What's Eating Gilbert Grape

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What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Rate: 8
Viewed: 8/04, 4/05, 8/20

EatGrape
8/04: Words I can use to describe how I feel about What's Eating Gilbert Grape won't be good enough.

Johnny Depp, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates, and Leonardo DiCaprio are all outstanding. Of the latter, it's probably the only film I can say he gives a believable acting performance. It's also the only time, besides Ed Wood, I can say Johnny Depp is something special.

All in all, most of the credit goes to Lasse Hallström for the fine storytelling and making the cast gel in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.

4/05: What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a perfect picture for Johnny Depp.

His on-screen chemistry with Juliette Lewis is kept at high level and feels natural. Darlene Cates has a nice supporting role to bring the most out of the story. But it's Leonardo DiCaprio who's super special.

All in all, What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a must-see picture for Leonardo DiCaprio's sake.

8/20: Leonardo DiCaprio isn't a great actor, but his performance in What's Eating Gilbert Grape is astonishing.

It's nearly the only reason to watch the film over and over. The cast is fine. I wish I can say everybody is special, but not this time. Johnny Depp and Juliette Lewis have good chemistry, but let's be real: his character was screwing around with an older woman, making him an icky dude. His friends are boring to listen to.

I thought Darlene Cates would be dead shortly after the completion of the film, but she surprisingly lived longer until passing away in 2017. She must have weighed over 600 pounds. At any rate, Darlene Cates plays the second most memorable character, and it's the only Hollywood film she did.

So, what's the story is all about? Specifically, what's the meaning of the title: What's Eating Gilbert Grape? It's the numerous little issues he has on his plate that many people don't usually deal with. One day, Gilbert just snapped and took it out on Arnie. It's understandable, but he went too far this time.

All in all, shot on location mostly in Texas, What's Eating Gilbert Grape is a decent movie, but it's nothing special except for Leonardo DiCaprio's Oscar-nominated performance.