like
Jenny does, but we will stay with you the entire time.
And my as Tristan Radel, and with me as always
(01:02):
is the man who has a surprisingly similar voice but
yet loves to teach little kids with leg braces how
to dance John Mills. And also joining us is the
one and only Lieutenant Darren Moser, who is wearing blue
stockings for some reason. He's just constantly wearing blue pantyhose.
(01:27):
But you know, it's neither here nor there, and this
is a this is an audio medium, so you have
to rely on me to tell you these things. But regardless,
this was written by Winston Groom and Eric Roth, starring
the one and only Tom Hanks, America's Dad, And I
am ready to get right into it, how about you, guys.
Speaker 3 (01:47):
Yeah, I'm interested to get into this specifically because Forrest
Gump is one of those movies. It's such a touchstone.
But I haven't had like a discussion about it in
a long time because you know, I mean, at this point,
it's thirty years ago, and it's like it's hard to
believe that much time has passed, and it's one of
those movies where you can't really recall a time when
(02:08):
Forrest Gump wasn't a cultural thing. Like everybody knows Forrest Gump,
like even people who were born after us, Like you know,
there's still Bubba Gump Shrimp Company at City Walk here
at Universal in Orlando, and I did probably over in
Hollywood too, And it's it is it's crazy because you know,
(02:30):
you just think about it and it's like, this is
such an incredible film, Like it puts into perspective why
everybody forgets that he did Death becomes Her between Back
to the Future Part three and Forrest Gump, like that
in your brain. You just sort of short circuit. You
could come right to this one.
Speaker 2 (02:48):
Dared, When was the first time you saw this? Do
you remember?
Speaker 4 (02:51):
Oh gosh, so ninety four?
Speaker 3 (02:55):
Yeah?
Speaker 4 (02:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
This probably would have been like a rental, like, you know,
definitely a blockbuster rental. It might have even been a
double VHS. It's it's a fairly long movie. I mean
it's not three hours, but it's you know, two and
a half, two twelve.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
This wasn't a double VHS.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
Yeah, no, they would have been able to do this
on long play or super long play. Yeah, this wouldn't
have been a short play VHS, but long play could
have covered this.
Speaker 4 (03:24):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
Well, but just like John stated, this was fun to
revisit because I cannot remember the last time I watched
this movie. It's it is again one of those touchstones,
but you kind of internalize your memory of it, so
you don't feel like, oh, I got to watch this
over and over. So I was glad to revisit it
because I think I remembered the plot in broad brushstrokes,
(03:49):
but I did not remember a lot of the detail,
and that this is not one I it's one. I'm
glad that I didn't leave to oh, yeah, I've seen it.
My memory is good enough, because it was not. It
was not good enough to remember all the finer points
of this movie.
Speaker 2 (04:04):
When I was Okay, So this came out when in
ninety what what did I say, ninety ninety four? Yeah,
this came out ninety four. So I was eight years
old when this came out, and I remember the first
time I attempted to watch this. It was I was
over at my aunt's house and the whole family was over.
I don't know why we were over, but like we
(04:26):
were just we were just having to get together. We were eating,
we're enjoying ourselves, and somebody said like, hey, let's all
like let's keep this party going. You know, nobody wanted
to go home. Let's pop in a movie. And so
they popped in Forrest Gump on VHS and we all
started watching it. And I'm eight years old and I'm
enjoying it. And then all of a sudden, we get
to him in the army and they throw him the
(04:49):
Playboy and then everybody just kind of looks at me
and then like we're like, well, let's let's see where
this goes. And they made it to the dorm room scene,
and that's when my aunt just hit stop and said,
you know what, let's have Tristan watch something else in
the bedroom, and so they put on Home Alone too.
(05:13):
I remember this like it was yesterday, and so I
was in the I was in the bedroom on my
aunt's waterbed, floating up and down watching Home Alone two,
and everybody else was in the in the living room
watching Force Cup.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
See it's it's fascinating to me because I saw this
in the movie theater and you know, there were people
at the time who were, you know, full on young
adults where you had to sort of like elbow them
and be like, that's what just happened in the in
the dorm room scene and they're like oh, and it
was like yeah, yeah, yeah, nudge, nudge, that's what just It.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
Was very subtle and downplayed.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
So like I there's there's a part of me that's like,
I don't know if eight year old Tristan would have
necessarily picked up on it, Like it wasn't in your
brain to go there sarily. And but I mean, there
we go a science experiment that will never come to pass,
all thanks to the Ridell family robbing me of that
social experiment. So thanks in retrospect.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
And after I have no memory of watching it after that.
I've watched it several times, but I don't remember my
first real time of watching that movie because for some reason,
that was such a formative moment. It just it still
makes me laugh.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
But yeah, okay, so that's that's great. But it's fascinating
to me. You fixate on that first viewing like it's
the other like you know, you've seen it all before,
but like every time you think in the movie, you
think of that first viewing. That's that's kind of what
I think. Really, yeah, that's kind of cool.
Speaker 2 (06:42):
Uh So okay, I want to first talk about the
character of Forrest. I want to talk about Tom Hanks's performance.
You know, how he's an accidental witness to history, you
know kind of sometimes people feel like he's a blank
slate And I don't mean that like a he's not
really there, but like we project a lot onto him.
(07:05):
And so, Darren, what do you think about Tom Hanks's
performance of this Because the studio thought his accent was
ridiculous and they wanted him to get rid of it,
and Samchus is like, no, it's gonna work. It's gonna work.
What do you What did you think of his accent.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
I didn't have a problem with the accent, because honestly,
he I mean, he talks mostly through narration. He probably
has more lines in narration and voiceover than actual dialogue
in scenes, so it it wasn't jarring. But as far
(07:41):
as the just performance, this is the first time again
watching it in a long time, and nowadays I think
Hollywood and writers and audiences are a little more sensitive
towards the you know, popular actor playing a slow care
like that is definitely not in vogue nowadays. I think
(08:05):
it might have peaked with like radio and things like that,
and now it's almost like an SNL sketch is the
only time you're going to see something like that. So
to that being said, I didn't have a problem with
that part of the performance, but it was the one
of the parts that I felt did kind of age
(08:25):
the film a little bit.
Speaker 4 (08:27):
Now, that was just for me. I don't know if
that came across to you guys on this rewatch.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
Yeah, I see, I don't. I don't know if I
can honestly assess it from that perspective, because it's just
the movie is what it is. So anything I overlay
on top of that is you know, I guess, just
in my brain, I just immediately consider it moot, right.
I think that the accent that he uses is you know,
(08:52):
I think it's it's it's perfectly appropriate, like it's it's
got this. It's not even about the accent. It's that
orst as a character. What makes him work so well
is it's he's a child. He's the eternal child, but
in a very positive way. And so the movie also
never ever takes the stance that he's at a disadvantage
(09:16):
to the world or anything. He's the wise character, he's
the loving character, he's the accepting character. He's the one
that never sees the way other people see, you know,
with labels or judgment or anything like that. If anything,
you know, I think that Hanks's vocal performance actually puts
the audience at ease to understand and accept that positive,
(09:41):
childlike nature of Forest. The reason he's a beloved character
is because he sounds like somebody that you want to
give a hug to, that you know you would love
if you just spent some time with him. So, I mean,
I'm glad Zamecas fought for the accent, I mean anything else.
(10:02):
You know, you could make an argument that it's a
you know, it's an amplified Southern accent, and that maybe
plays into some you know, underlying prejudices that people might
have about people in the South or something. But like
even that, like that's sort of like shoveling onto it.
I think at its core is just that Hanks sounds
(10:24):
childlike through the movie, and I think that's why the
movie works so well and hits the heartstrings so effectively.
Speaker 2 (10:30):
Apparently the accent is based off of Young Forest's real
life accent, like the actor who played Young Forest, because
initially Tom Hanks was going to do something much more
subtle or kind of like ease into it or have
it kind of disappear as time went on and he
started he started interacting with Young Forest and Michael Connor Humphreys,
(10:56):
and he said he was talking to them because he's like,
why don't I just do that accent? Because I think
Humphreys couldn't change his voice, and because he was, you know,
he's young, he was a young kid at the time,
and so Hank's is like, how about I just change
my voice to match the kid? And it worked out
and so it was Hanks's instinct to do that, and
(11:18):
so he just spent a lot of time with Humphreys
and that's what he sounds like. I thought that was
really interesting when I read that.
Speaker 3 (11:24):
And that is and it is like, this is the
one where Philadelphia was considered a fluke in terms of
Hank's you know, getting the Oscar and giving that performance,
being having gone through the time Hank's wins for Philadelphia,
and it was this feeling of like, wow, the comedic
actor took a big swing and he won. What are
(11:45):
the odds? And then this comes out and it's like
this is the one that cements where it's like, oh no,
he's actually a great actor. It's not just a comedic
actor took a chance like this. This moment in time
is where Hanks is like there's no looking back toward
common like he's just cemented as the serious actor from
this point forward.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
Yeah, I think the only thing he dabbles in is
like romantic comedy like You've Got Mail or things like that.
But yeah, everything after this is or toy story. I mean,
you could say comedy as well. But Paul thirteen saving
Private writing Castaway, You're all acting chop type movies.
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Yeah, I mean he's he's not doing Joe Versus the
Volcano or The Burbs or Bachelor Party anymore after this movie,
Like that's in the rear view. He's done at that point.
And I think Tristan, that story you share is that's
the behind the scenes Hanks that the people like me
who regarded him simply as a quote unquote comedic actor,
only we didn't see those things back then. We didn't
(12:47):
understand that he was an actor working behind the scenes.
And that's a very thoughtful story what you just shared,
So it makes sense.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
So what did you guys think of him being an
accidental witness to history? Know, like that's kind of the
shtick of the movie. Like it's hard to say, like, oh,
what do you think about that? Because that's was a
cornerstone of the plot and the tail like from you know,
Watergate to Elvis to you know, like so so many things,
(13:17):
like you know, like meeting all the presidents, which we'll
you know, we'll talk about later as we talk about
the CGI. John. Did that did that land for you?
Did you feel like, okay, like could one guy really
witness all this stuff? Or did you find it charming.
You know what did you think?
Speaker 3 (13:33):
I found it charming because again, it's it's the story
of somebody who experiences history the right way quote unquote right.
He doesn't have an air about I went through this
or I went through that. And you see everybody else
around him going through history and they're reacting in different ways.
(13:54):
And if anything, Forrest is the most emotionally well equipped
because he goes through all of these situations, but it
doesn't change him. And it's not I'm not saying that
in a way to you know, obviously demean anything or
anything like that. I'm just saying, like Forrest is that
ideal of I went through a thing and I was
able to contextualize and compartmentalize it and keep moving. And
(14:17):
you know, you see from the very first lessons that
his mom gives him that he's the perfect guy to
have gone through all of these things. Does Is it
a shtick? I don't know if I would call it that.
I mean, yeah, it's a historical, you know, chapter book
sort of thing, and obviously it doesn't get into really
the depth of these events. But I think showing how
(14:40):
Forest represents that we're all going through history and like
sometimes we don't realize the moments we're in how impactful
they are. You know, Like imagine going back through this
and having been somebody who lived through those times and
be like, oh, oh yeah I did. Yeah I was
around for that. You know. Like it's that sort of
thing where so much happens in the span of your
life and so much happens in the world, you know,
(15:01):
like I was there for the fall of the Berlin Wall,
but it doesn't even really come up for me too much,
and like, but when I sit down, I'm like, oh, yeah,
that was pretty big. That was a thing, you know,
like that that sort of stuff.
Speaker 2 (15:13):
Darren, Okay, I feel like we need before we get
into the supporting characters, because we mentioned that, we have
to talk about the special effects, because this was a
big deal at the time. This was I remember seeing
behind the scenes footage on Extra and Entertainment Tonight about
how this was a big deal, about how they were
using archival footage of presidents and inserting Tom Hanks digitally
(15:37):
into the scene, And I want to know, what did
you think about it at the time, and what do
you think about it now.
Speaker 1 (15:44):
Yeah, it was one of those things where I think
at the time, it was flawless.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
Like you, the.
Speaker 1 (15:50):
Moments were sporadic enough and tight enough that you weren't
looking at it too close. You couldn't rewind and pause
and be like, oh, well, oh, they're just stretching the
pixels of the mouth and or that's the part that's
being changed. You're more like, oh my gosh, he's right there,
he's right behind the president. So I think that.
Speaker 4 (16:10):
Part worked, you know, really well.
Speaker 1 (16:13):
You know, I was just looking it up out of
curiosity's sake, and for Star Trek Deep Sase nine Trouble
and Tribulation, which is another episode where they take characters
and insert them into archival footage, but that was about
two years after this, So this is the cutting edge
of that type.
Speaker 4 (16:31):
And does it hold up? I think it does as
the story goes.
Speaker 1 (16:35):
If you look at it, you know, three inches on
your you know, three inches away from your high inch monitor, yeah,
you're going to see the pixels move and that part.
But I don't think that distracts from the story. So yeah,
I think it serves the story, It serves the character,
and they even kind of point at it later on
(16:57):
when he's like, and then I met the President.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
I went to the White House again.
Speaker 1 (17:02):
Like for him, it's just you know, it's like the
third Thursday of the month, that's when you go meet
the president. Of course, so it worked in that way.
Although I would say, what's even more impressive, and I've
also seen behind the scenes on this is Lieutenant Dan's
leg removal. That was where that had to hold up
(17:23):
in every shot in the way he moved and shifted
his weight. And I think the scene that I've seen
dissected the most is when he's sitting on the floor.
I think he'd fallen out of his wheelchair and he
swings his body around and if his legs had been there,
they would have gone through a small table and that's
where you're like, wait, okay, you didn't just remove it.
(17:47):
And I think the way they accomplished that is the
table wasn't there, and they added the table in post.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
So that you know.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
The archival footage is one thing, but the leg removal,
I think is the even under cherry on top well.
Speaker 3 (18:02):
And the brilliant thing is is it's classic misdirection because
everybody knew that Gary Soneze's legs were being removed digitally,
so we're all paying attention to the legs so they
can get away with inserting the table because we're not
going to stare at the table. It's misdirection and it's
really clever and Zamechas is on the cutting edge to
(18:22):
roll it back to the discussion about the mouth movement.
Even back in the day, as the kids say, the
mouth movement wasn't the best part of it, Like Kennedy
was okay, Johnson was terrible, Nixon was fine, right, but
like it's that sort of thing. But it does really
(18:44):
shine as well with getting him inserted into the background
of scenes like the desegregation moment and showing him behind
the guy, like looking around and everything. That is a real,
real compliment to the photograph because they got the lighting
right because, as we've all seen with plenty of blue screen,
(19:06):
green screen CG compositing stuff, if that lighting is not right,
the character looks flat, doesn't match up right. So that's
where I think they really shine, along with the legs,
is they got the lighting and the film grain right,
and that I know was a labor of love. Like
getting that stuff matched was.
Speaker 1 (19:26):
A film grain because you can't remove the film grain
from archival footage. It's there right, and you can lessenate,
but it you'll it'll make your digital insert stand out
like a sore thumb if they don't match.
Speaker 3 (19:38):
Yeah, So whoever worked on the edges of him being inserted,
great job, really well done, well done.
Speaker 2 (19:45):
I think that's a really fine point. It is like, yeah,
you know, like manipulating the president's is fine, but inserting
Tom Hanks, that's that's where it really shined. So okay,
Jinny robin.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
Wright, you mean, because that's how I said, Jenny. It's
so hard after this.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
The poor poor women who were named who went by
Jenny in the nineties, those poor women, they're doomed because
there's no way that there's not a single possibility that
they weren't called Jena at least twelve times a month.
So I'm a big Robin Wright fan. You guys know this.
I felt like she killed it in this role because like,
(20:29):
when you're going up against Tom Hanks doing something as
different as as this and is something that he doesn't
normally do, and yet he's he's still Tom Hanks. He's
always Tom Hanks. It's never like he disappears in the role,
but he's he's doing it different enough to make you
believe who he is, like who he's trying to be.
And with Robin Wright, you know, she doesn't have that opportunity.
(20:51):
She doesn't get to build play a completely different person. Well,
that's not what I'm trying to say, Like, it's it's not, John,
what was the term of looking for it? Like, she's
not she doesn't fall into fall.
Speaker 3 (21:03):
Into Yeah, she's not disappearing, she's not inhabiting the character.
Speaker 2 (21:10):
And that's not a knock, you know, it's just that's
the type of character it is. And you know, she's
you know, a symbol of counterculture, you know, going in
and out of history as well and hitchhiking, going through
the hippie movement, you know, like anti government stance and
things like that. And so, John, what do you think
(21:31):
about her performance? What did you think about her character?
Did you have sympathy for her towards the end of
course frustrating with her without the movie through a movie, Like,
tell me about that journey you had with her?
Speaker 3 (21:41):
I want to say, first and foremost, I hate this
sort of modern thing of people coming at it as
like Jenny's the real villain. No that that that bit
was tired. The second that somebody rolled out with it.
It drives me nuts. Jenny is they establish what she
goes through as a kid, and the way that she's
behaving is a very well established behavior pattern in somebody
(22:05):
who's gone through that type of abuse, and I think
it really gets to the point of one of the
lessons of the character of Forrest Gump is that he
never does anything but love her, and except that he's
just always going to give her a chance to make
it right. He's always going to be there for her,
(22:25):
he's always going to love her, he's always going to
see the best in her. And what an incredible lesson
to put out there to say, Look, you know, you're
not going to be defined by the times you screw up.
Just keep getting back up, and I will be there
for you, I will love you. And it's beautiful like
this other stuff that you're laying on there. I think additionally,
(22:48):
Zamechas and this I mean the script and Zamechas, you know,
the film is making an interesting comment. I think that
gets overlooked a lot that they're sort of like these
repercussions and a lot of stuff that we go through
in history and you know, generational and cultural stuff is
(23:09):
sort of like this collective processing of what happened in
our childhoods or in our lifetime sort of thing. Right,
Jenny is a reaction to what her father was, and
it's sort of this thing where it's like that post
war generation raising kids, did you know they were processing
(23:31):
their own things and their own struggles and taking it out.
And I just think that that Jenny's an incredibly layered character,
and I think that she's very much presented at like
with a very sympathetic approach in the film, and I
give Zamechas a lot of credit for that. When he
shows Jenny going on her benders or bouncing around, she's
(23:54):
a person trying to find her identity. And the character
that comes to mind actually is Done Beatle's character from
Boogie Nights a few years later, where he's just going
around inhabiting all of these different personae because he's unsure
of who he is, and then at the end it's
somebody loving him that makes him who he could fully be.
(24:16):
And it's like, I know, that's a weird comparison to draw,
but there are similarities in that arc and I think,
you know, I think Robin Wright's wonderful in this and
I think the way the movie approaches her character is wonderful.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Darren, what are your feelings? I don't even know if
I can't comment anymore, because John, I think you wrapped
it up pretty well there now.
Speaker 1 (24:35):
I think the only thing I would add is as
much as she seems to conveniently or inconveniently float into
Forrest's life or or I guess, show up, there are
times when you realize, well, she's also living these events
just like he is. I think of the rally at
the Washington Monument, like she was there. It wasn't like, oh,
(24:57):
Forrest is going to be there, I'm going to show up. Now,
Well that's I'm going to this event, and we happen
to be there together. So I try to remind myself
it's not just oh, I'm going to go visit Forrest moment,
it's I'm living through history as much as he is.
There are times when she is seeking him out and
vice versa. But yeah, it honestly, just look at it
(25:21):
this way. Can you imagine this story without Jenny?
Speaker 4 (25:24):
I can't.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
Like. There's something gravitational about her in his life that
adds a lens to things, adds a constant to things.
I think it would be a lesser movie if you
were like, oh, just let him go through history. He doesn't,
and maybe he meets her towards the end instead of
a childhood friend. I don't think that would have worked.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yeah, I agree, this is you know, as he talks
about at the beginning, they go together like peas and carrots,
Like they establish from the get go that they come
as a pair, and you know, they float in and
out of each other's lives. And I think that's what
makes it. That's part of the reason why it's so interesting,
is because sometimes we have relationships like that where whether
(26:08):
they're romantic or friendships or family. You know, years can
go by, many many years can go by, and yet
we are drawn to each other, and when we come
back together, we fall in line. We're just like, oh man,
it's almost like no time has passed. And I like
that aspect of it with Forrest and Jenny and John.
(26:29):
I really really agree with what you're talking about. How
like her behavior is. Her type of behavior is well
documented with people who have had this kind of trauma
and this kind of abuse in their childhood. And I
absolutely love her introduction because the actress who plays young
Jenny was a perfect get Oh yes, good lord. I
(26:51):
can't even imagine a better casting than that, because she
looks so beautiful and so innocent and so lovely and
so emotional and powerful just in this tiny little body.
And I love that. Like when we hear Tom Hanks
say like, she was the most beautiful, beautiful thing I've
ever seen, and we see for young force reaction like
(27:13):
he's portraying that she's my god, what is in front
of me? And yeah, soing, but nothing but love for Jenny.
And because when she screw up, when she screws up
or does something that the audience doesn't want her to do,
it's not like, oh I hate this character or anything
like that. It's very much a oh that's a shame.
Speaker 4 (27:34):
You know.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
You just feel like if you hear a family member
going through that, you react a different way and you're like, oh,
I don't want that for you. I want better for you.
Instead of oh, man, look she's ruined in her life.
It's like, no, there's the sympathies baked in from the
first time you see her on screen.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
Yeah, yeah, Tasa, I like that you point out the
young actress who plays young Jenny because there's also a fragility.
There's a fragility to her that from that first moment
you see her, and it's I don't know, I don't
know what she ever went on to do afterward, but
I hope she had great success doing, you know, whatever
(28:16):
she wanted to do, uh, you know. And I think
that what I think is beautiful to speak to your point, Tristan,
about how the peas and carrots thing can go in
many different types of relationships. I think Michael T. Williamson
as Bubba is I mean, everybody it's easy to talk
about Robin Wright and Tom Hanks and Gary Sonise, who
(28:39):
I mean talk about a calling card movie like this,
This Gary Sonise was a name after this movie. Everybody
fell in love with Lieutenant Dan. Everybody's heart broke for
Lieutenant Dan. Everybody enjoyed going on the journey with Lieutenant Dan.
But Michael T. Williamson, what a just powerhouse secret weapon performance.
And seeing him paired up with four Forest and seeing
(29:02):
how they meshed. I mean, I have to give credit
to Williamson and Hanks for finding that chemistry. I believed
in Bubba and Forrest. I completely accept every time I
watch this film, that these are two people who belong together.
And I know that you said earlier, and I agree
(29:22):
with it. You never lose Hanks in this but the
scenes with Bubba, I lose Hanks. And I gave Williamson
a whole lot of credit because he finds the energy
that just transforms it in such a way that I
only see Forest and Bubba, and I think probably that's
why I gravitate toward their relationship a lot when I
think about this film.
Speaker 1 (29:44):
Now, yeah, I agree. There's also the tragicness. I mean,
when he says things like if I had known that
was the last time we were going to talk, or
you know, he and I should have gone together into
the business, but instead he died there in Vietnam, you're
just like, oh man, And not that I mean, I
don't personally know anyone who tied at Vietnam, but there
(30:06):
are tons of people who do who can relate to that,
to people who never made it home who And there's
so many characters in this that you can imprint on
or imprint a friend on, and that I think is
one of the strengths of the movie overall, especially Bubba.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
Yes, especially Bubba but you can't overlook Lieutenant Dan. I
mean Lieutenant Dan is you know, for the longest time,
I had a friend Tom who for years after this movie,
whenever I would see him at some point in the night,
he was a Lieutenant Day and as cream, Lieutenant Day,
and he'd like to be walking up to me, and
it was like it was almost like a signal, like
(30:44):
it's time to leave. Come on, Like he was Lieutenant
Day and ice Cream, and I was like, okay, okay,
gotch Tom, gotcha.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
I think that Okay, that's that's one thing that we
need to talk about the cultural impact of this movie,
because we all have moments like that, and I think,
like my family, I think the one that we have
quoted the most is she tasted Louts cigarettes.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
As in next Smoker. That's uh that that line made
a lot of us laugh in the movie theater, let
me tell you Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
And of course I think the most ubiquitous one is
run Forrest run.
Speaker 3 (31:22):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:22):
I feel like that's probably the quote of the movie.
Speaker 1 (31:26):
Do you disagree to it allmost? I think you're right.
I think life is like a box of chocolates. Is
also you right up there? Or even just the way
you pronounce Jena or Lieutenant Dan, Like there are so many.
It's weird because they're kind of they're quotes, but they're
also just things you say and then everyone goes like,
(31:49):
oh yeah, Forrest Coup. Like it's like you're bringing everyone
back to that moment, which I know is obviously what
a quote does, but it was something different.
Speaker 4 (31:58):
It was a touchstone way in the nineties. It was special.
Speaker 3 (32:03):
Yeah. I still remember in the in the late nineties
working at a store and I was like running in
from like icy rain, you know, and somebody who worked
in the store with me was in the parking lot
and I didn't know it, and I start, I start
running to get into the store because you know, the
icy rain is coming down and everything, and I just
(32:23):
hear from across the parking lot run Forest Run, and
like everybody in the parking lot has a laugh. I
think life is like a box of chocolates came out
of the gates strong. But I think over time run
Forest Runs, I've become right go to. I think it's
just it's just overtaken it.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I think the first time I heard it used in
pup culture was in fight Club. I think that's the first.
Speaker 3 (32:47):
Time when another movie references you, then you know you're
really a part of the conversation.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
I mean, Forrest Gump exists in the Fight Club universe.
Those people have seen that movie. I know that's a
ridiculous course to say, but it's true.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
No it isn't no, no, no, that absolutely exists. Yeah,
they exist in our world, and I.
Speaker 4 (33:09):
Key so and.
Speaker 2 (33:12):
Yeah, so okay, what else would you say? Has become
a cultural touchstone of this movie, like obviously, like his accent,
the way he says certain words like Jenny and Lieutenant
Dan and things like that, run force, run, life as
a box of chocolates? What else is there with this?
Speaker 3 (33:31):
This movie score by Alan Silvestri has a que that
has been used in so many frickin' trailers over time.
Universal Pictures presents it like you hear it go and
it still gets you. You still get like the goosebumps,
but you're like, oh, you're cheating. I don't want to
see your movie now because you're cheating. You're trying to
(33:53):
trick me into seeing this. This movie's probably not very good,
but yeah, that one queue where the music swells that so.
Speaker 1 (34:01):
Much so watching it in this movie, I was like, oh,
so that's right. It came from this, like it's now
so ubiquitous. Like I was almost pulled out of the
movie being like, wait, that's right, it came from this,
not they used it and then they put it in
It's oh man, it's just it was like that in
Robinhood Prince of Thieves.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
That was they were like, oh, used in trailer.
Speaker 2 (34:23):
Do you guys remember when the last Samurai music was
used in every single trailer anything to do with fighting
or non America?
Speaker 3 (34:33):
Yes, yes, yes, yes, hey listen, it's a It is
an absolute tip of the hat to Silvestri because he
has this score. He worked with Zamechis on Back to
the Future. Like those are two absolutely iconic themes right there.
Speaker 2 (34:51):
Like I was gonna say, well, just those two right
there would submit you in history.
Speaker 3 (34:53):
And then he goes on he does the Avengers theme.
It's like people sleep on his name, Like Silvestri is
like legit, big influence, but people would rather talk about,
you know, Zimmer and Williams and stuff like that, Like.
Speaker 2 (35:08):
Those were the two I was about to utter, and
because you're right, it's Williams and Zimmer. That's all everyone
talks about. Williams and Zimmer and you know it's silvestry. Yeah,
it's true. A lot a lot of people don't put
him in the running where he needs to be, uh.
Speaker 1 (35:24):
To answer a lot of interest in I think the
one other touchstone was maybe it's just for me. But
when anytime I have to like list something, I think
of Bubba when he's listing all the ways you can
make shrimp. Yes, and he's just like yes, and I
just kind of get into that drawl, like you know,
(35:45):
it's like shortcut, long cut, fast cut, slow fade, make
it ass all, Like you just kind of go into
that drawl like he does, because because it's a montage
and you just you don't know all the ways of
shrimp and he maybe he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (35:59):
But it's it's funny every.
Speaker 3 (36:01):
Time every time we're talking about dinner and you know,
and and and my wife, like we'll mention like shrimp
is an option, I immediately will start going shrimp, gumbo,
shrimp to femp. I guess that's about it. And it's
just like, yeah, you can't help it. It's a reflex
like a Simpsons quote.
Speaker 2 (36:23):
Oh my goodness, So okay. One common criticism, because we've
been We've been loving on this movie pretty hard with
good reason. But one common criticism is that it has
an oversimplified history view of history, kind of a conservative nostalgia.
Speaker 3 (36:41):
Of the past.
Speaker 2 (36:42):
And it's one criticism that I've found very interesting. I
heard this from from a couple of film students in
my younger days who were saying, like, oh, it's the
it's pro establishment and the reason why I I can
see your face, John, And I'm going to explain myself.
(37:02):
And I'm not advocating this. I'm not saying it's right.
I'm not saying it's wrong. I'm just saying the theory
is out there is that Tom Hanks survived. I'm sorry
Forrest Gump survives and becomes a millionaire and has all
these great things happened to him because he only does
what people tell him to do, only what people in
authority tell him what to do. And I find that interesting, Like,
(37:25):
don't discount it right away, Boy is it.
Speaker 3 (37:30):
I didn't even say anything.
Speaker 2 (37:31):
I can I can see your faces. The listeners can't,
but I can see your listeners.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
I just want to say that he's impugning our character.
Right now, I'll speak up for both myself and Darren, but.
Speaker 2 (37:42):
I want okay, but if you disagree with that, that's fine,
but I want to I want to hear it because
I think it's it's interesting because you know, like you know,
like the the his football coach loves him because he
just runs fast and they when they tell him to run,
he runs. When they tell him to stop, he stops.
His drill sergeant loves him because he's so fricking simple,
and he does what he's told.
Speaker 4 (38:02):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (38:03):
He runs way in battle because Jenny told him that's
what he needed to do. He goes and talks at
the Washington Monument and makes history because somebody told him
that he needed to get in line and do it.
He helped, He helped. He becomes a ping pong star
for those same reasons. Uh, you know, he just the
list just goes on and on that like pretty much
(38:25):
the only thing he does of his own accord is
run yeah for like later like across the country.
Speaker 3 (38:33):
Yeah, and and love Jenny and forgive Jenny and be
there for his friends. And the thing is people. Okay,
I'm going to start with the particular and the I'm
gonna I'm gonna zoom out, Okay, yes, Jenny tells him
to run, but he runs and saves, he runs back,
he keeps running back. Okay, and yes, his running is
(38:53):
a is a touchstone of his But that scene in particular,
Forrest made it. Forrest was clear, and he turned around
and he went back, and he kept running and he
kept running specifically because he wouldn't leave people behind. He
did the right thing. And I think if anything, moving
out to the macro, oh, well, he does stuff that
(39:14):
people tell him. He's the feather on the wind. That's
the whole point of seeing the feather at the beginning.
At the end is Forrest's life is He's just where
he needs to be when when life, when history needs
him to be there, And in the context of people
quote unquote telling him what to do, he finds a
way unintentionally just because he has such a good heart
(39:35):
of doing the right thing with what he's being told
to do. And it's it is a I think that
what happens with a movie like Forrest Gump is an
inverse of what happens with a movie that I always
love to bring up at every chance. Star Trek five. Okay,
(39:56):
let me explain Star Trek five.
Speaker 2 (39:59):
Listen long time. Yeah, this is a common occurrence.
Speaker 3 (40:03):
Star Trek five was curb stomped when it came out,
and you can say with good reason, Okay, people absolutely
made fun of it. They mocked the hell out of it.
When I was in line for Star Trek six, after school,
people were still referencing how much they hated Star Trek five.
It was a laughing stock. And then you flash forward
thirty years and screen Rant and all of these sites
(40:26):
are like, maybe it's time to rethink Star Trek five.
Maybe it's not so bad, guys. The inverse is always
going to happen where something like Forrest Gump, which is
a huge, powerhouse, beautiful film, Eventually somebody's gonna put their
hands on their hips and they're gonna go, well, you know,
if you'll really think about it, shut up, Like, I
(40:46):
hate that sort of trend.
Speaker 2 (40:47):
It's just I call it the Titanic effect.
Speaker 3 (40:50):
I love it. I'm stealing it, and we're going to
use that the Titanic effect. I love that. You are
absolutely gosh darn right, yes, yes.
Speaker 1 (41:00):
I mean I even saw an article in researching this
of people. I guess they re asked people who voted
to give it best picture and a lot.
Speaker 4 (41:10):
Of them were like, well, we actually probably.
Speaker 1 (41:12):
Should have given it to Shawshank Redemptions that year, and
I'm like, well, sorry, you didn't. You gave it to
Forrest Gun Like that's what.
Speaker 4 (41:20):
You did, you know, own it. But to your question, Tristan,
I mean, I can see the pieces on the board
that you're describing with him being told what to do, but.
Speaker 1 (41:32):
I totally echo with John says of we see enough
of his childhood and his mother's upbringing of him that
we know this is a character that strives to do
the right thing. And he has a fictional character, so
he's going to be in these crazy situations, and of
course the plot is going to have him do the
right thing.
Speaker 4 (41:52):
But yeah, his.
Speaker 1 (41:53):
Running is for the right thing, even when it's not.
It's not always running away, it's running across America just
because it's doing all of that. So, yes, he is
told a lot and directed, but I wouldn't go so
far as to say he's not even as the own character.
It's it's yeah, if a guy hits your girl, we
(42:18):
will all want to react like he does. We want
to do the right thing of in those moments. But
of course it's set up that way, he's the main character.
So but yes, it's in twenty more years we'll look
back again and be like.
Speaker 4 (42:34):
Well, let's take another Crack and Forth comp.
Speaker 3 (42:37):
And it turns out is a great film after all.
And listen, ninety four was a weird, weird year at
the Oscars. Absolutely everybody actually saw every film up for
Best Picture, Like it was one of those weird lightning
in the bottle types of years. And I still, like,
it still blows my mind how strong that year was.
(42:59):
I mean, like, yeah, Shawshank Redemption is also an incredible film.
Pulp Fiction is also an incredible like good Lord, like
out of the gate Man, like it's crazy how strong
ninety four was. But Forrest Gump that was the movie
everybody talked about. Like I knew people who didn't like
pulp Fiction. I knew people who were met on Shawshank Redemption,
(43:23):
but I never encountered a single person who walked out
of the theater of Forrest Gump and was like, eh,
that kind of sucked.
Speaker 2 (43:29):
Like, oh, I'm looking at the list right now, So
top of the list is Forrest Gump. Of course, of
movies that came out in ninety four, Shawshank YEP, pulp Fiction,
The Lion King YEP, Leon, The Professional Clerks, Four Weddings
and a Funeral YEP, Interview with the Vampire, Dumb and Dummer,
Ace Ventura, The Mask, Hudsucker, Proxy, ed Wood, Speed River, Wild,
(43:54):
Miracle on thirty fourth Street, The Crow, Little Giants, The
Santa Claus, Black Beauty.
Speaker 3 (44:00):
A hell of a year, man, it was a hell
of a year for movies.
Speaker 2 (44:03):
It rarely heads Stumbolina, Richie rich D, Two Mighty Ducks,
Little Rascals, three Ninjas kicked back. Okay, we're gett we're
starting to lose steam here.
Speaker 3 (44:10):
Yeah, you're definitely let's love stop stop here.
Speaker 4 (44:15):
Yeah, but ye made it to say okay, John is right. Oh.
Speaker 3 (44:20):
Also, so this had about that I need I need
a new ring tone. Please, I need that as a
ring tone, please, I beg you.
Speaker 2 (44:27):
Okay. So the budget was fifty five million and the
box office return was six hundred and seventy eight.
Speaker 3 (44:33):
I made a couple of bucks.
Speaker 2 (44:35):
That's inice four dollars.
Speaker 4 (44:37):
That's a lot of money.
Speaker 2 (44:39):
That's a lot of money. Okay, I'm gonna Darren, can
you look that up for me.
Speaker 3 (44:43):
We gotta know, we gotta know.
Speaker 2 (44:44):
What seventy eight million in today's money.
Speaker 3 (44:48):
And the answer should depress everybody as we realize what
inflation has done.
Speaker 2 (44:52):
So during the during production, they the studio wanted them
to cut lots of stuff, saying, make it sure this
doesn't work. I can't remember exactly what they wanted him
to cut. A lot of the running they wanted him
to cut, which honestly him running across America. I probably
could have cut that too.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
The song is really good, so no.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
But they they wanted to cut a lot. They even
sent a stooge to stay on set to make sure
that he stayed on budget. And Zamechas and Hanks both
gave up big portions of their salary in order to
make the movie happen in the reduced budget. But they
did it by getting points on the back end, smart
(45:33):
so smart Scotty more than his original salary by getting
plants in the back end. I think Hanks walked away
with seventy million in ninety four dollars nineteen ninety four
dollars for this movie.
Speaker 4 (45:47):
So, uh, seven hundred and six hundred and seventy.
Speaker 1 (45:51):
Eight million in nineteen ninety four is one point four
eight billion dollars in twenty twenty five.
Speaker 4 (45:59):
This made more enough money.
Speaker 1 (46:01):
Yeah, it's and that's not even counting for like the
how far your dollar winn in ninety four, Like that
money is just worth more.
Speaker 4 (46:10):
It's just oh my gosh, so much money.
Speaker 3 (46:12):
It's not it's not just worth it's also average price
of a ticket. Back then.
Speaker 4 (46:16):
I was think of how much do you sell to make.
Speaker 2 (46:20):
Oh gosh, so even more people, more people saw it
than what were Yeah, anyway, you guys understand, Yeah, listeners understanding.
Speaker 3 (46:29):
Listen, man, when when a movie like this comes along
and you watch it with your girlfriend at the time,
and I mean listen that scene still to this day
when his son played by a then unknown who went
on to do great things Joel Osmond, when he says
I love you Dad, Like, oh my god, Like I
(46:52):
remember being in the movie theater with my girlfriend at
the time and like the scenes building and I'm like,
don't don't you do this to me? Don't know, no,
we haven't been going out that long, and so I
love you dad.
Speaker 4 (47:05):
Boom.
Speaker 3 (47:06):
I just started bawling, like it's just absolutely like a
shot to the heart and yeah, so everybody walks out.
I was like you got to see this film, man,
you gotta see this thing.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
Yeah yeah, Nick, what do we say? Nail the ending?
And I mean that's half the film right there they
did it.
Speaker 3 (47:21):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (47:22):
Yeah, all right, what a what a point to end?
And to move move on to our personal ratings, Darren
and I always make you go first, how many feathers
in the wind? Are you giving this this movie?
Speaker 4 (47:33):
The cgi feather? Yes? Is it tumbled around? You know?
Speaker 1 (47:38):
It's again it's a ubiquitous movie. It's a movie that
is just will be, was and forever will be. So
you have to give it five for a bump. I
think for its cultural touchstoneness. I will say that was a.
Speaker 4 (47:55):
Factor of my rating overall. Like it is, it's a
great story.
Speaker 1 (48:00):
This is still, though, a movie that I'm probably gonna
watch once a decade. This is not a oh man,
you know, I want to have the feels again or
something like that.
Speaker 4 (48:09):
So that doesn't dimits it at all. It's just a
different kind of movie that you watch in you know,
decade by decade.
Speaker 1 (48:16):
And uh yeah, I got a well a couple of years,
we'll cross that bridge with my young lings and I'm
sure they'll be quoting Run Forest run all the time
after that.
Speaker 4 (48:27):
So five feathers on the wind for Darren John, how
about you?
Speaker 3 (48:31):
Five duh? I mean, like, I'm sure I tipped my
hand early, but like it is like we didn't even
detour for anything. But I think this movie moves so fluidly,
so effortlessly that I remember on this rewatch like I
had to pause it for a second. I was like, oh,
I'm already forty seven minutes into this. It was like
(48:53):
forty seven minutes if it was you know, thirty seconds,
Like you just get sucked in and it's just the
story moves so incredibly well, like this is this is
mind blowing when you think about the fact that Zamechas
does the Back to the Future trilogy, he does what
he does with Death becomes Her, and then he comes
two years later, two years later with this, Like that's insane.
(49:17):
Back to Future Part three is nineteen ninety Death becomes
Hers ninety two, Forrest Scump is ninety four. Like wow,
so yeah, five.
Speaker 2 (49:25):
I'm giving it five two. I mean, it's it's hard
not to Like I could have been a jerk and
said four point five, but I'm not going to because
this is a great movie. It deserves the five and
I could repeat myself with everything that we've said already,
but it's there. Robert Zemechis should be heralded for this,
for this movie, like his direction, how he worked the
(49:46):
cinematography and the editing, and how it was almost like
a storybook in the way that it was shot and
edited together. That's something that we didn't really talk about.
But I love the transition, the transitions I should say,
between sections and scenes, and like when he's closing his
eyes and things really hard and then all of a
sudden we see young Forrest who opens his eyes. Just
little things like that. It's just really great transitions, and
(50:08):
you can tell that it was thought out that it
wasn't necessarily found in editing. It was like, no, this
is what we're going to do to move to this section.
We're going to have him wear a blue plaid shirt
in this scene and then he's going to wear something
similar in the next scene in order to kind of
help transition forward. It was just little things like that.
This was meticulous, This was well thought out. It was exact,
(50:28):
but yet it didn't feel cold and technical. So five
stars easy. Thank you guys so much for discussing this
movie tonight and Darren, what are we doing next week?
Speaker 1 (50:41):
That's right, we're here still in the nineties with Robert Zemeckis.
Next week we're going to be covering nineteen ninety seven's
Contact here on house Lights. Join the Revolution, Join the
net Party.
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