*Gump for President* FIRST TIME WATCHING: Forrest Gump (1994) REACTION (Movie Commentary)

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[@Sal_Sal27]

When Forrest was at the microphone, he said, "Well, there's only one thing that I can say about the war in Vietnam. In Vietnam, your best good friend can get shot. Sometimes, when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes, they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. And that's all I have to say about that."

[@tazmom0]

People gotta go a little easier on Jenny. She was physically, mentally, and sexually abused as a little girl. She runs from people she's close to because as a child, people closest to her, hurt her.

[@clevelandbci9562]

Dude, you trashing Jenny was killing me. She never once intentionally "used" Forrest. She knew he was wealthy for years and never took a dime from him, not even child support. It took her dying to reach out to him.

[@5hanesBoard]

Jenny's behaviour is tragically common in childhood abuse victims. You grow up with no selfworth and serious trust issues. If only there were more Forests Gumps in the world to care for all the damaged Jenny's.

[@mck318]

It’s Forrest’s son. Without ever meeting his dad, little Forrest had the same mannerisms as him. Jenny had a lot of issues but she wasn’t a manipulative liar. It was never her intention to manipulate or use Forrest and she kept pushing him away for his own good because he was such a pure soul and she was so messed up. But because she was nice to him at a time when no one else was, his loyalty to her was forever. When Forrest looked at her he saw the sweet little girl who said he could sit next to her on the bus.

[@PixelPro-4000]

Jenny wasn't a bad person. Forrest saw that. She was abused, it messed her up. She made poor decisions because of the impact of what she endured as a child. Much like Forrest, her journey took her through a number of challenges before she found her way.

[@fordstevens6805]

I’m sorry but I’m shocked at how badly you’ve misinterpreted the Jenny character. I’m use to people having a gut response of annoyance for how her character cause Forrest pain but they usually can also appreciate how much joy she brought to his life. She was his only friend throughout their childhood and has always cared about him. She loves him as much as someone who learned about love and how men treat her through alcoholic abusive molester of a father! As a child her only defense was to run away and she kept doing that every time her life was too overwhelming for her. It’s all she knew and that’s what she always told Forrest to do as well. In his case it helped lead him to playing football in college and surviving Vietnam. She never felt that she was worthy of his love. That’s why she would run away from him throughout her dark years of drug abuse and abusive men. She tried to spare his feelings because she knew that she’d only hurt him again. She doesn’t learn to accept love until she has a child of her own. And she never asked him for money or really did anything to harm him other than not being able to love him the same way back. She is her own person and unfortunately had to take her own dark and painful path in life. You are upset with her for not choosing to live the life that Forrest wanted for her. If that’s what she wanted and was able to accept her life would have been a lot happier but that’s not how life works. Even his mother advised him that You can’t decide someone else life for them. They have to figure it for themselves. Seriously take a moment and think about your own past relationships. At some point I’m sure that someone really nice has loved you and for whatever reason you just didn’t feel the same way. Should everyone judge you because you weren’t able to return that love and start a life with them?

[@grendelz]

When he realises its his son, its one of the most tear jerking scenes in movie history.

[@patrickfoster8335]

Jenny never used Forest. She had issues. And destroyed her life due to them. She didn’t feel good enough to be with him.

[@ToniMcGinty]

I echo everyone´s defence here of Jenny. It´s not that she´s too good for Forrest. She thinks Forrest is too pure for her. He is basically the feather from the bookends of the film, floating through time and space, going wherever the wind blows, whereas she, while wanting to be a bird, something that the end symbolises her becoming, spends her life represented by her house: surrounded by evil and tragedy, unable to move, until Forrest tears the walls down. However, ironically, it is her encouraging Forrest to "run", which is basically her life philosophy, that sets him off on his incredible life.

[@dubbleplusgood]

It took me a few rewatches over the years before I really clued in to how badly messed up Jenny's traumatic childhood affected her adult life. It wasn't so much that Forrest was too good for Jenny but more that she never felt good enough to be with Forrest.

[@83gemm]

“That was a pretty good deep fake for back then.”

[@nickevans7477]

I have a theory that Jenny wanted to contact Forrest when she found out she was pregnant but couldn't contact him for over 2 years because he was running and hard to find, and she couldn't go looking because she had a child to care for. When Forrest finally got home, she was able to contact him. Perhaps, her scrap book was her notes to try to find out where he would be. I don't think she was just dumping Forrest Jr. on him just because she found out she was dying. Just a theory.

[@clevelandbci9562]

"She really needs help..... Bet I know the first person she's gonna ask..."

[@wittynamehere_]

He was definitely Forrest's son. That is why they included the scene where they are watching TV and have the same physical mannerisms. Jenny did a lot of self-destructive things that hurt Forrest's feelings, but she was always his protector. Even while she was hurting herself, she was trying to protect him by pushing him away. She believed he was too good and too pure, and she was tarnished and not worthy of his love. I usually agree with your reactions, but I think that although you recognized Jenny's abuse by her father as a child, you didn't see how it shaped her as she grew up. In addition to all of that, this was not a time period where mental health was really even considered, even after a trauma. We are obviously still not 100% there yet in recognizing trauma and abuse, and we have not gone far enough in removing the stigmas surrounding mental health. But as it pertains to this film, Jenny is really a tragic character who wants love but feels she is unworthy of it. We are supposed to feel frustrated and disappointed by her choices and behavior because we know she is a good person and is worthy of love. That is why we see her through the lens of "reality" with Forrest's storytelling overlapping it. We can trust that Forrest wouldn't love Jenny if she weren't really a good person because he is drawn to good people. Lt. Dan was pretty awful to Forrest several times in the film, but it is excused because of his trauma and because we know he is ultimately a good person in tremendous pain. It is very frustrating when people don't recognize the same in the character of Jenny. The fact that being pregnant and having a child helped Jenny finally confront her abuse and start making healthy decisions, rather than perpetuating the abuse or sinking further into her trauma is something we are meant to be happy about. You are the second reactor I have seen that immediately questioned Forrest's paternity when it was something that was clearly portrayed as certain. Frankly, Jenny had no reason to lie. Forrest would have married her and loved her son as his own regardless of who his father was. Jenny would have known that, too.

[@ilove6kies]

You know I totally understand your disdain for Jenny. I didn’t like her character at all when I watched the movie years ago for the first time. But then I understood her better. She was just really messed up and she felt she was unworthy of Forrest and happiness. She did love Forrest and unfortunately it took her a long time to find that out.

[@TangentOmega]

The identical head tilt by Forest and his son is supposed to illustrate that they are related.

[@LiveBeatsDrumBass-Techno-House]

The thing that people don't get about Jenny and her actions is she is a child of sexual abuse. People like Jenny are quite often self-destructive and unintentionally hurt those around them. It takes great strength to live with trauma like that.

[@JamesASharp]

Great reaction bro! Tom Hanks' monologue over Jenny's grave is one of the greatest tearjerking moments in the history of cinema. Some people are now saying that this film is overrated. But, it's undeniable that Forrest Gump is a classic.

[@wolfkniteX]

One of the neat details in the movie that I heard of recently was that if you notice Forrest's Jersey when he's playing football, you'll notice that it's completely clean compared to the other players because no one's been able to tackle him to the ground.