Forrest Gump

When Robert Zemeckis is doing good work he can be an excellent entertainer. That was true of Back to the Future, but he's pushing it with Forrest Gump. He makes devastating subjects the topic of a heartwarming tale like it was any romance. Many moments in the movie make you smile on the outside and in, but Zemeckis glides over everything and gives each subject the most innocent context. Even good comedy has to make the subject stand for something. Zemeckis' innocence borders on offense. Spike Lee has always been complaining of Zemeckis' continous infusion of whites into black history. In Back to the Future, Michael J. Fox is the reason Chuck Berry does what he does. In Forrest Gump, a young Gump gives Elvis Presley his moves, not southern black music and dance. Back to the Future seems truly innocent because Fox is in a time warp and borrowing from Berry to influence Berry, but Gump is a step over the line. It seems innocent but it starts putting assumptions into viewers minds about the history of rock n roll. Zemeckis' glad handing of other topics strikes a similar unnerving trigger. It's sad some high schools use this film as a history lesson. Tom Hanks, fresh off an excellent job in Philadephia, shows he can be a physical actor here. Nothing more.