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Topic: What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Evans A Criswell
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1579
From: Huntsville, AL, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

posted 11-21-2003 11:58 PM

DVD -- Watched 2003/11/21 -- Anamorphic 16:9 transfer -- 1.85:1 -- Movie came out in 1993 originally.

This is a first for me! This is the first time I've ever started writing a review while watching the movie.

Someone mentioned in the "Benny and Joon" thread that if I liked "Benny and Joon", I'd like "What's Eating Gilbert Grape". I definitely liked "Benny and Joon" more than this one.

I felt so sorry for Gilbert, being tied down and hindered having to take care of Arnie, who is about to turn 18 and is mentally handicapped. I could just imagine how stressful it would be to have someone like that to take care of, who would have to be watched every minute.

Although this movie was described as a "blend of comedy and drama" on the DVD box, I'd say it was far more drama than comedy.

Although I got annoyed with the Arnie character, I must say that Leonardo DiCaprio did a great job playing that part. It was hard to believe that the actor playing Arnie's part wasn't mentally handicapped in real life. It's also hard to believe that it was the same Leonardo DiCaprio that was in Titanic just four years later.

I'm a big Johnny Depp fan, and I loved him in this movie. He's a really beautiful guy, and he had nice long hair in this movie. This is the first time I've seen him play a non-eccentric character in a movie. People magazine just named Johnny Depp "Sexiest Man Alive 2003", which is no surprise since they don't come much more beautiful than him.

The fact that I started writing the review halfway into the movie is an important note. At that point, I was actually thinking of stopping the movie and watching it later. Shortly afterwards, I started liking the movie more and watched it all the way through. So, if you watch this movie, don't give up on it halfway into it. [Smile]

I was expecting more of a comedy, but a lot of it caused more feelings of stress and annoyance than anything (possibly magnified by my already somewhat depressed state at the time). It's definitely not a "cheer you up comedy", but it is a good movie. Just be prepared to see all the troubles and stresses of taking care of a mentally inpared boy who easily gets himself into trouble or dangerous situations (like climbing up a water tower) and cannot take care of himself. The more I think about the Arnie character, the more amazed I am that Leonardo DiCaprio did that part. I wonder how much training and practice he had to go through to pull that off.

The DVD transfer was very good. It was free of the crawling "raindrops" or "worms" that I noticed in the "Benny and Joon " transfer (see my "Benny and Joon" afterlife post). If they were there on the Gilbert Grape transfer, I didn't notice them.

Comment added 2003/11/22 14:16

I started thinking about the small town and the layout of it. Gilbert drove around in the truck a lot, but people also were able to walk from one place to another in very little time. Arnie was able to get to the water tower from two different places on foot in just a minute or two. At some point, I'd like to skim the movie again just to see where things are in the town in relation to each other to see if it all makes any sense. In one scene, we see police cars heading to the water tower, going down a road that was going out of town. It seems those police cars were heading away from the water tower, since it was near the middle of town. Hmmm. Was everything really arranged that close together to need that much driving time while needing so little walking time?

[ 11-22-2003, 02:22 PM: Message edited by: Evans A Criswell ]

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Pravin Ratnam
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 844
From: Atlanta, GA,USA
Registered: Sep 2002

posted 11-24-2003 01:45 AM

Personally, I do not know anyone who has not loved this movie. Leonardo DiCaprio is as good or even better than the usual oscar winners for retard or handicapped roles (Hoffman in Rainman, Hanks for Gump). Depp is very good presence and exhibits good chemistry with Leonardo. The bathtub scene where he knocks his brother out was done great. Juliette Lewis does what she does best. I have seen this movie many times and I can still watch it again.

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