31 years later, Tom Hanks’s simplest line in Forrest Gump remains cinema’s greatest truth

Forrest Gump is one of those films that I can rewatch at just about any time and still get a big emotional punch to the gut. I’m not convinced it’s the best collaboration between director Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks (that particular honor belongs to Cast Away), but there’s a reason Forrest Gump is considered a classic. A big part of that, of course, is Hanks’ performance in the title role. He brings a level of affable empathy to the character that honestly could have been far more problematic in the hands of someone else. And for Zemeckis, it represents a time when he was still making great films instead of live-action remakes that simply do not work.

It’s also a highly quotable film. I mean, I bet you’re thinking of your favorite lines right now as you read this, and I absolutely get it. Lots of pop culture references and quotes live in my head rent-free, and a sizable portion of the latter are from Forrest Gump. Yet there’s one quote, arguably the most well-known line in the film, that still resonates with me to this day, because it’s still so accurate to real life.

Life and its various boxes of chocolate

You know where I’m going with this

A pivotal moment in the film comes not from some elaborate action sequence or characters arguing (though there are plenty of those scenes here), but with Gump delivering one of the most iconic lines in the film while sitting on a bench, before telling his life story. “My mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re gonna get.'” A deceptively simple line, but a piece of dialogue that perfectly encapsulates the entire film that’s about to unfold before the audience.

Beyond that, it’s a quote that would live on well into the modern day because of the truth it represents in actual life. I don’t know about you, but life feels more and more chaotically unpredictable with each passing day. In a world of rampant technology, ever-growing corporate greed, and the realization that certain fictional dystopian stories are more plausible than ever, that level of chaos isn’t always a good thing either. Examining the real world through the lens of such a simple quote may seem strange, but I find that it helps ground me.

It’s not all doom and gloom

Some of the proverbial candy is unspoiled

Credit: Pluto TV

While it would be easy to give in to despair, I think it’s important to keep in mind that Forrest Gump is ultimately a hopeful, if bittersweet, film, and its most simple quote is also a representation of that. Beyond the reality of uncertainty, creativity itself remains ever-present and ever-evolving. The internet has allowed more access to media than ever, and that goes even beyond film or television.

Sure, Hollywood may be obsessed with remakes and sequels, but our ability to find or create tailor-made fiction has never been easier. And even then, we can be surprised by what moves us. You never know what you’re going to get when it comes to life, but one could argue that the same is true of movies, television, or even books. Who could have guessed that when Forrest Gump was released 31 years ago? I would be interested to see what Gump would make of this modern world, if anything at all. If anything, the chocolates metaphor is more apt than ever before.

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Examining life’s future chocolate boxes

We still have no idea

Forrest and Jenny standing next to each other smiling.

I think perhaps the most equally frightening and fascinating aspect of Gump’s words of wisdom is what it says about the future. Sure, you never know what you’re going to get in the moment-to-moment aspect of life, entertainment, or really anything, but what about the distant future? The advancement of generative AI seems like a foregone conclusion at this rate, and who knows what will happen with that? Nothing good, I’d wager. Maybe we’ll get a hologram-generated version of Gump to inform us that we have flown too close to the sun. There are no more worlds to conquer, and no more shrimp concoctions to invent.

Yet I’d also bet that, assuming an end-of-society scenario doesn’t happen, we will continue to persevere in spite of it all. Like Gump continuing to run simply because he wanted to. Life will go on, and creativity will go on. That’s the fundamental truth at the heart of Forrest Gump, and it’s a truth we can all afford to cling to. That box of chocolates still has a few more surprises in store.

Classics can still teach us something

While some movies do not age particularly well, they can still teach us a lot about life. I would say that Forrest Gump hasn’t aged the best, but there’s still a lot of empathy and truth at its center. Plus, it’s still great viewing when you’re feeling down, even though it has its own moments of profound sadness. Anyway, if you’re looking for other things to watch, check out these sci-fi shows that are smarter than Black Mirror.