What's Eating Gilbert Grape? Chad'z rating: ***1/2 (out of 4 = very good) 1994, PG-13, 117 minutes [1 hour, 57 minutes] [lighthearted drama] starring: Johnny Depp (Gilbert Grape), Leonardo DiCaprio (Arnie Grape), Juliette Lewis (Becky), Mary Steenburgen (Betty Carver), Darlene Cates (Mrs. Grape), produced by Meir Teper, Bertil Ohlsson, David Matalon, written by Peter Hedges (based on his novel), directed by Lasse Hallstrom.
The American Family is an institution slowly deteriorating, especially in Hollywood. What makes "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" so good is the way it shows how a family who you assume would be the most dysfunctional turns out to be the just the opposite. It's not a sappy family movie, it's a wholly original and enjoyable picture.
Johnny Depp stars as Gilbert Grape, a 20-something GenXer who lives with his family in a small town way out in the country. He works at a "Mom and Pop" grocery store to help support his family, as his 500-pound mother (Cates) is unable to work. Gilbert also has a full-time job of taking care of his brother Arnie (played wonderfully by Leonardo DiCaprio). There isn't one specific plot to the film, it is just a tale of this young man's life that can seem like Heaven and Hell at the same time.
Gilbert isn't exactly happy, perhaps it's his desire to take care of his family that keeps him going. He is having an affair with a local married woman (Mary Steenburgen as Betty Carver), but even this doesn't do much for him, probably because he's deathly afraid of her husband who constantly encourages Gilbert to "see him."
One day a girl named Becky (Lewis) who is Gilbert's age with the same maroon-dyed hair arrives in town. She is traveling with her grandmother across the country and their camper breaks. The two meet, flirt, and you can tell where it's going. We don't exactly get a passionate love story, but just the subtlety to their relationship, and the realistic dialogue and interaction is fascinating.
But the story does not drift, it focuses on Gilbert's commitment to his family and we learn a lot about their situation from his interaction with Becky. When she asks him what he wants, he says what he wants for everyone else, but not for himself, which is one of the best scenes in the film. Not only is Gilbert becoming closer to Becky but he is also becoming closer to his family when he looks at them from afar.
Arnie is also quite a character. He's about to turn 18 but he has the maturity level of a 5-year-old. There are some hilarious scenes resulting from Arnie's ignorance, and we can laugh because he's not portrayed as a victim, he just doesn't know any better. Gilbert cares for Arnie with all his heart, we constantly see him endangering himself in order to save Arnie from predicaments he gets himself into (such as climbing to the top of a water tower).
There's no one specific plot to this film, although many conflicts do arise. What makes it so good is the interaction between characters and the unique dialogue. Stories about small towns tend to be dry and boring, but there's more atmosphere here than any other commercial film set in a big city.
Even though the family and the characters in "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" might be strange, they seem like real characters with real emotions. Perhaps if everyone had a family this close, the world would be a better place.
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