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Features: Special Edition, Collector's Edition, DVD, Dolby, Digital Audio, English, Dolby Digital (5.1)
Johnny Depp plays Gilbert and Juliette Lewis is the girl who turns his life around in this flawless blend of comedy and drama that includes Leonardo DiCaprio's stunning, Oscar-nominated performance as Gilbert's mentally impaired younger brother. Newcomer Darlene Cates (as Momma) and Mary Steenburgen (as a housewife who wants Gilbert all to herself) co-star in "one of the most real, honest and unusual pictures of the year" (Bill Diehl, ABC RadioNetwork).
"Wonderfully original." Jeanne Wolf, Hollywood Movies
"DiCaprio's performance is astonishing..." Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times
"Pure magic! One of the top ten movies of the year." Rod Lurie, Los Angeles Magazine
Editor's Note
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.
Plot Summary
Lasse Hallstrom directs this beautifully photographed, critically acclaimed drama about small-town life and the contraints a young man's family's responsibilities put on his independence. Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp), the de facto head of the Grape family following the suicide of his father, struggles to take care of his two sisters, his mentally handicapped brother (Leonardo DiCaprio), and his 500-pound mother, when a beautiful young free spirit (Juliette Lewis) awakens him to the fact that he is not living his own life. The screenplay is written by Peter Hedges who also wrote the novel of the same name.
| Features | All New Interviews With Johnny Depp, Mary Steenburgen, Juliette Lewis, & More | | Audio Commentary By Director Lasse Hallstrom & Writer Peter Hedges | | Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo | | Featurettes: "The Voice Of Gilbert Grape", "The Characters Of Gilbert Grape" & "Why We Love Gilbert Grape" | | Interactive Menus | | Original Theatrical Trailer | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Paramount |
| Release Date: 5/6/2008 |
| Running Time: 128 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1993 | | Catalog ID: 042124 | | UPC: 00097360421248 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English [CC], English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Oscar (1994) | | | Leonardo DiCaprio, Nominee, Best Actor in a Supporting Role | |
Golden Globe (1994) | | | Leonardo DiCaprio, Nominee, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture |
| Memorable Quotes| "Good night to you but not to me."---- Arnie Grape (Leonardo DiCaprio) |
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| | Professional Reviews | Sight and Sound
"...WHAT'S EATING GILBERT GRAPE is a beautiful, luxurious film....A kaleidoscope of images and moments..." 05/01/1994 p.59-60New York Times
"...Enchanting....[Depp gives a] tender, disarming performance....The film's real showstopping turn comes from [DiCaprio]..." 12/17/1993 p.C3 Entertainment Weekly
"...Depp gives a remarkably subtle performance. But it's DiCaprio's portrayal of retarded brother Arnie that earned an Oscar nomination..." -- Rating: B 09/22/1995 pp.86-7 Variety
"...Astute performances....Depp manages to command center screen with a greatly affable, appealing characterization?. Crispin Glover is amusing..." 12/13/1993 USA Today
"DiCaprio steals the show..." 05/24/2005 p.3D ReelViews 7 of 10
If you're in the mood to be cheered up, What's Eating Gilbert Grape? isn't the right choice. The claustrophobia felt by Gilbert as his world slowly suffocates him is effectively translated to the audience. Had the film been a little better-focused, this could have been a devastating character study. As it is, it rambles a little too much. This leads to an uneven, albeit stark, examination of the life of one man trying desperately to escape a prison whose bars have been fashioned out of fate and responsibility. - James Berardinelli
Chicago Sun-Times 9 of 10
The special quality of What's Eating Gilbert Grape is not its oddness, however, but its warmth...[Depp] brings a quiet, gentle sweetness that suffuses the whole film...some of the best movies are like this: They show everyday life, carefully observed, and as we grow to know the people in the film, maybe we find out something about ourselves... - Roger Ebert
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