 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Forrest Gump
- Review Date: July 9, 2003
- PG-13
- Genre: Drama
- 2002
Common Sense Media says
Moving and wonderful, but parent preview a good idea.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that though this Oscar winner's strong language, violence, and sexual situations make it questionable for young kids, its ultimately positive messages and entertaining take on three decades of American history make it a good choice for family viewing if you have mature teens. Parents may want to preview the movie for its realistic treatment of serious issues like child abuse, the civil rights movement, drugs, and war.
What's the story?
Life is like a box of chocolates…you never know what you're gonna get. This famous catchphrase also describes FORREST GUMP -- it serves up an abundance of surprising treats, sometimes sweet and sometimes bitter. The movie's two and a half hours run the gamut from humor and charm to tragedy and poignancy. Although epic in length and symbolic in treatment, the movie never loses sight of the intimate love story at its center. The relationship between the childlike Forrest (Tom Hanks) and the disillusioned Jenny (Robin Wright Penn) can be seen as an allegory for America's loss of innocence from the 1950s to the 1980s, reflected by pop culture and socio-political events. Rock and roll, the civil rights movement, Vietnam, Watergate, and more are touched on, sometimes seriously and sometimes satirically.
Is it any good?
Though its strong language, violence, and sexual situations make it questionable for children, the movie can introduce young viewers to prominent moments in the 20th century. Through the use of Oscar-winning visual effects, Forrest interacts with U.S. presidents, teaches Elvis Presley how to do his famous "pelvis dance," and inspires John Lennon to write the song "Imagine."
The encounters sometimes border on the absurd, but they're anchored by Hanks' extraordinary performance. He makes the slow-witted Forrest a sympathetic and believable character instead of a stereotyped simpleton. Superb acting by the entire cast, especially Wright Penn as Jenny and Gary Sinise as Forrest's army lieutenant, add substance to this sentimental tearjerker.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about American history and how it's seen through Forrest's eyes. What are his impressions of the Vietnam War? Of a young Elvis? Of the hippie movement?
What would you say the movie's main message is? Are viewers meant to admire Forrest? To sympathize with him?
If you've read the book the movie is based on, how do the two differ? Why do you think the filmmakers made the changes that they did?
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AGE
Run Forrest Run!
this movie is a great absolute classic that everyone should watch, but it is quite bad for a PG-13 movie, we see a girl take off her bra (we see her bare back, but no boobs), mom has to have sex with a principal in order to get in a school (nothing is shown, but we hear moaning), we also see a man look at a pornographic magazine which actually suprising does show boobs, we see tom hanks about to have sex (nothing is shown), a girl trys to rape forrest gump, but he pushes her out the window, we see blood splatter out of her skull as she hits the ground, we see a man get his legs blown off blood spurts from the wound, we also see a man sniff cocaine, inject heroine, and smoke weed, it is very explicit for a PG-13 film, but it's so good everyone should see it
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AGE
Lots say it shouldn't have won the 1994 Academy Award for Best Picture...I strongly beg to differ.
My rating: PG-13 [borderline with R] for mature drug and sexual content, some intense war violence and strong language.
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AGE
Perfect for all/most teens....fantastic overall :)
Okay, I'm going to start on a positive note; this is one of the GREATEST movies of the '90s, maybe of all time :) Everything about it is great; I don't even need to name the specifics. That being said, my parents didn't let me see it until I was 11, and even then I didn't get some of the content (ex, AIDS, what's that white powdery stuff on the mirror?, the strippers, etc...) that I got later. But if your kid gets that stuff and isn't too sensitive...they're sure to fall in love with it :)
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Kid, 11 years old
July 19, 2011
AGE
disturbing but intriguing
jenny takes off her bra
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AGE
Forrest Gump is a lovely masterpiece.
Forrest Gump is the moving tale of a simpe-minded man who floats through life much like a feather. The movie ingeniously combines satire and melodrama into a seriocomical film that is hard to beat. Hanks gives the performance of a lifetime and Gary Sinise and Sally Field are just as admirable. Note to parents: The movie, although the characters are admirable and the messages are strong, still contains a good amount of content. There are sequences of war violence, a strip club scene, partial nudity, and a reference to an abusive father "touching" his young daughter. If teens can handle it, be prepared to be swept away by one of the sweetest films ever made.
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AGE
good movie but way to much language......
ok so i LOVE this movie and all but the thing is, it has a lot of language as well as some sexual content, i wouldn't suggest this for younger kids (unless you have a censored version or whatever) but other than that it's amazing.
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AGE
i watched this movie because my dad kept telling how good it was. so i watched one day and i loved it. i would watch it again.it was funny but also sad. i cried in it.very interesting. lots of people at my school like it too.
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AGE
excellent , but sad and has sex.
very good, but there's war violence, sex and language.
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AGE
The best movie EVER!!
I LOVE this movie. It's my favorite movie of ALL time. Sure it has war and Jenny has an abusive father but it's great!
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AGE
I loved this movie when I saw it for the first time with my 11 year old ocousin and her friends, but I had some concerns. Morgane (my cousin) is the type who askes questions about romance and other topics she's too young for, and being the eldest of the group, I didnt know how to answer. By the way, THIS MOVIE RULES!
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Robert Zemeckis |
| Cast: | Robin Wright Penn, Sally Field, Tom Hanks |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 135 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | May 13, 2002 |
| DVD release date: | May 13, 2002 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | drug content, sensuality and war violence |
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