Gary Sinise who played Lt. Dan was so moved by the experience of the character, and so shocked by the way that veterans are left behind; that he has basically dedicated his life to supporting veterans. His foundation, the Gary Sinise foundation has helped thousands of veterans find support, homes, and jobs.

I love when he says 'That's the day I will be an astronaut!" because Hanks and Sinise are both in Apollo 13 which came out a year after this, lol.

well it was nice crying with you for an hour. such a classic

34:43 What Forrest said here is this:

“Sometimes when people go to Vietnam, they go home to their mommas without any legs. Sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing. That's all I have to say about that”

By the time Forrest started his run across America he was a College Football Champion (1961), First Team All American (1963), Vietnam War Hero and a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor, world-famous ping pong player, a millionaire philanthropist as owner of the massively successful Bubba Gump Shrimping Corporation, and an early investor in what is today the 2nd most valuable company on the planet. Not to mention, he met 3 Presidents and has numerous appearances in national media. He would've been one of the most famous Americans alive when the media caught wind of his running, yet all they described him as "the gardener from Greenbow, Alabama,".

Forrest runs to where he's going. Jenny runs from where she's been.

Has anyone ever noticed how important busses are in this movie? He meets Jenny on the bus. He meets Bubba on the bus. When Jenny leaves him in DC she leaves on a bus. He is waiting for a bus on the day he is going to meet Jenny again.

God bless Gary Sinese for his work with the families of KIA and MIA soldiers

Hi! I’m retired British ex military, last year I had open heart surgery, two days after,  I had a stroke which wiped out the entire left side of my body!I spent more than six months in a hospital bed and I got into watching reactions of people seeing movies I grew up on with a fresh set of eyes! I have just come across your channel, it’s very rare to see someone doing movie reactions with an intellectual and emotional intelligence as developed as yours, so I want to congratulate you on a channel with heart and brains. I saw this movie when it came out when I was eleven and it still makes me bawl every time I see it, including with your reaction! Very well done and keep up the great work!

Fun fact: tom hanks said that what forest said at the rally that was silenced was (this is me recalling so I might not get this quote perfectly) "sometimes when people go to vietnam, they go home without any legs. And sometimes they don't go home at all. That's a bad thing,"

My favorite little detail here is when Forrest and Forrest jr. are playing ping-pong, Forrest isn't pretending to be bad at ping-pong or anything. He's just always been good because of the one thing that guy told him "never take your eye off the ball", and he never did. Except when he's playing with his son, because he can't take his eyes off him. Love that.

Forrest describing the first time he saw Jenny "I had never seen anything so beautiful in my life."
Forrest when he finds out he is little Forrest's daddy, "He's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

1:01:00 the bit where he sees his child for the first time and in a panic says 'is he smart or... like me' that always gets me in the feels

Forest Gump is the most human movie ever written. Its about happynes and sadness. Everytime something good or comical happens in the movie, something bad happens, which lead to something good, and then to something bad... its a methaphor of life itself. The movie is about trauma. Is about how a person can destroy a human being, and how another person can save it. It's a movie about people that gives hope to others. It's a movie about war, and also a movie about forgiveness.

It's, definetely, one of the best movies ever.

The fact, that when Forest saw his son he was scared that he may be like him is such a painful expression.. This movie is one of the Best for a reason.. o7

Her death and that scene under the tree hit like a truck. His acting is insane, it was almost like I lost jenny

When they were children, we see that Jenny prays to be turned into birds... while still with her abusive father... we later see how, as an adult, in a scene where she attempts suicide... Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" plays. A very strong parallel. And close to the end at Jenny´s grave... birds fly.

so jealous you're watching this for the first time 😭

Little details about this movie that always makes it for a good rewatch is the fact that the movie keeps to the themes of character growth by tracking the lives of other background/minor characters. The bus driver, Dorothy Harris has stopped smoking by replacing her habit with gum. The bridge near Forest's home has a family constantly fishing that seems to slowly grow over the years. The close-minded old fogies at the barbershop are still doing the exact same thing decades later showing their lack of personal growth. Bubba's mom is present at Gump and Jenny's wedding. TV constantly shows important historical events throughout American history.

I lost my wife, my best friend, during the pandemic. We spent our free time together watching movies and TV shows. She saved me from becoming just another drunk in this world. I, too, served in the Army, hoping to see more of our country or even this world; instead, I got to see more of my own state of Alaska, and was disappointed for sure back then,... now? I wouldn't trade that experience for anything, especially after sharing my stories with my wife as we spent our lives together while she was here.  Thank you for sharing your first time watching. My wife and I had already seen so many of what you are now watching, we had the same taste in movies and TV shows, so spending time together in our free time from work was easy.  Find someone to enjoy it with, whatever time you have with this person, will be the best time of your life if you find someone who enjoys all that you enjoy... and I am not just talking about movies and TV shows,.... I am talking about... Life!