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MOVIES / ON DVD / WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE
What's Eating Gilbert Grape

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What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

89%
100%
91%
N/A
N/A
N/A
89 %
Reviews Counted: 36 Fresh: 32  Rotten:4 Average Rating: 7.5/10

How does the Tomatometer work?

The Tomatometer measures the percentage of positive reviews from Approved Tomatometer Critics for a certain movie.[-]

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Synopsis: Bizarre, whimsical, and touching scenes mark WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE. Johnny Depp is Gilbert, the eldest brother in a large family of a very large (morbidly obese, actually) mother (Darlene Cates) who hasn't left the house since her husband committed suicide years before. Leonardo... Bizarre, whimsical, and touching scenes mark WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE. Johnny Depp is Gilbert, the eldest brother in a large family of a very large (morbidly obese, actually) mother (Darlene Cates) who hasn't left the house since her husband committed suicide years before. Leonardo DiCaprio, who received an Academy Award nomination for his role, is Arnie, Gilbert's retarded teenage brother who needs constant supervision (he's often found scaling the town water tower). Caring, passive Gilbert is burdened beyond reason, living a dead-end life in a dying small town, stocking shelves at a grocery store whose business being taken over by the new mall supermarket. Gilbert's best friends (Crispin Glover and John C. Reilly) see their futures in the form of undertaker and Burger Barn owner, and Gilbert's other social life is taken up with a random affair with a frustrated and reckless housewife (Mary Steenburgen). Everyone needs the constantly patient Gilbert, whose future seems equally grim until well-traveled, straightforward Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her nonconformist grandmother (Penelope Branning) come to town. Their camper is in need of repair, so Becky stays long enough to actually have an effect on Gilbert, making his new life spiral in wild ways. Based on the novel by Peter Hedges (who also wrote the screenplay), WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE is quirky, irresistible, and endearingly eccentric without being a freak show. [More]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, Leonardo DiCaprio, John C. Reilly

Director: Lasse Hallstrom
Screenwriter: Peter Hedges
Producer: David Matalon, Bertil Ohlsson, Meir Teper
Composer: Alan Parker

DVD Info

Release:

Aug 6, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Keep Case - Sensormatic
  • Widescreen - 16.9

Audio:

  • Dolby Digtial 5.1 - English
  • Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - English

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Lasse Hallstrom - Director
  • 2. Peter Hedges - Writer
  • Featurettes - 1. The Voice of Gilbert Grape
  • 2. The Characters of Gilbert Grape
  • 3. Why We Love Gilbert Grape
  • Production Interviews - 1. Johnny Depp - Star
  • 2. Mary Steenburgen - Star
  • 3. Juliette Lewis - Star
  • Trailer - Original Theatrical Trailer

Reviews

 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
02/11/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/01/05
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image
5/5

Quite wonderful character study, great acting turns by Depp and DiCaprio, among others.

comment Comment
03/08/08
Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
Ratings Image
N/A

There is not much plot to speak of, but the film instead presents a moody, elegiac atmosphere of longing and desperation that is powerfully tangible ....

Full Review | comment Comment
07/10/07
Felix Gonzalez Jr.
DVD Review
Ratings Image
B+

Hallstrom finds the right bittersweet tone for his dysfunctional family tale (and one of Hollywood's few films about obesity), marvelously acted by Johnny Depp and particularly Leonardo DiCaprio in his second outing as a retarded adolescent.

Full Review | comment Comment
06/29/07
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
3/4

Depp's sincere, subtle performance is certainly a big reason for the movie's success...

Full Review | comment Comment
07/15/06
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
04/11/06
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/08/05
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
06/15/05
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
Ratings Image
4/5

Fine performances by all, with Leonardo DiCaprio a stand out.

comment Comment
04/22/05
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
09/23/04
Thomas Delapa
Boulder Weekly
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5/5

No review available.

comment Comment
08/04/04
Linda Cook
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
04/30/04
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
02/13/04
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
11/14/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Ratings Image
4/5

No review available.

comment Comment
07/31/03
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views
Ratings Image
5/5

One of the best dramas ever. In a small town where nothing happens, every scene is an event as Gilbert deals with life.

comment Comment
07/14/03
Fred Topel
About.com
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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3/4

Click to read the article

Full Review | comment Comment
05/20/03
Susan Tavernetti
Palo Alto Weekly
Ratings Image
4/5

Small-town drama has big moments thanks to Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis and a superb Leonardo DiCaprio.

Full Review | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
Netflix
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