What's Eating Gilbert Grape
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| What's Eating Gilbert Grape | |
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 Theatrical poster for What's Eating Gilbert Grape |
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| Directed by | Lasse Hallström |
| Produced by | Lasse Hallström Alan C. Blomquist |
| Written by | Peter Hedges |
| Starring | Johnny Depp Juliette Lewis Leonardo DiCaprio Darlene Cates |
| Music by | Alan Parker Björn Isfält |
| Cinematography | Sven Nykvist |
| Editing by | Andrew Mondshein |
| Distributed by | J&M Entertainment (non-USA) Paramount Pictures (USA) |
| Release date(s) | December 25, 1993 |
| Running time | 118 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | US$11 million (estimated) |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a 1993 comedy-drama movie directed by Lasse Hallström and starring Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and Leonardo DiCaprio. It is based on a book of the same name by author Peter Hedges. It was filmed in Manor, Texas.
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[edit] Cast
- Johnny Depp as Gilbert Grape
- Leonardo DiCaprio as Arnie Grape
- Juliette Lewis as Becky
- Mary Steenburgen as Betty Carver, who lusts for Gilbert
- Darlene Cates as Bonnie Grape, Gilbert's obese mother
- Laura Harrington as Amy Grape, the older of Gilbert's sisters
- Mary Kate Schellhardt as Ellen Grape, the younger of Gilbert's sisters.
- Kevin Tighe as Ken Carver, an insurance agent and Betty's husband
- John C. Reilly as Tucker Van Dyke, Gilbert's friend who also serves as a handyman and is hired by Burger Barn
- Crispin Glover as Bobby McBurney, who works at a morgue
- Mark Jordan as Todd Carver, Ken and Betty's older son
- Cameron Finley as Doug Carver, Ken and Betty's younger son
[edit] Plot summary
In the small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) is busy caring for his mentally handicapped brother, Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio). His morbidly obese mother, Bonnie (Darlene Cates) has not left the house in seven years since her husband committed suicide by hanging himself in the basement of their house, and spends almost all of her time on the couch watching television. With Bonnie unable to care for her children on her own, Gilbert has taken responsibility for repairing the old house and looking after Arnie, who has a habit of climbing up the town water tower, while his sisters Amy and Ellen do the rest. A new "Food Land" supermarket has opened, threatening the small Lamson's Grocery where Gilbert works. To make things more complicated, Gilbert is having an affair with a married woman named Betty Carver (Mary Steenburgen), whose husband, unknowing of his wife's infidelity, tries to sell Gilbert life insurance. With all the weight on his shoulders, Gilbert tries to handle his situation the best he can.
As the film begins, the family is preparing for Arnie's 18th birthday. A young woman named Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her grandmother are stuck in town when their truck pulling their mobile home breaks down. His unusual life circumstances threaten to get in the way of their budding romance. On the night following Arnie's 18th birthday party, the mother climbs the stairs of her house to her bedroom for the first time since her husband's suicide and dies for reasons not mentioned in the film directly. The children, not willing to let their mother become the joke of the town by having her corpse lifted from the house by crane, empty their family home of possessions and set it ablaze to cremate their parent. The film cuts to the blaze and fades out with the family looking on at their burning home.
A year later, Gilbert describes what happens to his family after his mother's death, as Gilbert and his brother Arnie wait by the side of a road for the arrival of Gilbert's romance, Becky. The film fades out with Gilbert and Arnie riding with Becky and her grandmother to an untold destination, hugging each other in the back seat of the recreational vehicle owned by Becky's grandmother.
[edit] Reception
While the film was not a box-office success (only grossing $10,032,765), the film was well received by critics and has garnered a large fanbase since its release on Home Video. On Rotten Tomatoes, 32 out of 36 reviewers marked the film as "fresh", thus giving it a mark of 89%.
[edit] Taglines
- Life is a terrible thing to sleep through.
- Living in Endora is like dancing to no music.
- Arnie knows a secret. His big brother Gilbert is the greatest person on the planet.
- Life hasn't passed Gilbert by... it's just taken a slight detour.
- It's what's in the inside that counts.
[edit] Awards and nominations
Leonardo DiCaprio earned his first Academy Award nomination for this movie. He trained for his part at children hospitals for the mentally challenged children.
