Sorry Gump fans but there is actually a lot wrong with this movie, which has somehow become a much loved classic. It piles cliche upon cliche in its portrayal of an intellectually disabled man, the performances are merely OK and the love story is nothing short of creepy. It is also quite blatantly racist, from the very first scene of the movie onwards. The film opens with Forrest sitting down to tell a story to an African-American woman who clearly isn't interested in hearing it. He also immediately tells her that he's named after a Ku Klux Klan leader, in the first of several "Forrest is adorably clueless about black history" moments. His zoning out when talking to a member of the Black Panthers is another such casually offensive scene. This insensitivity towards race does nothing to improve the film, but what damns it is that it is never examined in any detail.
Brydie is an Australian writer and performer living in London and she complains exactly the same amount about the weather as every other Australian living in London. Yes, that is her natural lip colour, no, she will not be taking any further questions at this time.
