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From his beginning days in stage performances of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew and Hamlet to his recent role in The Phoenician Scheme and the upcoming Toy Story 5, Tom Hanks has established himself as one of the most recognized actors in Hollywood. Over the past five decades, Hanks has appeared in iconic films like Saving Private Ryan and Apollo 13 and added multiple Oscars to his name, and one of Hanks’ best movies ever just arrived on multiple platforms at once.
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With a 95% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, Forrest Gump is Hanks’ fourth-highest-rated movie, and it even earned him his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar win after Philadelphia. The iconic movie started streaming on Netflix on December 4th, just days after it joined the lineups at both Paramount+ and Tubi on December 1st. The movie chronicles the history of the United States from the 1950s to the ’70s from the perspective of Hanks’ titular character, an Alabama man with a low IQ who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart. Forrest Gump was a massive hit when it was released, grossing a total of $678 million to become the second-highest-grossing film of 1994 and picking up 13 Oscar nominations, six of which it won, including Best Picture.
Forrest Gump Is a Masterpiece That Gets Worse With Age
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Forrest Gump became a cultural phenomenon for a reason. The movie is the ultimate underdog story, and its sentimental, fable-like storytelling made it easy for viewers to connect with the film on an emotional level. Combined with strong performances from its cast, memorable quotes, and a sweeping, episodic look at American history through groundbreaking visual effects, the movie quickly cemented its status as a masterpiece and secured a lasting legacy.
Three decades on, Forrest Gump is still a deeply emotional and moving film that serves as a time capsule for the culture and events of the era it depicts, and its impact as a cultural phenomenon can’t be overstated. But re-evaluations in recent years have sparked a debate over whether or not the film has aged well. On the surface, some special effects haven’t held up, and the movie doesn’t quite deliver on the depth it seems to have. On a deeper level, arguments have been made that Forrest Gump whitewashes and oversimplifies American history, reducing complex events to a simplistic, positive narrative. On top of that, the film’s portrayal of disabilities and female characters is increasingly seen as problematic.
Overall, the movie is one that will always be beloved and nostalgic and hold a place among Hanks’ best movies, but viewed with a modern lens, Forrest Gump doesn’t hold up as well as some other films of the period.
What’s Streaming in December?
December is a great month to sign up for streaming services, because there are plenty of awesome titles headed to the various platforms. Over at Netflix, subscribers have already been treated to movies like Troll 2 and Pulp Fiction, with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery set to debut on December 12th. Paramount+ stocked its library at the start of the month with Annihilation, GoodFellas, and Inglourious Basterds. Meanwhile, Tubi’s free streaming lineup now features titles like Barbie and Seabiscuit.
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