The story of the Forrest Gump begins with a scene where Forrest Gump, a man with worn-out shoes, is waiting for a bus at a bus stop. At that moment, he notices a Black woman with clean shoes sitting beside him, creating a striking contrast to Forrest. He then starts chatting with the woman and invites her to join him on a journey through a flashback of his life, from childhood to the present.
Forrest as a child (played by Haley Joel Osment) is portrayed as needing to wear special braces to help him walk and carry out daily activities. It is shown that his mother (Sally Field) is trying to enroll Forrest in school, and it becomes evident that Forrest is a special needs child with an IQ of only 75. His mother takes excellent care of him and always reminds him that he is no different from other children his age.
Forrest’s mother is a single parent in Greenbow, Alabama, who raises Forrest on her own. To make ends meet, she turns their home into a boarding house for travelers. One evening, when she calls Forrest for dinner, he is not in his room. It turns out Forrest is in the room of a young man (Peter Dobson), a tenant, who is playing the guitar. Forrest is captivated by the melody the young man is playing and begins to dance.
Forrest’s unique dance style, even with his walking braces, inspires the young man, which later becomes a signature of his stage performances. Several years later, the young man becomes world-famous with a song titled Can’t Help Falling in Love. Yes, you read that title correctly — the young man was none other than Elvis Presley, the eccentric legendary singer we know today.
One morning, young Forrest meets a girl his age named Jenny (Hanna Rose Hall). The girl offers Forrest a seat on the bus as they head to school. That encounter becomes the beginning of their lifelong friendship. One day, Forrest is suddenly bullied by a group of mischievous boys. Jenny tells Forrest to run as fast as he can to escape them.
Following Jenny’s advice, Forrest tries to run despite still using his leg braces. Although the boys chase him on bicycles, who could have guessed that Forrest would run so fast—like the wind—that they couldn’t catch him. From this incident, Forrest realizes that his physical condition has healed, and he no longer needs to use his braces. This becomes the first miracle in Forrest’s life.
Years pass, and the two grow older, with Forrest now played by Tom Hanks and Jenny by Robin Wright. The story shows Forrest experiencing a deja vu moment with Jenny. Once again, he is bullied by the same boys who tormented him as a child. Again, Jenny tells Forrest to run to avoid them, though this time, they are chasing him in a car.
Forrest runs so fast that the car cannot catch up, just like when he was chased on bicycles as a child. He keeps running, eventually bursting onto a football field, where his speed outmatches the amateur players in his town. Unexpectedly, this leads to Forrest being noticed by the local football team, who recruits him as a key player to win a local football competition.
Winning the local football competition as a star player earns Forrest a college scholarship to the University of Alabama. One evening, Forrest visits Jenny at a women’s dormitory. Jenny shares her dream of becoming a famous musician. Meanwhile, Forrest continues playing football, eventually becoming part of the U.S. national team and even meeting President Kennedy at the White House.
After spending five years in college, Forrest finally graduates from the University of Alabama and decides to join the military. There, he meets Benjamin Buford Blue, known as Bubba (Mykelti Williamson), a Black man who becomes his closest friend in the army. Bubba often talks about his dream of becoming a shrimp businessman after completing his military service. He wishes to give his mother a better life so she wouldn’t have to work as a maid to enjoy shrimp.
One night in the barracks, one of Forrest’s friends gives him an adult magazine. Inside the magazine, Forrest sees a photo of Jenny along with a narrative stating that she was expelled from her college after her provocative photos circulated. Deeply concerned, Forrest visits Jenny at a nightclub and rescues her from an incident of harassment. He then tells Jenny that he has been assigned to Vietnam, where he will serve on the frontlines of the war.
As always, Jenny advises Forrest that if he ever finds himself in trouble, he must keep running. Upon arriving in Vietnam, Forrest and Bubba are placed under the command of Lieutenant Dan Taylor (Gary Sinise), who teaches them many strategies for surviving in combat. Before long, a fierce battle erupts between the American and Vietnamese forces, leading to numerous casualties and injuries among the soldiers.
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Using his extraordinary speed, Forrest manages to save many soldiers, including Bubba and Lieutenant Dan. Tragically, Bubba succumbs to his gunshot wounds, while Lieutenant Dan loses both of his legs. Although Forrest saves him, Lieutenant Dan feels bitter and blames Forrest, expressing his frustration that he couldn’t die alongside his comrades. To lift the spirits of injured soldiers at the hospital, Forrest starts playing table tennis (ping pong) with his fellow troops, bringing moments of joy amidst their hardships.
Forrest played ping pong every day, even when he didn’t have a partner. It soon became clear that Forrest had a hidden talent as a ping pong player. The story continues with the soldiers returning home to America, where Forrest is awarded a medal for his heroic actions on the battlefield. Forrest later reunites with Jenny, his childhood friend. She shares with him the story of her life and how she is currently living.
Jenny is now part of the Hippie community, campaigning for peace. Unfortunately, their reunion is short-lived as Jenny must continue traveling across America with her group. Before parting ways, Forrest asks Jenny to return to Greenbow once her mission is complete. Forrest deeply wishes to spend time with Jenny again in their hometown, just like the old days.
The story moves forward as Forrest continues playing ping pong, this time to entertain war veterans. Recognizing his extraordinary talent, the government selects Forrest to represent the U.S. national team in a table tennis match in China. Upon his return, Forrest becomes something of a celebrity, even appearing on a program alongside John Lennon of the legendary band The Beatles. Forrest then reconnects with Lieutenant Dan, who is now homeless and destitute.
Meanwhile, Forrest is invited to the White House by the President to receive an award for his achievements in table tennis and is gifted a luxury hotel. However, shortly after, the President resigns due to a scandal. Forrest decides to leave the military to fulfill Bubba’s dream of starting a shrimp business. Using the earnings he has saved over time, Forrest purchases a shrimp boat and names it Jenny.
Not long after, Lieutenant Dan visits Forrest to help him run the shrimp business. One night, Hurricane Carmen strikes, devastating the American coastline. Remarkably, Forrest’s boat is the only one to survive the storm. After the storm passes, they successfully establish the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. Unfortunately, Forrest must take a break from the business because his mother falls ill.
Forrest’s mother is diagnosed with cancer and passes away shortly thereafter. Lieutenant Dan then invests the profits from the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company into a startup that would later be known as Apple. Meanwhile, Forrest chooses a new career as a volunteer groundskeeper at his former college. Forrest can afford this relaxed lifestyle because his investment in Apple becomes a huge success, making both him and Lieutenant Dan extremely wealthy.
Jenny eventually returns to Greenbow to undergo rehabilitation for drug addiction. When she meets Forrest again, she gives him a pair of shoes as a gift. This gesture gives Forrest the courage to confess his love for her, although Jenny initially rejects him. However, later that night, Jenny sneaks into Forrest’s room and admits that she loves him too. The two then share an intimate moment together.
The next day, Jenny leaves Forrest again without any clear explanation. Feeling empty after losing the two people he loves most—Jenny and his mother—Forrest spends his days running across state lines. His actions make him famous over the course of two years, gathering followers like a prophet. Eventually, after running for 3 years and 2 months, Forrest decides to stop and returns home to Alabama.
Forrest then receives a letter from Jenny asking him to meet her in Savannah, Georgia. It turns out that at the beginning of the film, Forrest was waiting for a bus to go see Jenny, wearing the worn-out shoes she had once given him. While recounting his story, as described earlier, the listeners at the bus stop change—from the indifferent Black woman at the start, to an old man who thinks Forrest is making it up, to an elderly woman who listens patiently.
The elderly woman tells Forrest that Jenny’s address is just five blocks away from the bus stop. Without hesitation, Forrest sprints as fast as he can to the address. Upon arriving at Jenny’s home, he finally reunites with his beloved. To his shock, he meets a little boy named Forrest, who is his biological son from their intimate relationship before Jenny left.
Jenny reveals that she has contracted a terminal illness caused by an incurable virus. Forrest and Jenny decide to get married, but not long after their wedding, Jenny passes away. Forrest is left to raise their son alone. He teaches the boy all the wonderful things Jenny once taught him. Such is Forrest’s life—living without a plan, simply following the path life sets for him.
