tearjerking

Robert Zemeckis, a director previously known more for brittle, antihumanistic comedy (Used Cars, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Death Becomes Her) than heartwarming sentiment, moves into Oscar territory with an accomplished tearjerking comedy (1994) about a slow-witted southerner (Tom Hanks in the title role) living through an alternately auspicious and absurdist half-century of American history.