It's an anthem to the American Dream and hymn the country's history in the mid to late 1900's. But it's also an ambitious movie with lots of iconic and funny moments. The main character is the simple ordinary Forrest who finds success in everything just by doing what he's told and following societal conventions without questioning them. Of course, it takes a heaping amount of luck to make it happen but it is satisfying to see the good guy win.

The antagonist, of course, is Jenny, who does happen to question society, becomes a counterculture protester, and she ends up dying from AIDS. There's pretty binary system of morality at work in the film and a dearth of actually complex or interesting characters, but whatever it's a movie full of quotable dialogue. Definitely overrated, but good.