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Paramount Pictures
Not part of a collection.
Life is a terrible thing to sleep through.
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.
CinemaSerf
Apr 23, 2024 · via TMDB
With his mother (Darlene Cates) morbidly obese and equally embarrassed about her image, and his younger brother "Arnie" (Leonardo DiCaprio) dealing with mental health issues, it falls to "Gilbert" (Johnny Depp) to try and provide as best he can for his family. He has a job in the struggling local grocery store that sees him deliver to the "Carver" family. "Betty" (Mary Steenburgen) is the bored housewife there with whom "Gilbert" has some fun whilst her husband is off selling insurance. It's all a relentless cycle that's going nowhere until "Becky" (Juliette Lewis) comes to town and starts to give "Gilbert" a sense of a different purpose. She begins to help him see that he must live a bit of his own life too. When a fairly predictable tragedy ensues, everyone has to make some choices - and they're not easy. DiCaprio is pretty outstanding as the soon-to-be eighteen year old lad whose behaviour would test the patience of a saint. His loud and repetitive language and his child-like tantrums are just the tip of the iceberg and his performance - especially his grinning - gives "Arnie" an engaging amount of character. He's not going for the sympathy vote, either - his portrayal elicits feelings of affection, sure, but also of cheerfully wanting to strangle him! Depp holds this all together with assurance and there's plenty of humour to keep the melodrama at bay. It starts off strongly and continues for two hours of characterful and thought-provoking drama that can at times come across as just a little contrived, but it is still a good watch.
GenerationofSwine
Jan 11, 2023 · via TMDB
So, I had no idea who Leonardo was when I saw this back in the 90s, it was before Titanic, before he made it big, and I thought they hired an intellectually disabled man to play the part. And it dropped in '93 so that would make Dicaprio about 19? Maybe 18 when they made it? I doubt they would give an Oscar to a kid that young, but see that he's CLEARLY not Intellectually Disabled and how believable he was, well, that's probably one of the best performances I've seen. That was Oscar worthy. Besides that, it was really a Johnny Depp vehicle... as much as a 90s indy film can be, and he played a calm, low key, and utterly charming role in a film about a man that had to maybe grow up too fast and deal with too much at too young an age. And, of course, a charming little love story. A charming story about family. About loyalty. There is honestly absolutely nothing to criticize here, except, it's certainly a 90s story, a 90s movie, and if you are removed from Gen-X, it might not have the appeal. This isn't the over-the-top FX sort of films that are a hallmark of the Millennial generation... ...but beyond that, KUDOS to Leo for nailing it as such a young age, and a cheers to everyone else involved for making a brilliant and entertaining hidden gem of a film
Filipe Manuel Neto
Nov 27, 2022 · via TMDB
**A rather conventional and average family drama, where DiCaprio and Depp's performances turn out to be the only truly worthy note.** Sometimes, what makes a film remarkable is the extraordinary performance of an actor, and that becomes even more admirable when that actor is extremely young. That's what we have in this film, a conventional family drama, where a young adult tries to live his life as normally as possible while having to take care of everyone around him, particularly his mother, who is morbidly obese and depressed, and his younger brother, who has a mental problem that the movie never really specifies. In fact, I didn't find the script particularly interesting. Cinema is full of family dramas, and this one has nothing really new or fresh to add. And if the script doesn't seem remarkable to me, the production values and technical aspects deserve even less attention, with the film betting on very conventional and average visuals, and a pace that sometimes slows down and falters, the result of an editing not always well executed. What makes the film more interesting is the cast, which includes two young actors, then very promising, called Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio. Depp is older than DiCaprio, and his career was relatively established when he agreed to star in this film. DiCaprio, on the other hand, was still an unknown young man and was beginning to emerge. However, the collaboration between them, in this film, is remarkable, and it seems that both knew how to get the best out of each other, to our benefit. Although today we know Depp through a wide range of peculiar characters, what he did in this film is the complete opposite, and his character is one hundred percent ordinary, responsible, mature and strong. DiCaprio, however, stands out the most, even more than Depp. Playing a mentally disturbed teenager, DiCaprio had a lot of leeway to study and design the character and his mannerisms and tics. The result is truly credible and surprising. Mary Steenburgen and Darlene Cates provide very effective support and give us the best female performances. In absolute counterpoint, Juliette Lewis doesn't have much to do, while Laura Harrington and Mary Kate Schellhardt practically disappear when they're on the scene.
Peter McGinn
Dec 11, 2021 · via TMDB
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 for it, but gave an even and restrained performance. I would have like to have seen more of them.
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
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Google Play Movies
YouTube
Fandango At Home
Johnny Depp
Gilbert Grape
Leonardo DiCaprio
Arnie Grape
Juliette Lewis
Becky
Mary Steenburgen
Betty Carver
Darlene Cates
Momma
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
Susan Loughran
Mrs. Lamson
Cameron Finley
Doug Carver
Brady Coleman
Sheriff Farrel
Tim Simek
Deputy
Libby Villari
Waitress
Joe Stevens
Burger Barn Manager
Mona Lee Fultz
Bakery Worker
John Myhre
Art Direction
Bernt Amadeus Capra
Production Design
Sven Nykvist
Director of Photography
Jeff Cronenweth
First Assistant Camera
Renee Ehrlich Kalfus
Costume Design
Gary Price
Stunts
Lasse Hallström
Director
David B. Householter
First Assistant Director
Andrew Mondshein
Editor
Lasse Hallström
Executive Producer
Joseph S. DeBeasi
Music Editor
Björn Isfält
Original Music Composer
Peter Hedges
Novel
Peter Hedges
Screenplay
Impure Blood
Flame and the Flesh
Adventures of Lazare
The Power and the Glory
Carnival in Flanders
Chicken
The Green Mile
Nylon Moon
Forrest Gump
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Once Upon a Time in America
Paris, Texas
Yearning
La Vida No Vale Nada
Metropolis
American Beauty
Casino
Rocco and His Brothers
The Dark Mirror
Jen o rodinných záležitostech
William Wilson
The Fog
Faustrecht
The Sixth Sense
Freedom Writers
Downfall
Dances with Wolves
Rosemary's Baby
The Bridges of Madison County
Manhattan
Charade
The Hustler
If I Could Marry the Minister
All the President's Men
Fried Green Tomatoes
Truth and Justice
Memoirs of a Geisha
Black Cat, White Cat
The Sea Inside
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Breakthrough
Jules and Jim
Obsession
mid90s
The Violators
Contact
The Devil Wears Prada
Erin Brockovich
The Experiment
Scarface
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Murder She Said
Conflit
Finding Neverland
25th Hour
Gone Baby Gone
Lolita
I've Loved You So Long
Pure Love
2046
Driving Miss Daisy
The Poseidon Adventure
The Hours
Dangerous Liaisons
Take My Eyes
Secret Sunshine
Hunger
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Straw Dogs
Murder at the Gallop
Desert Hearts
As It Is in Heaven
Notes on a Scandal
Little Children
The Virgin Suicides
Zappa
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
My Own Private Idaho
Wild at Heart
Ronia: The Robber's Daughter
A River Runs Through It
The Tin Drum
La Chinoise
State of Grace
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Midsummer's Equation
La vuelta del Coyote
The Devil's Garden
A Dead Man among the Living
Teinen Oyaji Kaizou Keikaku
Coin Locker Girl
Death at a Funeral
Layer Cake
The Paper Man
Don't Look Now
Shower
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie
The Savages
Holes
The Shell Seekers
Antonia's Line
Salvador (Puig Antich)
Moonstruck
A Tale of Two Cities
Payback
Twin Sisters
Moriah's Lighthouse
The Fortress
Beyond the Curtain
Fanaa
The Bodyguard
Bonjour Tristesse
Van Gogh
The Spiderwick Chronicles
A Wife Confesses
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Doctor Bull
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Last Night
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Crash
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Neandertal
Ginza Cosmetics
Foma Gordeyev
O Quinze
The Happy Camper
The Wonderers
The Gift
The Beach
Our Ladies
The Idiots
Devil in a Blue Dress
Borstal
The Sum of All Fears
Great Expectations
Obaba
Storm over Tjurö
Cassandra's Dream
Saint-Jacques… La Mecque
Storm Over the Nile
Heart o' the Hills
Son-Rise: A Miracle of Love
Sleepless
24 Hours
Germans
Subsuelo
Like a Bolt of Lightning
Dom Juan
Your Place or Mine
Fat Girl
The Coast Guard
American Wedding
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Undertow
The Rhythm of Crime
Fallen Angels Paradise
Human Nature
Blind Date
People in the Summer Night
Berlin Syndrome
A Round Trip to Love
Our Meal for Tomorrow
September Sky
The Last Song You Left Behind
The Glass House
Solaris
Accidentally in Love
Winged Creatures
Atlantis
A Day on the Planet
Summer Things
Stars at Noon
Carolina
Party Monster
Heart of Darkness
Hyouka: Forbidden Secrets
Stay Hungry
Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti
Me and My Sister
David Copperfield
Go Ask Alice
Light of Day
Silence in Dreamland
From Subway with Love
David Copperfield
36 Fillette
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Key
Loss of Feeling
Cuckoo in a Dark Forest
National Street
A Round Trip to Love 2
Süss, the Jew
Lízino štěstí
The Horse That Cried
Family Squares
Nightmare in Venice
2 Women
Une glace avec deux boules...
Milenec lady Chatterleyové
Steam
The Robber Bridegroom
Flowers For Mrs. Harris
Děvče z hor
Gon-Mama
Rajamaa
Výšiny
Xia Xue & Wei An: Miss You Always
Counting Miracles
Any Color You Like
Detransition, Baby
The Metamorphosis
7 Miles Out
Mistr a Markétka
39th Edogawa Rampo Prize "Kao ni Furikakaru Ame"
Confidential Informant (proof of concept)
Aquí
Hänen olivat linnut
Why Wait, Just Die
Love and Other Words
Flipped
Me Before You
The Unbreakable Boy
The Bridges of Madison County
Where the Crawdads Sing
One Day
Love Everlasting
The Secret: Dare to Dream
Brooklyn
All That Heaven Allows
Turtles All the Way Down
The Choice
Wuthering Heights
Everything, Everything
Love at First Sight
Safe Haven
An Autumn Romance
The Glass Castle
The Way We Were
Charlie St. Cloud
The Time Traveler's Wife
The Fugitive Kind
Jane Eyre
The Lost Husband
Our Souls at Night
Wuthering Heights
Stanley & Iris
Great Expectations
Digging to China
Iris
Tim
Departure
The Yellow Handkerchief
Eat Pray Love
Blind
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
Wuthering Heights
The Object of My Affection
One & Two
Dec 17, 1993
Mar 4, 1994
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What a Carry On!
1973
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2014
Sign in to vote
Battle your watched movies head-to-head
Community Top Movies
Evil Dead II
1987 · 14 wins
The Dark Knight
2008 · 14 wins
Halloween
1978 · 13 wins
Final Destination
2000 · 12 wins
Halloween II
1981 · 11 wins
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Movie Trivia
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What movie experience do you prefer?
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