MovieChat Forums > Forrest Gump (1994) Discussion > Why does Lt. Dan look unhappy in the bar...

Why does Lt. Dan look unhappy in the bar when he was happy beforehand?

posted 9 years ago by Tidewatcher
10 replies | jump to latest

I never really got this scene, the one in the bar in Times Square on New Years Eve where Forrest Gump and Lt. Dan are celebrating the New Year about to come in and Connie and Carla show up and greet Dan and Forrest, Lt. Dan looks happy and is being friendly with Forrest and the girls and has made fun of Forrest talking about becoming a Shrimp Boat Captain as his promise to Bubba, which ironically does happen.

But right when New Years hits and everyone is celebrating and enjoying the moment we get a sudden longshot of Lt. Dan and he is just staring off into space looking very depressed when he had just been happy beforehand, he looks miserable and he looks like he hates his life, despite being with Forrest who was his true friend and the two girls, who promptly take him back to his apartment for sexual activities to ring in the New Year, which Forrest ruins because one tastes like cigarettes.

The saddest scene in the movie but you at least love Lt. Dan after he stands up for Forrest in the apartment, he loves Forrest, but his face in the bar is something that just stands out, like he had a bad thought and suddenly was not happy when New Years hit, even though he was having fun right before this.

[–] kesta195 9 years ago

I don't think he's necessarily miserable. It's possible that since meeting Forrest for the first time since Vietnam has given him a sense of worth or at least changed his perspective on his post-war life. The fact that he seems like this at the turn of the new year probably just reflects how a lot of people get deep in thought at new year - 'am I happy to be here for another year' etc. That's how I always looked at it, he's just in a reflective mood.

[–] smoko 9 years ago

@Tidewatcher I interpreted it as the new year prompting Lt. Dan to contemplate his life, and what could've been.

[–] Matthew7819 9 years ago

Lt. Dan was depressed because his best friends are his fellow drunks and those two whores and one of them said that after New Years you could start all over and that everybody gets to have a second chance and Dan thought that being just a cripple with no legs where was his second chance? He was upset and depressed and in a state of contemplation and was unhappy and lonely, he didnt believe Forrest was being realistic by talking about becoming a Shrimp Boat Captain after Bubba died either.

He was just depressed and unhappy with the way that his life turned out, he was supposed to be dead and now he was alive and a cripple, with no purpose and no joy left in his life, he didnt know what he was going to do or where his life was supposed to go, he wanted to die in Vietnam and not be a cripple, so he hated being alive and starting over the way that he had, he was in a reflective state of mind.

[–] TheFreshPrince90 8 years ago

Lt. Dan was depressed because his best friends are his fellow drunks and those two whores and one of them said that after New Years you could start all over and that everybody gets to have a second chance and Dan thought that being just a cripple with no legs where was his second chance? He was upset and depressed and in a state of contemplation and was unhappy and lonely, he didnt believe Forrest was being realistic by talking about becoming a Shrimp Boat Captain after Bubba died either.

He was just depressed and unhappy with the way that his life turned out, he was supposed to be dead and now he was alive and a cripple, with no purpose and no joy left in his life, he didnt know what he was going to do or where his life was supposed to go, he wanted to die in Vietnam and not be a cripple, so he hated being alive and starting over the way that he had, he was in a reflective state of mind.

Nailed it
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Favorite movie : Forrest Gump

[–] strntz 9 years ago

Introspection. Common on the New Year's changeover.

It is bad to drink Jobus rum. Very bad.

[–] TheLordofTheHarvest 9 years ago

It was the start of his turn-a-round.

He started to realize he was wasting his life away getting smashed at crappy pad and that bar with the miserable bums and those sluts. He was on his way to ending all that but the scene with him standing up for Forrest was the start of it.

He didn't fully transform into a better person until the hurricane and afterwards when he apologized and went for that swim but he was on his way then.

[–] GoodSOVeryVeryGood 8 years ago

Excellent response.

[–] pioneergrrrl (2390) 3 months ago

agree. Dan had previously thought he was better than Forrest bc he was not born with disabilities. But becoming physically disabled gave Dan a new perspective. He realized this is how Forrest is treated by others too...and he still was polite to others including him.

I've always had tbi and epilepsy my whole life so I suppose I am like forest in the sense that I did not use it as an excuse to get wasted. Whereas somebody who has a disability later on in life is going to grow up with privilege and not realize ableism until that privilege is taken from them.

Barely making ends meet in a flophouse motel was not 'being successful' this is all Dan can financially afford. And in early 1970's NYC (where they are) there is no ADA requiring physical accessibility either

[–] mtlddrms 8 years ago

Because Lt. Dan believed he should've died with honor in the battlefield like his forefathers did. Forrest "cheated" him of that.

[–] Boromir (9712) 3 months ago

My interpretation of the scene differs. Lt. Dan is clearly unhappy with his life. The encounter with Forrest provides him with a few hours of ironic amusement. His response to Forrest Gump's aspiration to enter the shrimp business is laced with cynicism. His visit to the bar serves as a temporary escape from the reality of his disability. Lt. Dan grapples with alcohol addiction and opts for fleeting connections over meaningful relationships, likely stemming from low self-esteem, despair, and an overarching sense of worthlessness. Midnight, signaling the start of a new year, acts as a wake-up call for him—a return to the depressing reality. As mentioned earlier, New Year and holidays in general, prompt individuals to reflect on themselves, their lives, and the future.