Monday Movie Moments: Forrest Gump

Welcome to a new weekly feature here at Movies With Abe. There are great movies, and then there are great scenes. Ideally, the two come as a package deal, but sometimes there’s just a scene that’s memorable all by itself. Each week, I’ll be taking a look at a formative movie moment that may be notable for its style, content, technique, or something else altogether. Minor spoilers will be alluded to in each edition of the series, so please stop reading if you’ve somehow avoided seeing the movie in question.

The 1994 Best Picture winner, which also scored the second consecutive Best Actor Oscar for star Tom Hanks, has many spectacular scenes that make it unforgettable, but there’s one early on that serves as a catalyst for much of Forrest’s life. As a young boy, Forrest finds himself the subject of much mockery, and even physical violence from bullies, and, at the suggestion of his kindly crush Jenny, he takes off running. His determination and strict adherence to the instructions given to him allows the braces on his legs to break off as he outpaces his pursuers and leaves them in the dust. While this scene might be thought of as corny or overdone to some, it’s a positive, if fantastical, representation of perseverance. It also leads to significant and humorous events later in the film, such as Forrest’s career as a football player where no one from the opposing team can catch him, or even stop him from running off the field, and when he just decides to run across America and grows a beard in the process. This is a wonderful, extremely endearing film, and this scene is what kicks off that sweet sentimentality.