SO MANY TEARS!! First time watching Forrest Gump (1994)! Movie Reaction! 

I had to mute a minute of the audio for copyright reasons, so sorry!

I agree...the scene when Forrest is asking Jenny if young Forrest is smart...that is pure master level acting...amazing Tom Hanks

the thing with jenny running away is that it started with her abusive father. she learned to run away when things get tough and that behavior was too ingrained in her to stop later in life. same with her choice of partners. unfortunately with abuse victims, they keep choosing similar partners to the abuser and I think forest was way too kind for her (in her mind)

“Sometimes I guess there just aren’t enough rocks.” Jesus that kills me every time.

for reference, a "million dollar wound" means something serious enough to get you taken out of combat but not serious enough to leave any severe physical damage.

Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan) was influenced by his role to give his voice to the veterans, the permanently wounded, visible or not, and has since been doing charity work to help and aid these veterans. Check out any interview with him about this role and his work now. He is one of the most down-to-earth and humble person and I have huge respect for him and what he is doing.

Quite possibly the best movie reaction I've ever seen. It really, really was.

jenny prayed to be a bird and when she died and forrest was talking to her you can hear birds flying. also the feather element. she got her wish

"I had your Daddy's house bull dozed to the ground" From roasting his principal to the end, Forrest was savage. This movie won ALL the awards and rightfully so. Tom Hanks crossed over into legend with this film. The technology they used to insert him into all of that old historical footage was revolutionary and still holds up beautifully today.

I keep watching this film throughout my life and when he says "I miss you, Jenny." it hits me harder every time as I've gotten older. Such a brilliant film.

14:51 It's a minor thing but you're one of the few reactors who seemed to immediately grasp the notion of returned mail. So many other folks were excited by that scene thinking Jenny wrote him all those letters.

The part that rips my heart open is when he asks, "is he smart or is he..." Forrest knows precisely how limited he is.

"Why does she act like this?" Because she is broken.

First you think Forrest backs away from the idea of having a kid but then you realize it wasn't out of selfishness or contempt but that he was afraid a kid of his could have the same burden he had and would have to make the same experiences of being bullied because of his (lack of) intelligence.

Finally someone who reacts to this movie they way it is meant to be perceived and understands the depth of the themes and the ideas being presented. And, finally someone who understands Jenny and her actions, and how they accurately capture the experiences and responses of such horrific abuse.

to me the most amazing detail is that Lt. Dan not only got his life together, he accepted his past and forgave. He showed up to the wedding married to a vietnamese woman. Now that is forgiveness

It took me years to realize that when Jenny left, it broke his heart.....so...he ran. He ran to get past his broken heart. He was running to ease his own pain.

I commented already but wanted to again to talk about Jenny. A lot of viewers dislike her for running from Forrest but I think she's a very tragic character. She was abused by her father all throughout childhood. Her only friend was a mentally challenged Forrest. Every time she gets close to him romantically she hates herself, why? Because she feels she is doing just what her father did, taking advantage of Forrest who doesn't know any better. So she runs away, and she falls into destructive behaviors time and again because of her traumas, even considering suicide off that balcony. It isn't until the end when she realizes the truth of what Forrest said "He might not be a smart man, but he knows what love is." Forrest loves her, and she loves him, and that's ok. And then they tragically just have months together, tops, until she dies.

It's refreshing to see someone who's not too hard on Jenny. Most reactors really dislike her viscously! Very few people seem to understand the lasting effects of abuse and the steps needed for healing. I always looked at this movie as an allegory for the 20th century history of the US in it's characters. Forrest seems to me to be moral compass and the best intentions of the country, Lt. Dan is the military culture, adapting to the events in Vietnam, PTSD evident in fighting people, and the finding alliances where there were once enemies (I read Lt Dan's fiance as Japanese-American). Jenny, then, is all the mistakes and growing pains the country has had to reconcile as the century churned forward, besides being a well-written character reflecting a reconcililation story-arc. Of course, this could be the rum talking :P Great channel, good content, will keep watching!

Mari. This is the BEST. REACTION. I’VE. EVER. SEEN. I wasn’t sure if being Belgian would effect your interpretation, but your reactions are spot on.

I really appreciate that finally I found a reaction where Jenny didn't get shit on like many other reaction videos. It's as if people forget the level of fucked up her childhood was. We have no idea if she even got any sort of help for it either.

While the film isn't a substitute for a history lesson, it introduced me to so many American historical figures/events/music/trends from the 50s, 60s, and 70s that I knew nothing about prior to watching this the first time when I was a kid.

Forrest's mother is played by 2 time Academy Award Best Actress winner Sally Field - a fantastic actor.

That moment when he asks Jenny "is he smart..or is he.." always leaves me in shambles...

Actually I think it should be noted that everyone in Forrest's life eventually felt like he had helped them come to grips with life and had somehow made their life better. For his mama she finally felt she could let go because she knew Forrest was gonna be okay. For Bubba, he died in Forrest's arms but very peacefully knowing that Forrest was going to fulfill his dream of being a shrimp fisherman. For Lt. Dan, he was so depressed after the war he was ready to cash in his chips. But with prolonged exposure to Forrest's unrelenting optimism Dan eventually realized that life wasn't over and he went on to find happiness in both his work and his personal life. Finally, for Jenny she eventually learned to stop pushing Forrest away and allowed him to love her. For a guy who had no idea what he was doing Forrest sure impacted a lot of lives in a positive way.

The scene when he talks to Jenny's grave gets me every single time.

I don’t know if I cried harder watching the movie or watching such a heart felt reaction.

All of the tragedies, all of the big events he found his way into -- all of that was nothing compared to his pure, consistent and persistent redemptive love. That's what this movie is about: love is more important than anything that the cruel, bizarre world can throw at us. The best line in the whole movie is "I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is." He did -- maybe better than most of us.

This is the best reaction ever to this movie. Thank you.

Jenny was just like a feather floating on the wind all accidental like.

Jenny was a definitely emotionally damaged from all the abuse in her childhood. Her only way of dealing with stress of any kind is to run away. She even tells forest to run away if there’s ever trouble. Fortunately for her, he never did.

"Is that hot sauce on his helmet" It could have been soldiers would carry things in the scrim band of their helmet covers generally it would be things like bug juice or gun oil but items from their C-rations would find their way there too. The Tabasco hot sauce company supplied 2oz bottles of their product to the military wrapped in "the camouflaged cookbook" with recipes for using their product. A little know reason why Forrest and Bubba were in the military was "Project 100,000" the military lowered its standards to meet manpower requirements. It was promoted as a way to give training and opportunity to the uneducated and poor. In reality it was a way to send unpopular people to an unpopular war.

This movie references a lot of events throughout US history and popular culture including some obscure ones. I'm going to try and provide timestamps and context for them: @3:17 Polio was a crippling disease that could keep you from walking. Franklin Roosevelt famously had polio but hid it during his presidency. @3:25 Infamous hate group that was popular in the South if you wanted to get anywhere in politics or business. Disliked blacks, immigrants, Catholics, etc. @5:00 Elvis Presley in his rock music took some of the music and dance styles that was present in black folk music and made it a little more mainstream, if not still controversial. @8:06 Alabama Crimson Tide football game. College football is bigger in the South, in part because until recently no major national teams were there. @8:24 In 1963 Governor George Wallace of Alabama did the symbolic "Stand at the Schoolhouse Door" to oppose racial desegregation of colleges, before stepping aside for federal troops who enforced it. This made him popular with segregationists in the Democrat Party (and among other things lead to the party "flip". Wallace ran for president in 1968 as a 3rd party candidate and lost, and while campaigning again in 1972 a failed assassination attempt left him wheelchair-bound for life. @9:40 Most college dorms here have "doubles" shared by 2. If it's crowded freshmen may be in triples or quads, or if you're in a special dorm maybe singles. Still very common though "suite" styles which are multiple singles with a shared common area and bathroom are popular too. @10:20 Meeting John F. Kennedy. First of many scenes where Forrest is inserted into real archive footage. @10:25 Football scholarships. Ideally athletes can get a scholarship to play as long as they pass classes. De facto, colleges make money off winning teams, and best players can infamously coast by barely attending class. @10:40 Vietnam War instituted a draft. It was very unpopular, especially compared to wars with meaning like WWII or Korea. Draft dodging was common. @14:10 Firebombing was extensive and chemicals like Agent Orange still cause birth defects in Vietnam. @15:19 PTSD. Lots of returning and injured vets were mistreated either because they weren't patriotic enough, or conversely by anti-war activists who saw them as murderers despite being drafted 18-25 year olds. This was also the first war the public at home could see the horrors of on TV, meaning anti-war realization. @16:00 SDS = Students for a Democratic Society. Berkeley and NorCal cities saw a lot of anti-war, and otherwise leftist youth movements in the 60's. At the same party as this scene, Black Panthers were a more aggressive black activist group. @16:35 Ping-Pong Diplomacy 1971. Nixon eventually visits China in 1972 and normalized relationships with the PRC @19:25 Hurricane Carmen, 1974, most destructive of the year @19:47 Bubba Gump Shrimp Company is actually a real restaurant chain now, inspired by the movie @20:20 Apple, the computer company, founded 1976 @22:40 Forrest's fame as a runner is inspired by Louis Michael Figueroa, who in 1982 ran from New Jersey to San Francisco in 60 days as a promise to a child with cancer. He raised money for the American Cancer Society. He later ran/walked several more times over the years for AIDS and later child abuse awareness. @24:10 Fans theorize Jenny caught HIV. "Some kind of virus", doctors don't know what it is. The 1980's really saw a lot of fear and confusion and ostracization about it, and it was effectively a death sentence with no treatment. @24:26 The Space Shuttle program ran from 1981-2011. Also, it's sweet that Dan got an Asian wife (symbolizing him being over the hatred of his time in Vietnam). Some others that were cut: The hotel scene where Forrest calls happens at the Watergate Hotel complex in DC. A group supporting Nixon's re-election broke into a Democrat party office to sabotage. Though Nixon won the 1972 re-election easily and was popular, he had tried to cover up the break-in (even though he was likely unaffiliated at first) and the investigations into the coverups would lead to his unpopularity and 1974 resignation. 1975, Lynette Fromme tried to kill President Gerald Ford. She was a member of the "Family" cult surrounding Charles Manson that had infamously indoctrinated mostly women and killed several celebrities notoriously Sharon Tate.

Have you seen THE SIXTH SENSE? The young lad who plays Forrest's son plays a lead role in that and he's fantastic. If you haven't seen it, that should be next on your list.

When she said "I"m sick forrest." and you were like "come on! stop it movie!"

"I have heard 'Run Forrest Run' but I don't know the context" when it comes to Forrest, it's EVERY context.

i'm a 6ft 3, 220 lbs lumberjack type dude, and this movie had me crying like baby. it's so, so good.

lol. Forest Gump can still make people cry in 2021. 💪

"Steel Magnolias" and "Fried Green Tomatoes" have a similar vibe to this film (likely to keep you both laughing and crying).

My favorite scenes are when Forrest and Jenny meet up again in the reflecting pond at the Lincoln Memorial and when Lt Dan arrives at the wedding.

3:32 "They act like a bunch of ghosts or spooks or somethin'" how can someone not love Forest??

The line about "is he smart or is he...." is the most heartbreaking, devastating line in the movie.

Thank you for understanding that Jenny was a victim of her circumstances and not a bad person ❤

One of the most emotional rollercoaster of a movie ever . I always cry when he tells Jenny they are sending him to Vietnam. But so many laughs too .

Yup, pretty much the same reaction I had. But I was sitting in a theater with hundreds of other people crying. The depth of the movie stayed with me for weeks. Makes you think about the things that happens in your own life and what you could accomplish. You are awesome, Mari!

Forrest Gump will always be my favorite movie of all time! I love how it portrays every movie genre. It makes you feel so many different emotions and really makes you think. He wasn’t a smart man but led a brilliant life.

I’m so glad you enjoyed this funny and sweet drama. Tom Hank was terrific in this, as was his talented costars. This film and your reaction to it clearly demonstrated you empathy and humanity. You are a really wonderful person, glasses or no glasses. I’m so glad you are on this Earth. Stay healthy and keep sharing those terrific movie and TV reactions.

Still crying trying to write this. Your reactions are very emotional and very real! I loved this movie and your heartfelt reaction! 🌎✌️

Oh and background info. So I'm a US Army combat veteran. The meals we get have tiny tabasco sauce bottles in them! And yes, the war scene is extremely realistic

Will Smith was originally casted to play Forest. He self admitted that he was incredibly happy he didn't take the role as he thought Hanks performance was untouchable

Me: I'm a grown-ass man, I can make it through this movie one time without completely breaking down. Forrest: Is he s-smart or is he.... Me: **drowning in my tears**

One of the greatest movies of all time. I got teary again just from the snippets in this video.

If this makes you cry, better watch Tom Hanks' the Green Mile.

In case you didn’t know, that coach in the black and white hat was Paul “Bear” Bryant. He is considered one of the greatest college football coaches of all time. He is also credited as the coach who helped end segregation at the University of Alabama. And that “angry little man” was George Wallace, a former governor of Alabama. My father still vaguely remembers hearing about the attempt on his life and of my grandfather saying “God dammit!” when he learned Wallace had survived. My family was and still is very much against everything he stood for.

What I always loved about the movie is the small nods and backwards references like the doctor and Dorothy Harris. They make things feel more real, really.

I have seen this movie a million times in my life. It has always been one of my dad's favouties, but YOU'RE MAKING ME CRY WATCHING YOU CRY

Thanks for reminding me how wonderful this movie is. I cried right along with you. I lived a lot of this movie - Elvis passed when I was in high school. I had tons of smiley face pins as a kid. Kennedy was assassinated on my birthday. My father went to Vietnam. I even worked for Apple for a while. Such an interesting way to experience these events through innocent eyes. ✌️

I been watching your reactions since Star Wars (artee dootee) and this was the single best most heartwarming reaction you’ve done. Great job.

Just seeing the brief reactions and clips made me cry all over again. This is such a powerful, soulful movie. A true masterpiece that covers so many topics. Loved the reaction video!

This movie is the only movie that makes me cry EVERY TIME! A masterpiece.

Your genuine, intelligent, observant and sympathetic reactions to this movie mark you as a very remarkable young woman. It would be quite something to know you personally. Please accept my genuine admiration and good wishes. I will continue to enjoy your reactions to other movies. :) May I respectfully suggest 'The Green Mile' as one you would greatly enjoy?

"I'm not a smart man but, I know what love is."

YOU ARE SO SWEET in your reactions throughout the movie. Perhaps missed by you is all the ways they placed Forest into American History scenes, but you definitely caught all the sweet spots of the movie. My wife and I didn't know much at all about the movie and also were surprised by how much history was in the movie. When I rewatched the whole movie again a year or two ago, from about the time Lt. Dan came to his wedding I was teary-eyed for the rest of the movie. Now I will look at some of your other reactions.

When he says "I miss you jenny".....it gets me EVERYTIME, I turn into a waterpark

When Bubba said, “I want go home.” I felt that one..I couldn’t control tears 😭

Dana says- Dang it all. This is why I never watched this movie after the first time. I'm a sobbing mess just watching your reaction. BTW the parts of this movie that took place in Forrest's home town were filmed in the beautiful, old, historic town of Savannah, Georgia and there is a chain of restaurants called Bubba Gump Shrimp Company based in the Southern US. After starring in Forrest Gump and getting close with veterans while researching for his role, Gary Sinise (who played Lt. Dan) started his own band called The Lt. Dan Band. He also is very involved in charities that help active and retired/discharged soldiers, and his band has played for the troops at many, many USO shows over the years.

The part that always gets to me is when Jenny is in bed, right before she dies, and Forrest is telling her about all the beautiful places he visited. And then of course, seeing the birds fly up into the sky while Forrest is leaving Jenny's grave, symbolizing that Jenny is now finally the bird she always wanted to be. **sniff**

...life can be hard, but never give up living... that is what Forrest Gump is about for me...

The reason Jenny leaves all the time is because of her father, when she told forrest to run away, that's really what she does. She runs away from everything.

This movie has a great soundtrack!

GREAT reaction! Tom Hanks acting at 23:40 is perfect and makes me cry every time too.

Cool fact about Elvis is that he’s actually voiced by Kurt Russell in the Hound Dog scene which marks the second time he has played the king of Rock with the first being the movie Elvis (1979) directed by John Carpenter who is best known for Halloween (1978), Escape from New York (1981) also starting Russell and The Thing (1982), Kurt actually had a small role in one of Elvis’ movies back in the mid 60s playing a kid who kicked Presley in the shin so he can get a date with a nurse

dear, that's why it's an OSCAR winning movie

Recognizing actors *names?* Recognizing actors you *see?* Finally *getting* references everyone uses? It's addicting. (so is watching *reactions* to classic movies! 😅)

At the end, their son was played by Haley Joel Osment, who featured opposite Bruce Willis in in The Sixth Sense and has been acting on Broadway, TV, and movies for much of his life. Jenny was, of course, Robin Wright who played Buttercup in the Princess Bride (and many other roles). This was a huge movie hit in 1994, second only to the original Disney's Lion King. It slammed the Oscars, winning 6 statues total, including Best Picture, Director, and Actor, Tom Hanks.

I've watched 15 Forrest Gump reactions in the past week. Your's is my favorite and I just re-watched your entire reaction again. So many people do contemporary movies and it's nice to see older movies or ones that no one has done. Some day someone will do my favorite movie that is quite old and is not all about combat, but has a love story too. It's called Sergeant York and it's a true story. Great job! I'm your latest subscriber.

That scene where Forrest describes the different skies he's seen to Jenny gets me everytime ❤😥

Holy shit, I haven't cried that much in years.

Best reaction to this movie ever! The intensity of your reactions just says what a classic movie this is, so well done, so thought and emotion provoking.

I'm swedish and actually first saw Forest Gump in school. I think the teacher saw it as a great film to motivate you and learn from Forrests accomplishments in life despite his struggles. And also great for learning english as well because we use subtitles and don't translate movies unless they're for kids. A classic movie and I love it to this day!

"The King's Speech" is another really good one.

12:42 "im so curious where this is gonna go" Everywhere. We're going everywhere.

I always loved the end because of how the movie implies that Forrest just sat there on that very same spot the whole day waiting for little Forrest to get home. As his only job and the most important one was being a dad.

The power of brilliant writing along with great acting. This movie is such a Rollercoaster of emotions. It is up there with another of my favorites know as The Shawshank Redemption. The character of Jenny shows how childhood trauma can be carried throughout one's lifetime.

Mari: "they're gonna use him for propaganda" Good catch. Most reactors never catch/comment on that.

When he met his son for the first time, it was the first and only time in his entire life that he recognized his low IQ as a limitation. It broke my soul.

THIS MOVIE WAS BASED ON THE BOOK 'FORREST GUMP' WRITTEN BY WINSTON GROOM. The book is quite different from the movie. In the book Forrest becomes an astronaut, goes into space, and his space-capsule lands in Congo, Africa and he teaches a gorilla how to play chess, among many other differences from the movie. Forrest is also a professional wrestler in the book, etc etc.

Jenny's way to solve a problem was to run away. Listen to what she tell him. "Run Forrest, RUN!" "Don't try to be a hero, you just run".

you should react to cast away, if you haven't seen it already.

Yeah we should have warned her to wear waterproof makeup 😂

The funiest thing is how Forest reacts to hearing he has a kid.. he is so worried his child will turn out like him.. but if you list his accomplishments, he did more than most people! Taught Elvis how to dance. Got a college Scholarship playing football Did so well they won a championship and met the President. Joined the Army. Saved a lot of mens lives Got the purple heart medal Met another President Represented the USA in a competition against the Chinese on an olympic level Started his own company which became big in most north-eastern states and was worth millions. Invested in APPLE before it became big and never needed money again. Gave his business partners half of the money to the partner (Bubba) next of kin Married the love of his life... Just goes to show, you can't judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree. Forest (Although fictional) did more than most able minded people

You're such a lovely person...that really shows through this video. One of the most honest reactions I've ever seen. 💞

Dangit! You made me cry all over again watching you cry while you're watching a movie I cry over. As others have said, thanks for not hating Jenny. After being badly mistreated in childhood, I think Jenny felt she was not worthy of genuine love.

This was such a nice reaction video! I'm really glad you enjoyed the movie so much; it's really nice to see someone get so emotionally moved by a movie. ^_^ Seeing Haley Joel Osment at the end (as Forest's son) made me think of the movie Secondhand Lions. If you've never seen that one, you might consider adding it to your list of movies to react to. It's another movie that does a good job taking the viewer on a roller coaster of ups and downs. It's a really enjoyable, moving, and fun movie.

Ive seen this film many times but I never made that connection at the end....until you said, "she wished she was a bird". Gratitude for that observation. Well done.

I usually hate reaction channels, but you’re really good because you give commentary on what you’re watching.

you’re my favourite movie reactor

Boy I cried almost on a reaction... This tells how good this movie is

Seen this in the theatre in 1994. Always thought it was a feel-good movie.🎥 Then I recently watched this video along with Mary and was moved by her emotional reactions. Always found crying to be very therapeutic when you need to get something out...

Forrest's childhood and wedding are set in southern Alabama. The author of the story grew up in Mobile, Alabama. The director also directed Back To The Future.