Themes: Small-Town Life, Sibling Relationships, Mothers and Sons
Main Cast: Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Leonardo DiCaprio, Darlene Cates
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Swedish director Lasse Hallstrom's follow-up to the underrated Once Around earned far more attention than its predecessor thanks to the judicious casting of perennial thinking woman's heartthrob Johnny Depp and a certain up-and-coming thespian by the name of Leonardo DiCaprio. A prisoner of his dysfunctional family's broken dreams in tiny Endora, IA, Gilbert (Depp) serves as breadwinner and caretaker for his mother and siblings following his father's suicide and his older brother's defection. Momma (Darlene Cates) is a morbidly obese shut-in who hasn't left the house in seven years; her children include retarded Arnie (DiCaprio), who's about to turn 18 despite a host of negative medical forecasts, and terminally embarrassed Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt), who's emerging from an awkward adolescence. When he's not taking care of the difficult but tender Arnie, Gilbert spends his time fixing up the family's tattered farmhouse, working at a failing mom-and-pop grocery store and hanging with local misfits Bobby (Crispin Glover), an overly ambitious junior undertaker, and Tucker (John C. Reilly), a handyman who hankers after a job at the new burger franchise. Into this complicated but essentially unchanging social universe steps Becky (Juliette Lewis), a thoughtful young woman who's been escorting her nomadic grandmother from state to state in a mobile-home caravan. As Becky teaches Gilbert to finally consider his own happiness for a change, she disrupts both his family obligations and his long-running affair with a lonely housewife (Mary Steenburgen). Adapted by Peter Hedges from his own novel of the same name, What's Eating Gilbert Grape was the first and only film role for non-actress Cates, whom the filmmakers discovered on an episode of the Sally Jesse Raphael Show titled "Too Heavy to Leave Their House." ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Review
This tender but unflinching examination of the tension between individual happiness and family obligation neatly condenses a large ensemble, a lengthy backstory and a lot of subtext into two delightfully cinematic hours. Just a touch of voice-over from leading man Johnny Depp sets the stage for a story that is told from his character's viewpoint even as it takes in a host of supporting players and deals with such tangential issues as frustrated infidelity and the strip-malling of America. After his roguish turn in This Boy's Life, Leonardo DiCaprio made his name as a serious young actor with his top-notch work as the retarded Arnie; spot-on physical and vocal mannerisms broadcast DiCaprio's technical prowess, but his performance here has the sort of emotional undertow and sly, if childlike, intelligence that has eluded other actors as accomplished as Dustin Hoffman in similar roles. Non-actress Darlene Cates is fantastic as the manipulative yet ultimately dignified and sympathetic Momma, while the supporting cast, from John C. Reilly and Crispin Glover to Juliette Lewis and Mary Streenburgen, provides comic asides, thoughtful interludes, and catharsis upon command. In the end, though, it's Depp and director Lasse Hallstrom who hold it all together, the former actually using his soulful eyes instead of coasting on the beauty of his gravity-defying cheekbones, the latter deftly balancing pathos and contemplation and keeping his large cast and story in line. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide
Laura Harrington - Amy Grape; Mary Kate Schellhardt - Ellen Grape; Kevin Tighe - Mr. Carver; John C. Reilly - Tucker Van Dyke; Crispin Glover - Bobby McBurney; Penelope Branning - Becky's Grandma; Mona Lee Fultz - Bakery Worker; Tim Green - Mr. Lamson; George Haynes - Dave; Joe Stevens - Burger Barn manager; Gail Levin; Cameron Finley - Doug Carver; Libby Villari - Waitress; Susan Loughran - Mrs. Lamson; Brady Coleman - Sheriff Farrel
Credit
John Myhre - Art Director, Kevin J. Ward - Boom Operator, Gail Levin - Casting, Jo Edna Boldin - Casting, Renee Ehrlich Kalfus - Costume Designer, David B. Householter - First Assistant Director, Lasse Hallström - Director, Andrew Mondshein - Editor, Alan C. Blomquist - Executive Producer, Lasse Hallström - Executive Producer, Deborah Ann Piper - Hair Styles, Gerard W. Averill - Location Manager, Charles Harrington - Location Manager, Björn Isfält - Composer (Music Score), Alan Parker - Composer (Music Score), Patty York - Makeup, Chris Hayes - Camera Operator, Kevin Jewison - Camera Operator, Anastas Michos - Camera Operator, Bernt Amadeus Capra - Production Designer, Sven Nykvist - Cinematographer, Meir Teper - Producer, Bertil Ohlsson - Producer, David Matalon - Producer, Gretchen Rau - Set Designer, Scott Prescott - Special Effects, Paul Stewart - Special Effects, David Brownlow - Sound/Sound Designer, Gary Price - Stunts, Janet Brady - Stunts, Rusty McClennon - Stunts Coordinator, Richard J. Gelfand - Unit Production Manager, Peter Hedges - Screenwriter, Adam C. Braid - Production Assistant, Bryan K. Christner - Production Assistant, Brady Dial - Production Assistant, Sharon Goodin - Production Assistant, David Higby - Production Assistant, Kelly Kernan - Production Assistant, Mary Annette Melton - Production Assistant, Alex F. Newsome - Production Assistant, Brian L. O'Kelley - Production Assistant, Diane Weidenkopf - Production Assistant, Hal Masonberg - Production Assistant, Paul Soucek - Sound Effects Editor, Jeff Cronenweth - First Assistant Camera, Douglas Hart - First Assistant Camera, Victoria J. Lowe - First Assistant Camera, Penny Sprague Dixon - First Assistant Camera, Mary Nelson - Grip, Key III Kolb - Grip, Robert H. Lewallen III - Grip, Denise B. Nelson - Grip, Charles Seligman - Grip, Joseph S. De Beasi - Music Editor, Kelley Wood - Production Coordinator, Richard J. Gelfand - Production Supervisor, Robert Beck - Properties Master, Rodd Matsui - Prosthetic Makeup Effects, Lee Dichter - Re-Recording Mixer, Dianne Dreyer - Script Supervisor, Linda Brachman - Second Assistant Director, Howard Jensen - Special Effects Coordinator, Peter Iovino - Still Photographer, Michael Kirchberger - Supervising Sound Editor, Stuart Stanley - ADR Editor, Deborah Wallach - ADR Editor, Geoffrey S. Grimsman - Assistant Art Director, Lucy W. Corrigan - Assistant Costumer Designer, John Vecchio - Assistant Chief Lighting Technician, Katie Cokinos - Assistant Location Manager, Toni G - Assistant Makeup, Cindy Williams - Assistant Makeup, Dennis F. DiAddezzio - Assistant Properties, David Wahnon - Assistant Sound Editor, Eytan Mirsky - Assistant Sound Editor, Jac Rubenstein - Assistant Sound Editor, Bronni Stein - Casting Assistant, Pat Reddish - Chief Lighting Technician, John V. Burson - Construction Coordinator, Kathleen Kiata - Costumes Supervisor, Bitty O'Sullivan-Smith - Dialogue Editor, Dan Korintus - Dialogue Editor, Neil Kaufman - Dialogue Editor, Mike Moad - Dolly Grip, Maya S. Macesich - Draftsman, Chris Reddish - Electrician, Dwight Carey - Electrician, Scott Conn - Electrician, John Lacy - Electrician, Michael Palmer - Electrician, Jennifer Davidoff - First Assistant Editor, Elisha Birnbaum - Foley Artist, Brian Vancho - Foley Artist, Louis Bertini - Foley Editor, Stephanie Waldren - Greensman, David Brace - Leadman, Ronald Ashmore - Lead Scenic Artist, Theresa Dringenberg - Scenic Artist, Lucas Bielan - Second Assistant Camera, Seth Cirker - Second Second Assistant Director, Sean Patrick Brennan - Set Dresser, Ross Dreyer - Set Dresser, Elizabeth McNamara - Set Dresser, Bongo Don Stroud - Set Dresser, Mitzie Corbin - Set Dresser, Kim Larsen - Set Dresser, Wayne Nelson - Transportation Coordinator, Peter Hedges - Book Author, Ronny Perkins - Construction Foreman, Dominick Tavella - Foley Mixer, Kathry Korniloff - Production Secretary, Jane McCulley - Supervising ADR Editor, Kathy Budas - Art Department Coordinator, Kristine Bulakowski - Assistant ADR Editor, Rodney Brown - Carpenter, Alan R. Serotta - Carpenter, Ron Miller - Carpenter, J.P. Barrow - Carpenter, Max Evers - Carpenter, Tim Lobdell - Carpenter, Jim McCallie - Carpenter, Ron Merriam - Carpenter, William R Prince - Carpenter, Maria Nay - Assistant Set Decorator
