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Actors: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about What's Eating Gilbert Grape |
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Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) lives in a small town called Endora. Nothing ever happens there. The only thing they have to look forward to is the annual pilgrimage of travel trailers that comes to their town to camp and go fishing nearby.
The Grape family consists of Momma, two sisters, Gilbert, and his mentally challenged brother Arnie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Taking care of Arnie has largely fallen to Gilbert, while Momma who was grown to huge proportions can't get up off the couch. The two girls are too self-absorbed to help.
The rest of the story winds around Gilbert's struggles to keep his brother out of trouble, the family's planning for Arnie's 18th birthday, and Gilbert's yearn to find a girl. When he starts to abandon his responsibilities toward his brother in order to pursue the girl (Juliette Lewis), his brother gets into trouble every time. His favorite prank is to climb to the top of the city's water tower, bringing out the police, firemen, and the whole town to watch the spectacle. If they're not gawking at Arnie, they're gawking at Momma, who is huge. The three story lines nicely tie together by the end when Arnie is out of trouble long enough to attend his own birthday party and Gilbert finds the girl. Leonardo DiCaprio received an Oscar nomination for his role as a mentally challenged boy, and he played it very convincingly.
--BethG, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of What's Eating Gilbert Grape |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Family, caring for sick?
Yes
Who is sick?
- Brother
because he/she is
- mentally ill
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) long girliemon hair
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- blonde
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average build
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
Age:
- long-lived adults
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 80%
Setting
United States
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Movie makes you feel...
- encouraged
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- touching of personal anatomy
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 BethG
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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