Forrest Gump was the personification of an old adage from Robert Heinlein: “There’s no such thing as luck. Only a good ability to deal with a statistical universe.”
Yes, Forrest was lucky that all the other Shrimp Boats were destroyed. But he still had to put himself in the position to be lucky. And the Shrimp Boat story emphasises my point: The reason he ‘got lucky’ is because he didn’t quit and sail into port when the other Shrimpers did. He kept trying.
That’s actually a very valuable message, and it applies to the real world. For instance, Bill Gates got ‘lucky’ in that IBM chose DOS, but first he had to put himself in the situation of beng a young man busting his ass to build a software company when his peers were out drinking and partying.
:rolleyes:
GEEZE
Gump didn’t intend to be anti-anti establishment. How many movies out there tend to look as if they are anti establishment!? It’s ok for one not the other? Just because Jenny’s storyline ends up the way it does, isn’t saying the whole anti V war group was messed up. It didn’t show the war in the best light either. And it’s not as if Jenny’s story couldn’t have happened.
About Gump getting something for nothing. I know what you’re saying but that happens in real life… lottery tickets? He did good with the money, many people who win the big bucks don’t spend it on their community. And it’s a fantasy… I don’t REALLY think a boat would take out a dock. The thing about Gump was he saw door #1 and door #2 without looking too deep into it. A simple mind can sometimes make a more rational choice. The mans love live sucked, until a little while before his love died. He went threw many hardships… the kids from grade school to college, horrors and hard work before and in the war, saw his best friend die, was criticized going home, called stupid all his life, his girl and all her poop, working with shrimp, mowing lawns, building churches.
I’m glad he was luck, if he were real, I would like the guy… and helps people with his wealth. I would be happy if God invests in good people who spread their wealth and kindness…
…ok, look, I could argue this all night. I think it’s a great movie, and it taught some of us that just because people are different, doesn’t mean they should be place on a lower level. He wasn’t stupid IMHO, he was just different.
Gee and most of the comments here are about how all the big budget films win Best Picture and the one year a smaller film … a comedy no less … wins and it’s considered a bad thing. …
Of the Best Picture nominees that year, I probably would have ranked “Star Wars” second. The other ones were “The Goodbye Girl”, “Julia”, and “The Turning Point”.