Corrected entry: If Forrest Gump's entire story is true and he became the big celebrity he claimed then why do none of the people listening to his story recognize him? I can understand the nurse not knowing who he is but the other three people were all old enough to know who they are talking to. Also keep in mind this is Alabama, if he really was a star player under Bear Bryant he would have been recognized much sooner.
Corrected entry: Towards the end of the film when Forrest visits Jenny's grave and talks to her he says that he has a letter written to her by their son, young Forrest. He then says that he can't read it, so he'll just lay it down on her grave. Why can't he read it? Jenny taught him how to read when they were children, and he graduated from college. What college gives a diploma to someone who can't read?
Correction: It is not that he is unable to read. He was told not to read it by little Forest as it is personal between him and his mum.
Corrected entry: After Forrest interrupted Jenny's nude performance in the theatre, as they are walking away, the 1994 Ini Kamoze hit, "Here Comes the Hotstepper," is playing in the background despite the fact this scene is set before the Vietnam War.
Correction: That song is Wilson Pickett: Land Of 1000 Dances, not Ini Kamoze. Ini Kamoze did use some of the Nah Nah Nah's in his song. The Pickett song is featured on the Forrest Gump Soundtrack.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Robin Wright is supposed to be playing the guitar and singing nude in the club, you can see the nude-coloured thong she is wearing when they show her from the back.
Correction: The thong is so noticeable that it is apparent that it's presence is a deliberate one. Two explanations within the storyline: One, it's a topless bar not a totally-nude bar and she chose to wear a thong that was flesh/skin colored. Or two, it is a totally-nude bar and perhaps she planned to strip after the song, and didn't get a chance to get that far, due to the unruly crowd and Forrest's interruption.
But what year was it supposed to have been? Thongs weren't invented until 1974.
This scene takes place around 1967 and Jenny is wearing a G-string with a fur front. G-strings had been in use for many years prior to 1967.
Corrected entry: When Forrest and Bubba are cleaning the floor with toothbrushes, in the background you can see somebody sneak to the side, possibly a crew member.
Correction: Or more likely, another member of Forrest and Bubba's basic training platoon.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Forrest and Bubba meet Lt. Dan, Lt. Dan asks where Forrest and Bubba are from. They both reply that they are from Alabama. Moments later, Lt. Dan says, "So Arkansas huh?"
Correction: I think that this was intentional. Lt. Dan wasn't really listening to them when they said where they were from. He goes on to tell them that he'd been through Little Rock once. I am sure that the writers knew that Little Rock is not in Alabama, and I am sure that they remembered that Gump was not from Arkansas.
Intentional by the film makers, not Lt. Dan. Dan has a million things on his mind and has probably given this same speech several times. He really doesn't care where they're from, he's giving them important information.
Corrected entry: After Forrest stops running and says that he'll go home to Alabama, he turns and walks west. Alabama is east of Monument Valley. (01:53:00)
Correction: Aside from Forrest not being very intelligent, he may be heading back towards Monument Valley so he can stop at the visitor center and arrange for transportation (such as calling for a taxi to take him to the St. George Municipal Airport), as he stated himself that he was tired and undoubtedly had no intention of walking or running all the way back to Alabama.
Corrected entry: Bubba specifically says he was drafted into the Army, but his gravestone says he was born on March 2, 1943. The first draft for service to the Vietnam conflict was limited to men born between 1944 and 1950. Subsequent drafts were for men born in 1951 - 1953. Bubba was born a year too early to have been included in the first draft.
Correction: Not true, men born between 1944 and 1950 were the first to be included in the Vietnam draft lottery first introduced in 1969. Many single, unmarried men who were not students born before 1944 were drafted prior to 1969.
Corrected entry: At the end, Jenny looks way too healthy for someone a few days before dying of AIDS. (02:03:55)
Correction: It is not stated definitively that Jenny has AIDS; she says it is "some sort of virus" possibly alluding to the HIV viral infection. Also, she could have died of heart failure secondary to the viral disease, or any number of other complications (drug toxicity, internal hemorrhage, massive stroke) that come on suddenly and without prior visible symptoms. Diseases are very unpredictable, and a person can be very near death and look just fine.
Correction: Even though it's not specially mentioned in the movie, Jenny did not die from AIDS or HIV-related causes. Jenny actually died from Hepatitis, due to her previous drug and IV needle usage earlier in her life. At the time that Jenny stated this to Forrest, both AIDS, HIV, and that specific form of Hepatitis were all very new, and the various symptoms were often confused with each other. This was confirmed years later in a documentary about the movie.
Corrected entry: Forrest begins his run across America the day President Carter collapses in Maryland. This is October 1, 1979. When he stops running, he says: 'I had run for three years, two months, fourteen days, and sixteen hours.' Some time later, he gets Jenny's letter - the day President Reagan is attacked. This is March 30, 1981. So, he only ran for one and a half years. (01:48:15 - 01:54:05)
Correction: Forrest actually started running on July 5th 1976. Jenny and he were watching a bicentennial fireworks display the night before he started running. The news piece on Carter's collapse is the real error.
Corrected entry: When Jenny introduces Forrest to the guy from Columbia SDS during the anti-war rally, she also introduces Forrest to a Black Panther. In real life (only a grad student would actually know this) Columbia University SDS was dominated by the Maoist Progressive Labor Party, and for ideological reasons, the Black Panthers and Progressive Labor despised each other. It is very unlikely that they would be hanging out together, as they are in the film. (01:05:15)
Correction: Jenny's friend is not from Columbia SDS, but from what Jenny calls the "Berkeley chapter of SDS," implying that he is from U. Cal-Berkeley. This is confirmed later when the bus carrying Jenny and her friend departs and we see the banner on the back that reads "Berkeley to D.C."
Corrected entry: At the peace rally, Forrest is referred to as "Private Gump". However, the insignia on his shoulder indicates that he is, in fact, a sergeant.
Correction: If you were to ask any random person to correctly identify the insignia on a person, a vast majority would get it wrong. This person probably had no idea about his ranking. Character mistake at best.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Forrest "rescues" Jenny from the "assault" by the college student in the car, 1) Jenny gets out of the car too quickly considering her earlier, rather peculiar position, 2) when she gets through the right door she doesn't seem to open it - she just appears on the side of the car, 3) which would explain that the door doesn't get closed when the boy drives off in a huff. (00:29:15)
Correction: (1) Jenny wasn't in an awkward position; her date was; (2) huh?; (3) so what? older cars had heavy doors; it closed as he drove off.
Corrected entry: In the arc of Gump's life, it would have been impossible for the media to be continuously unaware of who he is, yet they are. No All-American football player at Alabama would ever become anonymous in that State, nor would it have escaped media attention that the same guy who was a grid iron hero, a medal of honor winner who spoke at an anti-war rally with Abbie Hoffman, and then a multi millionaire philanthropist. Yet when Gump begins his back and forth run across America, the media coverage of him all centers on his relative obscurity. (01:50:25)
Correction: It would be possible for Gump to remain relatively obscure. Most Americans don't even know their own congressman, senator, governor etc., and those people are in the news everyday. There are many actors and singers that many people wouldn't know if they saw them walking down the street. Not to mention Gump's brushes with fame were years apart.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Forrest is being chased by the bullies in the truck, the truck has a confederate flag plate on the front, but no "official" state of Alabama-issued plate. Alabama issued duplicate plates (one for front and back) through 1976. Since this scene took place while Forrest was in high school, prior to 1977, it should have had a front plate.
Correction: Two points to nullify this. 1.) Many states issue duplicate plates but do not legally require the front plate to be used. Alabama did not require 2 license plates in 1976. It's irrelevant though because 2.) These boys are in their vehicle chasing another boy who is on foot. They are throwing objects at him and fully intend to beat him severely if they catch him. It's quite clear they have very little concern for the law. They frankly don't care whether they need that front plate or not. It's a character choice, not a movie mistake.
Correction: ...as young kids who just got their license, we regularly took off our front plates and replaced them with whatever we thought was 'cool'.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Forrest gets his discharge papers, the sargeant calls him PFC, that is private first class. However, if he had served one tour in Vietnam, he would have been automatically promoted to SP4, that is one rank above PFC. When he is in uniform at the rally in Washington, he is wearing three stripes on his shoulder - that is sargeant, a rank he could not have earned after being discharged.
Correction: Being Awarded the Medal of Honor bestows the Grade of E-5 upon the recipient, in additional to other entitlements (pay/benefits). The rank is bestowed and is not revocable except by act of Congress. This action is not dependent upon still being on active duty.
Corrected entry: In the scene where Forrest and Lt. Dan are on the shrimp boat and Forrest gets the call that "his momma is sick", he immediately jumps overboard and presumably swims to shore to start running home without changing clothes. But in the next shot he is shown running down the road wearing a different shirt and pants than before, and carrying his suitcase, which should still be on his boat since he lived on it.
Corrected entry: It makes no sense that Lt. Dan was shocked about Forrest receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor. First off, as Forrest's commanding officer in the field, Lt. Dan would have had to recommend him for the medal. Also, as one of the people who Forrest rescued from the battlefield, Lt. Dan would certainly have been interviewed to verify Forrest's heroic actions.
Correction: Lt. Dan was not as shocked as he was angry. He was left a paraplegic while an "imbecile" like Forrest was spared. He was using this opportunity to vent his frustration; surely he knew Forrest was going to receive the medal.
He's not angry that Forrest got the medal, it's more disbelief because Forrest showed his butt on TV.
Corrected entry: When Forrest and Bubba are on the helicopter in Vietnam, Bubba's lip isn't swollen. (00:39:15)
Correction: Bubba's lip isn't swollen to begin with; he just had a prominent lower lip. And, this is after Lt. Dan told him to "tuck that lip in".
Corrected entry: When Forrest is running the football field and passing all the players, he passes everyone except the referee, who can be seen moving down the sidelines at a faster pace than Forrest. (00:21:05)
Correction: How is this a mistake? So, the referee is moving faster..... because he is supposed to keep ahead of the players to be in a position to make the call. No mistake here.
Correction: This is the whole point of the film; that Forrest has played a major part in so many key events in 20th Century America without his involvement being recognised. It's not a plot hole or even a mistake, it's part of the film's story & humour. Also, although Forrest and Jenny are originally from Alabama, the scene on the bench takes place in Georgia.