Release Year: 1994

Genre: Drama, Romance

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Writers: Eric Roth, Winston Groom (novel)

Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Sally Field

If you want to see a movie about the cruel world destroying the innocence of a simple-minded country boy, keep on looking. There's no room for your big-city cynicism in Forrest Gump; we don't serve your type around here.

This one is for the dreamers, the idealists, and the magical realists—the ones who can believe that a boy with a below-average IQ and an above-average heart can make millions, take part in the major events of 20th-century American history, and get the girl along the way.

Okay, okay, we admit that it's a bit hard to swallow. But, the core of this movie is just as simple as Forrest: all of the worldly success in the world doesn't mean a thing without love.

Released in 1994 in, let's be honest, a pretty optimistic era of American history, Forrest Gump ranks an amazing 8.8 on the IMDB viewers' ratings, making it the 13th most popular movie of all time. In 1995, the movie also won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and (deep breath) Best Visual Effects. 

It's that popular.

And, did we mention that the movie made $677 million worldwide and cost only $55 million to make? That's a payday worthy of Forrest himself.

Forrest Gump has been such an enduring success because it speaks to a part of us that never really goes away—the Forrest-like part of us that wants to stay innocent and unjaded by the cynical and immoral world of adulthood. If you want to see movies about the corruptibility of the human character and the cruelty of the universe, take your pick; Netflix probably has a special genre just for you.

But, if you need a break from the harsh reality of underemployment and crushing student loans, click on Forrest Gump and bathe in the warm, fuzzy glow of knowing that, for the next two hours and 25 minutes, everything is going to work out perfectly.

Well, unless you're Jenny. Don't do drugs (or be a woman), Shmoopers.

Either you love Forrest Gump's message of innocence and kindness triumphing over cynicism and despair, or you think the movie irresponsibly privileges sentiment over taking a stance on some of the most important moments of recent political history.

(Yes, those are the only two options; and no, you are not allowed to think that it's a silly but harmless romp through 20th-century America, with a few moments of deeper truth along the way.)

Forrest Gump is so polarizing that the way you understand this movie is better than a BuzzFeed quiz as a key to your personality. Like, maybe you're an incurable optimist who loves the way the movie showcases Forrest's innocence while basically painting all of the "politically" motivated people as immoral or delusional.

Or, maybe you're a cynical realist who thinks that Forrest Gump tells us to think that everything will work out fine if we just munch on our box of chocolates, share our mom's pithy sayings, and don't think about scary stuff like politics or war or structural inequality. (We bet you're really fun at parties.)

Does Forrest Gump teach us to be good people, or does it teach us to avoid taking on the difficult responsibilities of the adult world? Either way you lean, it's comforting to know that a whole bunch of people are on your side.