Movie · 1994 · Comedy, Drama, Romance · 2h 22m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 8.9/10 (6.3M ratings)
The world will never be the same once you've seen it through the eyes of Forrest Gump.
Overview
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Ratings
Curator score: 8.9/10
IMDb: 8.8/10
Letterboxd: 4.17/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 75%
Metacritic: 82
TMDB: 8.5/10
Director
Robert Zemeckis
Production
Paramount Pictures, The Steve Tisch Company, Wendy Finerman Productions
Cast
Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Conner Humphreys, Hanna Hall, Haley Joel Osment, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Rebecca Williams, Bob Penny, Harold G. Herthum, George Kelly, John Randall, Sam Anderson, Margo Moorer, Ione M. Telech, Christine Seabrook, John Worsham, Peter Dobson
Where to watch
Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential
Curator Review
Verdict
A hugely accessible crowd-pleaser that blends sentimental romance, broad comedy, and American history into an emotional, easy-to-watch package. It’s especially effective if you want a big studio film with iconic performances, quotable scenes, and a strong tearjerker payoff, though its politics and nostalgia can feel overly tidy or divisive.
Best for
viewers who like heartfelt crowd-pleasers
fans of nostalgic historical sweep
people looking for an emotional tearjerker
audiences who enjoy classic 90s studio filmmaking
Skip if
you want politically sharp or ambiguous storytelling
you dislike sentimental, manipulative drama
you’re tired of Americana nostalgia
you prefer irony-heavy or formally experimental films
Overview
Forrest Gump is one of the defining mainstream films of the 1990s: polished, emotionally direct, and built to move a huge audience. It turns a simple character premise into a sprawling life story, using comedy, romance, and historical pageantry to keep the momentum high while Tom Hanks anchors everything with warmth and sincerity.
Worth noting
What makes it endure is how efficiently it delivers feeling. The movie is packed with memorable set pieces, from the bus stop framing device to the Vietnam sequences to the final stretch of quiet grief and parenthood. Even viewers who resist its worldview often respond to its craftsmanship, pacing, and the sheer force of its emotional beats.
Bottom line
At the same time, it’s also a film that invites pushback. Its version of American history is selective and comforting, and its moral universe can feel overly neat. If you’re open to a big, unabashedly sentimental studio drama, though, it remains an easy recommendation and a major piece of pop-culture cinema.
Top Letterboxd reviews
shay (5★) · 15189 likes
when he finally saw forrest jr. and he was like "is he smart?" i was like oh great now i gotta get up and get the tissues to wipe these ugly tears away
Tentin Quarantino ☭ (0.5★) · 9255 likes
Move over, Triumph of the Will. We've got a fresh new load of propaganda!
For a movie that acts almost like a travelogue for how awesome America is, don't you think it's odd that the story centers around your average American - some random, low-intelligence nobody?
The theme of this movie is simple: Do as you're told.
That's all Forrest does in the whole movie, and he ends up a famous millionaire entrepreneur war hero athlete and pop culture icon.… more
Neil Bahadur (1★) · 7391 likes
This is like, some kind of weird, conservative fantasy. If watching this served any good purpose, it's a possibly vital reminder that the Clinton era was not as progressive as many of us might like to remember - the latter half of the 20th century in America through the eyes of a reactionary, nearly 50 years of social tumult regarded as just a brief phase of unrest before everything returns to 'normal,' - the Vietnam War, Black Panthers, and social… more This is like, some kind of weird, conservative fantasy. If watching this served any good purpose, it's a possibly vital reminder that the Clinton era was not as progressive as many of us might like to remember - the latter half of the 20th century in America through the eyes of a reactionary, nearly 50 years of social tumult regarded as just a brief phase of unrest before everything returns to 'normal,' - the Vietnam War, Black Panthers, and social… more
sawah 🦖 (5★) · 6780 likes
No you know what i AM gonna review Forrest Gump. I think the ~letterboxd~ criticisms are valid but when Forrest sees his son and starts crying and says “Is he smart?” or when he says “I may not be a smart man, but I know what love is” or “I GOTTA FIND BUBBA” and when lieutenant Dan does that backstroke in the sunset or when he says “maybe it’s both” or when he teaches Elvis to dance or when Dan shows up to his wedding or when the lady at the bus stop likes his story or when he runs from ocean to ocean or when
Sabrina 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ (4.5★) · 6377 likes
“Nothing good comes from going online. You get online and see they hated Forrest Gump. Freakin’ best movie ever.”- Ray Romano, The Big Sick
Welcome to Film Twitter, Mr. Romano.