Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-24 03:27:36

The Greatest Story...about the Greatest Person

Gilbert Grape is obviously looking for a new life...an escape from his tiny town, Endora. In this movie, Johnny Depp portrays a small-town boy who accomplishes his goal as being a good person.Gilbert is the brother of a mentally ill boy named Arnie(Grammy-winning performance by Leonardo DiCaprio), a motherly sister, and a bratty teenager. His mother, who he compares to "a beached whale" is overweight and ashamed of herself. In this movie, Gilbert helps his loved ones realize that they should be doing more with their lives.I recommend this movie to everyone who has dreams to reach.

2012-05-23 21:06:29

Leonardo's best performance

This movie is by far my favorite leo movie of all time. I loved the setting of the story, very real and natural. Leo was incredible as Arnie, and no one could have portrayed the character any better. He really made me think about other mentally challenged kids in the world, and how generous, kind, and naive they can be to all the bad stuff there is out there. The story is so touching. If you like believable, touching, heartwarming movies, then this one is definitely for you. I absolutely loved it and would reccomend it to anyone. I loved Julliette Lewis's character, I believe that we need more people like Becky in this world. I am so excited to read the book! END

VideoJunkie 2012-05-22 11:48:49

Big surprise- great film...

I cannot stand Depp. His lonely puppy dog eyes and hotel room trashingsandrelationships with emaciated supermodels or better actresses than himreallybore me. Finally, a film that makes him watchable. Depp and DiCaprio areperfect as the brothers. My respect for Leo's choices pre-Titanic justgrewwith this film. Not many heartthrobs would do this...or TotalEclipse...orBasketball Diaries. Great direction by a master of the camera. I givethisa 9.

ivony 2012-05-21 23:27:44

The award belongs to DiCaprio in this one...

Let me start off by saying I am not a very big fan of Leonardo DiCaprio. The majority of the movies he's made have been sub-par and he tends to relyon his seemingly "bad-boy hearthrob" image through most of his movies (gag). However, in Gilbert Grape we saw the very essence of DiCaprio's talent andif it weren't for him, I daresay this movie would not be worth watching. Infact, for me, the *only* reason I continued to watch was because I was drawnto his character.Some people believe it is easy to play a "mentally deficient" person. Idisagree. Actors run the risk of appearing as if they are merely making funof a mentally challenged person rather than depicting one. Often times, theportrayal is a complete flop, leaving the viewer disgusted and annoyed (I amSam). Such is not the case for DiCaprio's "Arnie" in Gilbert Grape. Havingworked with the disabled for over 10 years, I have to say his portrayal wason the spot and certainly not overdone. From the constant repitition ofvarious phrases, the contorting of his fingers, to the throaty, squeakylaugh, DiCaprio hits the nail square on the head. So you might be wondering why this seems like a DiCaprio review rather thana Gilbert Grape review. Basically, that's what this movie turns into...aDiCaprio film...because the viewer can't help but to totally focus on hischaracter and set aside all the others.But, since this is supposed to be about the film itself, heregoes:Johnny Depp was extremely flat throughout this film, citing lines with theutmost of monotony. Darlene Cates (although not really an actress, just apick from a daytime talk tv show) was really only picked due to her sizesince the few lines she had were so poorly acted. Personally, I find thatinsulting: To only be picked for a movie *because* you are obese. JulietteLewis is her typical self and although I like most of her work, in GilbertGrape she just appears "typical". The storyline could have been compellingenough but the deep points of the movie were never really captured, norexpanded upon; leaving the movie to be another run-of-the-mill,tug-on-the-heartstrings big budgeted movie that was meant to be made for tv. So, we get back to DiCaprio who really was the only "big budget"performance of the bunch.If you're suffering from insomnia, it's 1am and this movie happens to beplaying, then watch it. Or if you're interested in single performancesrather than the movie as a whole, then watch this one...you'll enjoy thescenes with Arnie. However, if you're looking for something interesting,provoking, or even entertaining choose another.

2012-05-20 21:48:14

A GRAPE OF WRATH

A perfect presentation of the effects of rural poverty, ignorance, and social injustice. Lead star Depp is cast as the caretaker of a rundown house, a mother who's given up all hope, a cranky sister, and a 12 year old brother with the I.Q. of a 4 year old. Add to this mix Depp's holding a job, trying to find an appropriate girlfriend, and attempting to fend off an unhappily married female, and one has all the ingredients for a walking powder keg. Particularly troubling is Depp's younger brother, brilliantly portrayed by Leo DiCaprio, whose main hobbies include running away, climbing trees, and attempting to scale the town watertower. This is a view of Americana that many deny even exists; yet is possibly as prevalent as better known inner city dilemmas. Think poverty knows boundary lines? Indeed, the most uplifting scene occurs in the finale- the group moving away, hopefully for the better, almost certainly better for Gilbert Grape.

AndrewPhillips 2012-05-20 17:48:09

Magic

The story of a family, in a back water town, where we get to see eachof them struggling with life. Johnny Depp, him again, gives yet anotherexcellent performance as Gilbert, frustrated with his lot, wishing hecould get away from his family, responsibilities and most of allEndora. He works to support his family, is having a less thanfulfilling affair with an older married woman and is always looking outfor his brother Arnie, played by Leonardo Di Caprio, but more of himlater. Depp manages to capture every emotion perfectly, in an non-showyrole he pulls you in and makes you believe.Ultimately this is a simple story, man struggles then finds love, butit's so much more, the relationships of the family Grape are very wellobserved, from the mother hugely overweight, causing the structure ofthe house to crumble to the growing pains of the sisters. Where thisstory strikes gold is with Arnie, I remember when I first saw this filmI had no idea who Di Caprio was, I actually thought they had used adisabled actor to play the part, when watching that year's Oscars andseeing him nominated for the role I was amazed. I have watched manyfilms, and his performance is one of the best I have ever seen.Remarkable in it's accuracy and so moving, when we find him sitting incold bath water having been told not to move hours earlier, well itbreaks your heart, and Gilbert's rage demonstrating his frustration notreally at Arnie but at life, just brilliant.So this is a film that you should see, if only for Di Caprio, but ithas much more than that.

2012-05-19 02:48:37

WOW !!!!

This Movie Just Goes To Show That He Can Take Any Role And Do The Best Job On It !! This movie was so good i loved it ! It made me laugh and cry ! It is amazing how good leo acts in this movie. He is the best actor ! ! Not only is he a good actor but way HOTT !!!!! END

lawndale 2012-05-18 06:04:16

It "shimmers and it glows..."

There are not many films that I honestly view as perfect-- I'm generallyvery cynical and try to pick things apart on even the most fundamentallevels. But every element of "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" is perfectlycrafted and put together to emotionally wrenching effect.The acting here is flawless. Johnny Depp's multifaceted performance as thetitle character fully conveys the inner conflict that tears at hischaracter-- a free spirit confined to working in a second-string market in a'one-horse town.' Only his turn as Ed Wood showcases similar depth. JulietteLewis, whose film selection hardly reflects her intrinsic acting talents,turns in an evocative performance as Becky, the 'wanderer' who attempts tounderstand the world in which she finds both herself and her soulmate. AndLeonardo DiCaprio is absolutely brilliant as Arnie. There's no other wordfor it. Love him or not (and I usually fall into the latter category), hiswork in this film is THE best acting performance of the 1990s. Period.Anyone whose life has been touched by a special-needs child in ANY way willappreciate the innocence and the subtlety of his performance, which neverslips into cariacature, as so many similar performances (re: Juliette Lewisin "The Other Sister") often do.While "WEGG" focuses primarily on its array of beautifully developedcharacters, it also has a great deal to say about life in general. It's notjust a movie about what's eating Gilbert Grape-- it's a film that challengesthe complacency that eats at ALL of us: the fact that so many people areunable to distinguish between the things that their souls YEARN to do, andthe things that, because of whatever ties they are unable to sever, they areOBLIGATED to do. That's why the climactic scene involving the way thatGilbert chooses to handle his mother's death works on such a powerfullysymbolic level. Very few films in the last decade(s) have been able to saySO much in one scene without a single line of dialogue.Everything in this movie thoughtfully builds toward its common theme. Fromthe Mary Steenbergen character or the new Burger Barn to Arnie's climbs upthe town water tower, the film is about finding different ways to breakfree. It's refreshing to find a movie that attempts to make such a profoundstatement without ever becoming trite or heavy-handed, and that's why "WEGG"is so affecting-- it allows you to apply its message to your own life,however you see fit.Fundamentally, "Gilbert" is an allegory about the confining worlds in whichwe find ourselves. On a broader scope, with its brilliant performances,dialogue (re: the brief but poignant encounter between Ms. Grape andBecky...), and powerful theme, it encourages us to challenge the way we viewour own worlds... and to change them.Rating: 10 out of 10. One of just a handful of perfect movies out there.Hopefully, it will eventually earn the "classic" status that it so richlydeserves.

b_balldude1992 2012-05-18 06:09:03

Hated Gilbert! How could he do it?

I don't know about you guys, but I love Johnny Depp, he is my favoriteactor, and always will be, but in the scene where he hits Arnie, Icould have easily hated him. Whats Eating Gilbert Grape was probablyone of the only movies that could ever make me cry, and that was thescene that did it. I just cannot watch a mentally challenged personbeing mistreated like that, my Health class watched What's EatingGilbert Grape, and the person sitting next to me asked me if this moviewas about "some retard" (I had previously seen this prior to the Healthclass) so I corrected him and said Arnie is probably the coolest personin the movie, and his reply was "He's still retarded", so I beat him upat recess. I HATE when people make fun of mentally challenged people,the only other movies that make me cry is "Radio", "Tru Confessions",and any other movie about people with mental disabilities. Please replyso I don't feel like the only guy with emotions!

2012-05-18 01:37:15

Unpredictable DiCaprio

One of these films that are an essential step in the career of an actor. It was true for Leonardo DiCaprio who got his first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for the role of a differently-abled kid . It is true he does a good job in that part and he is a brilliant couple with Johnny Depp as his bigger brother. The film is entertaining though on many other levels. The survival of a small town in the US at a time when big shopping malls are opening everywhere. These small towns are doomed to die sooner or later. Their only chance is to become suburban development projects and become the home of people working in the big city next door who want to live away from the hectic activity of the city and commute there every day. We are before this development in Endora. The second interest is the fate of a family in which there is a mentally disabled child. Here they have no opportunity to provide him with an education and some professional activity. So he is more or less attached to a member of his family and he is haunting if not even worse that brother of his, as well as the police and neighbors. It is never vicious but it is really bothering those who want to have peace and quiet. The place of mentally disabled people in our society is something difficult to envisage because they are necessarily a burden to normative people and a normative system that has to adapt to them and not the reverse. Today things have changed a lot, thanks to such films probably, definitely. Then the film attaches itself to showing the mother who is an extremely obese person, her shame, her humiliation, her lot that is close to an ordeal. The film shows how dependent she is on her own family, on her own children, the father having died a long time before. And the film tries to show her under the best light they can afford. On her disabled son's birthday, after having accepted to be introduced to her elder son's girl friend (a young woman who had to stop in Endora with her mother and their travelling bus for a couple of weeks because of the breakdown of the car they travel in), after climbing back up to the second floor bedroom of the house for the first time in many years and lying there on her back, she dies without any kind of pain or noise with her disabled son calling for her to wake up. The film though has a strange ending. The children decide to burn her in the house since she cannot be taken down. A domestic pyre for the mother and a complete liberation for the children who are scattered away now they are homeless. The burial of old civilizations, of the Hinduist tradition. Amazing. And yet it is not the end. A last scene shows how the elder brother is recuperated by his girlfriend who comes back to pick him up and away from Endora and by picking one she gets two because the disabled brother comes along too. That's what happens when a mechanical incident forces you to stop over in a lost village in the countryside for a couple of weeks. You get trapped in some kind of sentimental cage like the disabled brother's crickets in his glass jar where he raises them. A good decent softly entertaining film.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines

scarletminded 2012-05-16 20:52:48

Pathos turns to bathos within the course of an hour...

May contain spoilers.This movie has a lot in common with Pay It Forward, another movie I didn'tlike. Grape starts out with many interesting characters- a 500 pound mom who hasn't beenout of the house in seven years, a 17 year old handicapped boy, a 15 girl who can'tstop looking at her teeth since the braces came off, a store clerk trying topitifully run his store and compete with the chain down the street, a girl who gets strandedin the town and decides to stay, a women who is married who has a sort of ice creamyaffair with Gilbert. Like Pay It Forward, a story that starts out amusing, turns into asappy, overdone affair, complete with a death in the end, so everyone can grab atissue. Both films are really over the top and end up crushing their life in the process,so it becomes unwatchable, even comical when it is meant to be the opposite. I had highhopes for it, since it is a cult favorite. After seeing it, I wonder why it is.This film sadly goes limp by the half way point. I don't know if it isJuliette Lewis I just can't stand, or nothing really happened, or the drama turned to bathos...itjust had all the personality of a dying dog with rabies that should be put out of itsmisery. Every time the screen went black, I hoped it was all over, yet no it wasn't. Asanother viewer said, this is torture.John C. Reilly was the only humor relief in the film. I enjoyed hischaracter. Other characters, like the "quirky" family, were introduced as a highpoint. Thenthere was nothing else to them, they seemed 2-D and lifeless. There was nothing tokeep it going except a few scenes with the brother and a lukewarm romance with the bicyclegirl...a slight pulse...I started to read a magazine in the midway point, not a goodsign!It might just be the sadist in me, but I wanted Leonardo DiCaprio'scharacter to come to an early end, probably just to end the movie. The kids runs off at a funeralalmost in front of a "Burger Barn" truck and boy, I was cheering for it to run himover. Of course, I was hoping his character would be beaten to death in Gangs of New York,there is just something about his acting that makes me want to see as little of it aspossible. I wonder why when someone plays a handicapped character, all of a sudden it isan Oscar worthy performance, no matter who it is...I suppose Lewis should have gotone to for The Other Sister...another film I assume is overly full of bathos, so Idon't bother seeing it, especially after this film. I get tired of the "handicapped person asprofound" theme of many movies. Hopefully this trend has ended. It just seems so false.And at the end, I couldn't figure out what was eating Gilbert. He seemed toget the girls and be ok with his mentally impaired brother and he got to leave at theend...so what was his problem again? I didn't quite understand why they burn the housedown with their dead mother inside...I know she was sad because she was so heavy, butcouldn't have they just buried her in the backyard? The dialog is pretty pointless to. Read this exchange:Becky: I love the sky. It's so limitless. Gilbert: It is big. It's very big. Becky: Big doesn't even sum it up, right? That word big is so small.Oh yes, it is THAT profound. My cynicism gets the best of me here...I gotsick of hearing these supposed philosophical yet working class lines about life. The onlyparts of the film I thought felt real where when Gilbert beats up his brother and thefrustration of his mother. Other than that, most of the other characters flatlined and Icouldn't have cared less...isn't drama supposed to convey emotions? I don't even know anythingabout Lewis' character...she rode it on a bike and didn't have much of a story,except she liked Gilbert. I would recommend running away from this film as fast as you can. Depp'scharacter here isn't as interesting as most of his other films by far. You would bebetter off with Don Juan De Marco, Sleepy Hollow or Edward Scissorhands.

gazzalere 2012-05-16 10:41:11

Heartwarming and so real

Starring Johnny Depp in the films lead role as Gilbert Grape alongsideLeonardo DiCaprio as Archie Grape the autistic brother to Gilbert wesoon from the opening scenes get the sense of a town being somewhat ofa prison for the kids living there. You can tell straight away thatGilbert wants to leave but he's constantly pulled back into thelifestyle of looking after his younger brother and very overweightmother, he just wants to what's right by his family. If you want towatch a film that is so true to life in so many respect then What'seating Gilbert Grape is the film for you because once those end titlesrole up the screen you'll be left feeling so grateful for what you haveand so sorry for the people that have to deal with the things shown inthis film.

2012-05-16 01:54:13

Terrible movie

This review is from: What's Eating Gilbert Grape (Special Collector's Edition) (DVD) I didn't care for this movie at all. The characters were forgetable and undeveloped. I didn't care about the story line. There really wasn't a plot. Other than and couple of actors who went onto do better things, there is nothing about this movie that I would recommend.

2012-05-15 10:07:16

Superb Small Town Drama

Small towns are great, but we wonder how many small town residents are curious about what else life has to offer. What's over the mountain? What's across the river? What does the new maga-grocery store across town look like? This is the theme of Gilbert Grape, a wonderful character study of some real "out there" characters. Young Leo DiCapria is totally convincing as a retarded tower climbing youth. Johnny Depp is strong as the young man in the family, who spends so much of his time caring for his brother and grossly obese mother, that he has no time or energy to care about himself. Juliette Lewis plays the pivotal role of Becky, who literally walks into this plot because her grandmothers car breaks down, and helps Depp open his eyes to his own life. Sometimes funny, occasionally sad, and often touching, this is a beautiful movie.

PhoenixElite 2012-05-15 10:04:38

A powerful, beautiful film

I'd heard a lot about this film and it is, in its own way, a classic.It's a bit of a strange experience to watch some of your favoriteactors nearly 20 years ago, but it was definitely worth it. I've been ahuge fan of both Depp and (especially) DiCaprio for a few years and Ithought it would be nice to watch them in some of the roles that helpedlaunch their careers. The film centers around Gilbert Grape, a youngadult who helps take care of his morbidly obese mother and his mentallyhandicapped brother while trying to spend time with the newly foundgirl of his dreams. He has to deal with a lot of conflicting emotionsregarding his family and his prospects, and thanks to Depp's masterfulperformance the viewer easily empathizes with the character'sstruggles. Gilbert is very protective of his brother Arnie, and theirrelationship plays a very important role as the movie unfolds.DiCaprio was brilliant in this film; it was hard to believe I wasn'tactually seeing a mentally retarded teenager on the screen, and theOscar nomination was definitely warranted. The film is very powerful,beautifully told and shot and with very pleasant music to boot. My onlycomplaint is that I felt it was too long. Some subplots, such asTucker's fixation with a fast food chain called Burger Barn, arewelcome and very entertaining, but the film lingers for too long on thesome of the romantic scenes between the main characters. Arnie's roleseems to be reduced about halfway through the film and brought back tofirst plane as it unfolds. Otherwise, the film is very powerful andfeatures stellar performances all around.

starsailor 2012-05-14 11:59:06

Indie is the new mainstream

A movie set in the probably most boring place on earth, Endora, somewheredeep down in Iowa. The Grape family lives there and the strange charactersof this family are the reason why "What's Eating Gilbert Grape" is not asboring as the small town where something's "eating Gilbert Grape".AlongsideGilbert (Johnny Depp), who is about 20 years old, his obese mother(DarleneCates), who has never left home since her husband's suicide seven yearsago,and Arnie (Leonardo di Caprio), his 17 years old retarded brother, are themain family -members in this Indie-movie.Gilbert's life can hardly be described as thrilling except for theintimatemeetings with married Mrs. Carver (i.e. delivering her some sperm afterdelivering what she has bought in the local grocery-store Gilbert worksin).So he's really delighted when Becky (Juliette Lewis) arrives at Endorawithher grandma (Penelope Brenning) and their camping-van and the two youngpeople fall in love with each other. But as the whole film is not thetypical Hollywood stuff, their love story also isn't a typical one. Theytalk about Becky's uncommon definition of Love and also have theirarguments, but nevertheless Becky is able to break the routine of theGrape's life.Swedish director Lasse Hallström has of course not created theera-definingmovie the world was waiting for. But together with some convincing actors(especially Depp, di Caprio and Cates) he makes a quiet and slow butintensemovie out of the novel by Peter Hedges and succeeds in showing real humancharacters and not just fat or retarded subjects. Therefore "What's EatingGilbert Grape" is despite it's quite bizarre setting a movie to tellsomething about everyone's life in a sometimes funny, sometimes sad butalways touching way.7/10

2012-05-13 16:22:06

This movie is awsome.

It is funny and sad at the same time. I think the actors are good. END

2012-05-13 02:13:15

Funny and Heartfelt

This is one of the best movies of 1993. Some parts are funny like when Gilbert tried to hit his sister with the car. But the majority of the movie is very sad. Johnny showing that kid his mother through the window. Who would do that?! SPOILERS! And at the end when the mom walks up the stairs and then she dies from over exhaustion. They had to burn the house. Or when Arney gets out of jail and about 20 people are staring at the mom laughing and taking pictures. Go out and rent this movie if you want to cry.

DominicanCynthia 2012-05-11 20:19:49

Heartwarming movie

One of my favorite movies,and surely a favorite of many others,this moviehas touched many lives.Leonardo DiCaprio did an excellent job as thementally ill teenager,Arnie and Johnny Depp also played an excellent roleasGilbert Grape."What's Eating Gilbert Grape" has made me look at life fromadifferent perspective because I've learned that not everybody sees it thesame way,and not everybody lives the same way I do,and not everybody isnormal.I shed tears watching this movie-that is how touching it is.I verymuch recommend it.

Travis_Bickle01 2012-05-11 06:15:00

Everyone should be a bit more like Gilbert Grape...

"What's eating Gilbert Grape" is the unique story of a young man whojust wants to be a good person. Johnny Depp gives a wonderfulperformance and Leonardo Dicaprio is amazing, unbelievable,outstanding,... as the retarded Arnie. It's hard to describe hisperformance, you just have to see it. I think it's one of the bestperformances of a retarded kid ever. He definitely should have won theOscar, instead of Tommy Lee Jones. Also Juliette Lewis gives a trulyremarkable performance as the vulnerable Becky.There are also many heartbreaking moments in this movie, but I willonly mention the ones who where the most special to be. The scene wherethe mother goes to the police office herself to get her son, was reallymoving. When she returns to the car and all the people are staring athere, children are laughing, there's even a guy who's taking apicture... when I saw this I could only feel very sorry for her.Another great scene is when they put the house on fire when theirmother died. The meaning of that is very beautiful and sad at the sametime: it's the only way her funeral can be a bit respectful and shewon't be seen as a joke (it's literally what she said she wanted) I'm abig fan of Lasse Hallström. Every time he makes a movie, he succeeds indelivering a wonderful a touching piece of art with actors who give thebest of them. This movie isn't an exception, it is as beautiful as "TheCider House Rules", "Chocolat" and "The Shipping News".Wonderful story, great acting,...what more should a movie have?Excellent movie, a must see for everyone who isn't afraid of feelingsomething... 9/10