WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 2 out of 5

Because of: sexual content, adultery, thematic elements

Rated:

A movie that doesn't know quite what it wants to do with itself is What's Eating Gilbert Grape, the film that garnered Leonardo DiCaprio an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the mentally handicapped Arnie Grape, and also helped launch Johnny Depp from comic flicks into more serious avenues. I wish I could recommend it since the storyline is both touching and emotionally complex, but too many unsavory sexual elements are implied to allow the audience to relax and enjoy the film as a study of a dysfunctional family. Had the film been released recently, it would have received its rating for "sexual content and thematic elements," rather than just "mature elements."

Life is far from simple at the Grape household. First there's Gilbert (Johnny Depp), the good-natured, hard working man of the house. Then there are his two sisters Amy (Laura Harrington) and Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt), who manage to both work, attend school, and take care of their housebound mother Bonnie (Darlene Cates). Bonnie was once the most beautiful woman in the county. But after the death of her husband, who committed suicide, she completely resigned her life to inside four walls. As a result of her many hours pouting on the couch and eating as though her life depended on it, she now resembles "a beached whale." The most important person in the household is Arnie, a mentally handicapped boy on the verge of manhood. His eighteenth birthday is approaching, with much fuss. Gilbert feels trapped, knowing he will be forced to care for his brother the rest of his life.

Annually the caravan of motor homes rolls through on their trip from one side of the US to the other. Becky (Juliette Lewis) and her grandmother are bound for Colorado when their truck breaks down just outside of town. Forced to stop for repairs, she is befriended by Gilbert, who works at the local grocery store in town. The business is about to be put under by the new super-mart, but still has a few loyal customers. Among them is Mrs. Carver (Mary Steenburgen), who has been secretly carrying on an affair with Gilbert for some time, unknown to her insurance salesman husband. But with Becky in town, Gilbert finds his tastes more suited to younger women. Added on to his emotional confusion is the problem of Arnie, who has been warned repeatedly against his shenanigans on the town's water tower.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a fairly slow moving satire. It appeals not only on a humorous level (though the audience feels ashamed for finding humor in such bleak circumstances) but on an emotional one as well. Having some experience with mentally ill people, I could empathize with many of the situations Gilbert and his sisters found themselves in. But the movie was also, to me, disturbing. There's no real lesson to be learned here; the individuals are merely moving through life on autopilot, hoping to find something to look forward to by the end. Once the film is finished, the audience feels a sense of relief and exhaustion. It's not to say the movie isn't interesting; but it's long and feels that way. Maybe had the characters been a little more understandable (and had Gilbert not been fooling around with a married woman) I might have enjoyed it more.

The acting is very good, and by in large the movie implies rather than graphically portrays offensive content. After making a delivery of groceries to Mrs. Carver, the two romantically kiss and fool around on the kitchen table before her husband returns from work. (They get no further than untying his apron.) Tricked into dialing her husband's phone number, Gilbert must endure speaking with his enemy while Mrs. Carver unzips his pants. (His facial expression implies oral sex.) He and Becky kiss one evening by the campfire, and wake up together the next morning on the ground. (Whether anything happened is left for the viewer to decide.)

There's some language (a few uses of sh*t, mild profanities) and violence. Arnie sticks a grasshopper's head through the mailbox hook and then slams it shut (impact unseen, and he spends the next hour bawling uncontrollably because he "murdered" it). In one highly emotional scene, fed up with his brother, Gilbert slaps him violently across the head several times and slams him into the wall. (Likewise, he spends the night driving around dealing with his guilt.) While not graphic, the content is very uncomfortable because of its nature. Without the adultery, I might have recommended the film. I'd recommend Benny & Joon instead, since it deals with a similar topic in much more lighthearted and memorable ways.