A young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.A young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.A young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 8 wins & 7 nominations total
- Minister
- (as Rev. Robert B. Hedges)
Featured reviews
All the acting ranks from very good to excellent. Johnny Depp is so lovable as Gilbert Grape, the twenty-year-old son who tries to do good for everyone but doesn't know quite what he wants for himself yet. Leonardo DiCaprio is simply amazing as the retarded Arnie. He rightfully got an Oscar-nomination for his roll. At the time I saw this movie, I didn't know him yet, so at some moments I actually thought that he really could be a retarded actor (that's a big complement, isn't it?).
The plot isn't too spectacular, but keeps you interested 'cause actually a lot of things do happen to certain character's in this sleepy town. A lot of things the characters say and do seem superficial, but actually aren't meaningless as they lead to other events in the story. And the arrival of Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her mother make things interesting for Gilbert. The ending is unexpected, very solid and sad. And then there's the little epilogue...
This simply is a great movie: Good story, good acting, good directing. And that's all it takes. Watch it and allow yourselves to be moved by the Grapes.
The focus of the movie is of course Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp). However, there are really several focal points in the movie, all of which add to a powerful storyline. As the title of the film suggests, just about everything seems to be a hardship for Gilbert, yet, somehow he manages to come to terms with reality and in the end obtains a newfound respect for life.
With good performances by supporting actors and actresses (Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, Leo D., and all the other "Grapes") and a nice comic relief from the city coroner (Bobby McBurney) and the local handyman (John C. Reilly), this movie should be seen by anyone who wishes to put themselves in a place where country roads and beautiful greenery give way to the perils and pitfalls of smalltown life.
Overall great acting, a good story, and something with which we can all relate. "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is an excellent movie!
It all kind of devolved on him naturally when years ago his father just up and left the family one day without warning, or at least without warning to a child. His mother Darlene Cates grew morbidly obese, ballooning up to 500 pounds, his sisters are having the usual adolescent problems. But his mentally retarded brother Leonardo DiCaprio who is the real problem. He needs constant watching every minute, something Cates just can't do, she can't even get up to the second story of the Grape family home. It all falls on Depp.
Not that there aren't certain compensations for him, Mary Steenburgen asks for him to make special deliveries to her house when husband Kevin Tighe is at the office. But life is generally drab in Iowa for him until Juliette Lewis's trailer breaks down in the Grape neighborhood. When Depp gets involved with her she points him in the direction of a much wider world, something we all need to realize at some point in our lives.
What's Eating Gilbert Grape is distinguished mostly for the Academy Award nomination it received for Leonardo DiCaprio for playing the mentally retarded Arnie Grape. DiCaprio is unbelievably convincing as a retarded kid, to think almost a decade later he'd be playing Howard Hughes on the big screen. But part of his performance is no doubt due to Johnny Depp as well. Most of DiCaprio's scenes are with Depp and they bring the best out in each other. Very much like Rain Man with Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.
Both DiCaprio and Depp have gone on to give the movie-going public a wide variety of roles to see them in. But they are something special in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
The casting worked perfectly to create family dynamics that were so very real that they did not even seem brandable as dysfunctional. I appreciated that the mother was never portrayed as less intelligent simply because she was overweight. I loved that the kids did everything they could to protect their mother and their disturbed brother from outside influences and hurt feelings. They stuck together until the end which actually became the beginning. A hopeful and joyous film.
Did you know
- TriviaJohnny Depp felt bad about having to ridicule Darlene Cates' character, "Momma," and would often apologize to her after shooting. Depp once said to Cates, "Man, I want you to know how much I hated having to say those things about you, or about your character."
- GoofsGilbert never says that his father died 17 years ago. He said that his father was "hung out to dry 17 years ago", meaning he probably lost a business or a lot of money, and a few years later committed suicide, so he really is Ellen's father. Arnie is also pretty aware of his father's method of dying. If he had died 17 years before, Arnie would just have been a baby, therefore not knowing exactly what happened.
- Quotes
Becky: Tell me what you want, as fast as it comes to you.
Gilbert: Uhh...
Becky: Okay?
Gilbert: 'Kay.
Becky: Okay. What do you want?
[He's thinking about it]
Becky: Faster!
Gilbert: Okay. I want a new thing. House. I want a new house. And a family.
[He sighs heavily]
Gilbert: I want Momma to take aerobics classes. I want Ellen to grow up. I want a new brain for Arnie. I want...
Becky: What do you want for you? Just for you?
Gilbert: I want to be a good person.
- Crazy creditsThe cast is listed with all capital letters in the ending credits. Leonardo DiCaprio's name is listed in capital letters with smaller font size for character "I" in "Di".
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- Is this movie based on a novel?
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- ¿A quién ama Gilbert Grape?
- Filming locations
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $11,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,032,765
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $74,421
- Dec 19, 1993
- Gross worldwide
- $10,032,765
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