Rating: PG13
Genre:
Drama
Release Date: 06/20/2006
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1/DDS2.0
Run Time: 128 Minutes
Flags: Adult Situations, Questionable for Children, Sexual Situations
Distributor/Studio: Paramount
Swedish director
Lasse Hallstrom's follow-up to the underrated
Once Around earned far more attention than its predecessor thanks to the judicious casting of perennial thinking woman's heartthrob
Johnny Depp and a certain up-and-coming thespian by the name of
Leonardo DiCaprio. A prisoner of his dysfunctional family's broken dreams in tiny Endora, IA,
Gilbert (
Depp) serves as breadwinner and caretaker for his mother and siblings following his father's suicide and his older brother's defection.
Momma (
Darlene Cates) is a morbidly obese shut-in who hasn't left the house in seven years; her children include retarded
Arnie (
DiCaprio), who's about to turn 18 despite a host of negative medical forecasts, and terminally embarrassed
Ellen (
Mary Kate Schellhardt), who's emerging from an awkward adolescence. When he's not taking care of the difficult but tender
Arnie,
Gilbert spends his time fixing up the family's tattered farmhouse, working at a failing mom-and-pop grocery store and hanging with local misfits
Bobby (
Crispin Glover), an overly ambitious junior undertaker, and
Tucker (
John C. Reilly), a handyman who hankers after a job at the new burger franchise. Into this complicated but essentially unchanging social universe steps
Becky (
Juliette Lewis), a thoughtful young woman who's been escorting her nomadic grandmother from state to state in a mobile-home caravan. As
Becky teaches
Gilbert to finally consider his own happiness for a change, she disrupts both his family obligations and his long-running affair with a lonely housewife (
Mary Steenburgen). Adapted by
Peter Hedges from his own novel of the same name,
What's Eating Gilbert Grape was the first and only film role for non-actress
Cates, whom the filmmakers discovered on an episode of the
Sally Jesse Raphael Show titled "Too Heavy to Leave Their House."
~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Average Review:
Number of reviews: 1
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A. Domini
from Jackson, MI
A beautiful story of american living
One of the forgotten gems of the early 90's, this movie hasn't gotten the praise it deserves. It's a beautiful adaptation of Peter Hedge's novel of the same name. The collector's edition DVD not only presents you with the movie but also a rather interesting director/writer commentary. Other features worth noting are the original movie trailer (which has scenes that don't appear in the movie), interviews with cast members, and a photo gallery.
The movie tells you the story of Gilbert Grape, an almost average young man living and working in Iowa, his brother Arnie, who is mentally challenged (and lucky to have made it to nearly 18 years old), his sisters who have made quite a few sacrifices, and of course, Mama, their mother who has let herself go over the years and is housebound. Gilbert has the task of taking care of Arnie and working in the local grocery to take care of and feed the rest of his family. His situation is sad and somewhat lonely, and his wish is to somehow escape. He finds life changing when a lovely young lady arrives in town. Becky and her grandmother show up when their truck breaks down in Endora. Becky and Gilbert end up meeting and the movie really takes off. I definitely recommend this to everyone.
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