Themes: Single Parents, Writer's Life, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Hume Cronyn
Release Year: 1982
Country: US
Run Time: 136 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
The 1982 film version of the John Irving novel The World According to Garp attempts to captures the quirky spirit while condensing the Irving original. Robin Williams plays the title character, the son of unmarried, unorthodox feminist Jenny Fields (Glenn Close, in her film debut). Every effort made by Jenny to broaden Garp's outlook on life -- she even arranges for him to spend the night with a hooker (Swoosie Kurtz) -- crams more fears and phobias into his psyche. Aspiring to become a novelist, Garp succeeds in this goal at the same time that his mother publishes her first feminist manifesto. Though successful and happily married to college sweetheart Helen Holm (Mary Beth Hurt), Garp remains envious of his fearless mother, who has taken in the radical "Ellen Jamesians," a group named after a young woman who had her tongue cut out by a rapist. Mutilation, in fact, becomes something of a leitmotif in Garp's life, climaxing (in every sense of the word) in an auto accident brought about by Helen's tryst with Michael Milton (Mark Soper). There is, of course, much more to the story than this: standing out amongst the dozens of offbeat supporting characters is John Lithgow as Roberta Muldoon, a transexual ex-football jock. John Irving appears as a referee during a college wrestling match, while director George Roy Hill plays the pilot whose low-flying plane crashes into Garp's new home. The World According to Garp didn't attract as large an audience as other, more conventional Robin Williams vehicles, though Close and Lithgow would both be nominated for Best Supporting Actor statues. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Review
Though not entirely faithful to John Irving's best-selling novel, the screen version of The World According to Garp (1982) still captured Irving's entertaining mix of absurd humor, social satire, and sincere melodrama. Under the assured direction of George Roy Hill, Steve Tesich's screenplay follows the highs and lows of aspiring writer T.S. Garp and the eccentrics that populate his world, including his nurse-turned-feminist icon mother Jenny, his academic wife Helen, and his transsexual ex-football star friend Roberta. At once an indictment of social strictures, activist excesses, and foolish philandering, and a celebration of personal expression, alternative lifestyles, and close-knit families, Garp's handsomely shot odyssey manages to be hilarious, uplifting, and tragic without becoming overly mired in its message. In only his second starring role, Robin Williams proved an adept dramatic actor and low-key comic presence as Garp, while John Lithgow's Roberta is more than just a transvestite gag; film newcomer Glenn Close garnered kudos for her no-nonsense Jenny. Though The World According to Garp was not a blockbuster, Close and Lithgow garnered supporting actress and actor Oscar nominations, and Williams went on to movie stardom. ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
Jessica Tandy - Mrs. Fields; Swoosie Kurtz - The Hooker; James McCall - Young Garp; Peter Michael Goetz - John Wolfe; Mark Soper - Michael Milton; Nathan Babcock - Duncan; Ian MacGregor - Walt; Warren Berlinger - Stew Percy; Amanda Plummer - Ellen James; Katherine Borowitz - Rachel; Susan Browning - Midge Percy; James M. Call - Young Garp; Dominic A. Cecere - Opposing Coach; Al Cerullo - Helicopter Pilot; Matthew Cowles - Speeding Plumber; Brenda Currin - Pooh; Jean de Baer - Speaker; George Ede - Dean Badger; David Fields - Infant Duncan; Tim Gallin - Fireman; Danny Goldman - Wrestling Opponent; Eve Gordon - Marge Tallworth; Bette Henritze - Woman Candidate; Kaiulani Lee - Chief Ellen Jamesian; Brandon Maggart - Ernie Holm; Kate McGregor-Stewart - Real Estate Lady; Laurie Robyn - Young Pooh; Jillian Ross - Young Cushie; Lori Shelle - Laurel; Jenny Wright - Cushie; Ronald C. Frazier - Stephen; George Roy Hill - Pilot (uncredited); Vic Magnotta - Coach; John Corcoran - Man in Tree; Ryan Davis - Duncan at 2 Years; Harris Laskaway - Randy; Isabell Monk - Woman with Book
Credit
Woods Mackintosh - Art Director, John Canemaker - Animator, Marion Dougherty - Casting, Mary Malin - Costume Designer, Ann Roth - Costume Designer, Alan Hopkins - First Assistant Director, George Roy Hill - Director, Ronald Roose - Editor, Stephen A. Rotter - Editor, Daniel Patrick Kelley - Executive Producer, David Shire - Composer (Music Score), David Shire - Musical Arrangement, Bob Laden - Makeup, Tom Priestley Jr. - Camera Operator, Henry Bumstead - Production Designer, Miroslav Ondrícek - Cinematographer, Robert L. Crawford - Producer, George Roy Hill - Producer, Robert Drumheller - Set Designer, Justin Scoppa, Jr. - Set Designer, Albert Griswold - Special Effects, Chris Newman - Sound/Sound Designer, Steve Tesich - Screenwriter, Michael Dennison - Costumes Supervisor, John Irving - Book Author
The house that the plane crashes into was built at one end of the only runway at Lincoln Park Airport, a very small airstrip in Lincoln Park, New Jersey (about 35 miles SW of New York City). The wrecked house was not removed for several weeks. While no planes have hit houses in the vicinity, one did bounce off the roof of a passing car several years earlier.
Jeff Daniels was considered for the lead role but lost out to Robin Williams.
Glenn Close landed the role of Jenny after director George Roy Hill and casting director Marion Dougherty had seen her in a Broadway production of Barnum opposite Jim Dale.
A line of dialogue was changed for the recent Warner DVD release: when Roberta Muldoon is talking with Garp's mother Jenny about the accident, in the original theatrical version she said "...to have it bitten off in a Buick." In the new DVD version the reference to Buick was removed, so Roberta now just says "...to have it bitten off."
