What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

PG-1312/17/1993Romance, Drama1h 58m
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Life is a terrible thing to sleep through.

Overview

Gilbert Grape is a small-town young man with a lot of responsibility. Chief among his concerns are his mother, who is so overweight that she can't leave the house, and his mentally impaired younger brother, Arnie, who has a knack for finding trouble. Settled into a job at a grocery store and an ongoing affair with local woman Betty Carver, Gilbert finally has his life shaken up by the free-spirited Becky.

Top Billed Cast

  1. Cast 1

    Johnny Depp

    Gilbert Grape

  2. Cast 1

    Juliette Lewis

    Becky

  3. Cast 1

    Leonardo DiCaprio

    Arnie Grape

  4. Cast 1

    Mary Steenburgen

    Betty Carver

  5. Cast 1

    Darlene Cates

    Bonnie Grape

  6. Cast 1

    Laura Harrington

    Amy Grape

  7. Cast 1

    Mary Kate Schellhardt

    Ellen Grape

  8. Cast 1

    Kevin Tighe

    Ken Carver

  9. Cast 1

    John C. Reilly

    Tucker Van Dyke

I recently watched this movie again after many years, and was surprised how many details I had forgotten. It features a great ensemble cast who seem to mostly share a screen rapport. Leonardo DiCaprio previews his future star career with a stellar performance as the difficult Arnie. I thought the scene where husband Mr. Carver comes home from work and obsesses over the burnt cookies and the unused swimming pool was silly and a bad fit for the film, especially consider what came after the scene. Meanwhile the two sisters were great characters: they were emotional when the situation called fo...