What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

Starring: Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Mary Steenburgen, John C. Reilly, and Crispin Glover
Grade: A

It really doesn’t affect the story at all, but Crispin Glover playing one of Gilbert’s friends that works at a funeral home (and loving his job a little too much) makes a lot of sense.

Summary

In a small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape (Depp) is a loving and caring brother of a troubled family. He’s got an older sister named Amy (Laura Harrington), a younger sister named Ellen (Mary Kate Schellhardt), an obese mother that never leaves the house in Bonnie (Darlene Cates), and an intellectually disabled brother in Arnie (DiCaprio). After watching the campers drive in their trailers (a yearly ritual for Gilbert and Arnie), Gilbert tells us through narration that Arnie’s 18th birthday is coming up and the family is setting up a big party for him. It’s a big deal because the doctors told the family that Arnie wasn’t supposed to live past 10. One of the campers coming in is Becky (Lewis) and her grandmother.

Next, we are introduced to the boring town of Endora. Gilbert works at Lamson’s Grocery, a small grocery store currently competing with the massive Foodland, a Wal-Mart equivalent taking up a majority of Lamson’s business. Far out of town is where the Grape family lives, secluded in a big house that Gilbert’s deceased father built. Being the older sister, Amy is essentially the mother of the house. She used to manage an elementary school’s cafeteria (until it burned down the year before), so she cooks all the meals and does chores and such at home. Ellen just turned 15 and is the least helpful of everyone.

Technically, Gilbert has another brother named Larry, but he moved on.

Bonnie, mostly referred to as “Momma” throughout the film, is depressed and hasn’t left the house in 7 years. Hell, she hasn’t even gone upstairs in years. After Gilbert plays along with Arnie, acting like he couldn’t find him even though Arnie was obviously hiding in a tree, the family heads over to Lamson’s (without Momma of course) to take Gilbert to work. Across the street, Ellen works at an ice cream place. At Lamson’s, Arnie is allowed to stay there, as the owner and his wife bond with him and Gilbert in a family-like way. At the end of his shift, Gilbert is told he’s been requested to make a delivery to Betty Carver’s (Steenburgen) house. However, he’s okay with this because Betty is cheating on her husband with him. With Arnie waiting in the truck, Gilbert goes inside to deliver the groceries. Once Betty sends the kids outside to play, the two start making out. As things start to heat up, Betty’s husband Ken (Kevin Tighe) pulls up, forcing them to stop. Gilbert leaves and Ken, not suspecting a thing, gives him money for the delivery and tells him to swing by his office because they “need to talk”. Immediately following this, Gilbert goes to his truck but finds that Arnie is gone. Seeing the cops drive by, he knows it has to do with Arnie, and he follows them to the water tower. Arnie is hanging on the ladder on the side of the tower, getting the entire town’s attention because of it. This includes Becky, along with Gilbert’s two best friends in Tucker (Reilly) and Bobby (Glover). After he gets Arnie back down, the cops give Gilbert shit, reminding him how many times this has happened with Arnie.

Promising it won’t happen again, Gilbert takes Arnie to the car and asks Tucker for help on the fridge at home before they leave.

Later, the Grape family sits down for dinner, and they talk about the details for Arnie’s birthday party. It devolves into an argument though because Ellen claims that Gilbert isn’t helping at all. Sometime after, Gilbert helps Tucker with the electricity outside of the house. During the process, Tucker won’t stop singing the praises of “Burger Barn”, a new fast-food place moving into town that he applied to. As he talks, a group of small children come by, and one comes onto the Grape property. Gilbert, knowing that the kid wants a glimpse of Momma, picks him up and shows her to the kid through the window. Tucker chastises him for doing this, but Gilbert doesn’t care because he’s annoyed with Momma’s refusal to get better. The next day, Gilbert, Tucker, and Bobby eat at a diner as Arnie plays pinball inside. As Tucker continues to talk about Burger Barn, Gilbert sees Becky through the window, and they exchange eye contact.

Later that day, Gilbert is at work. Both Betty and Becky show up. Just as Betty tells Gilbert about her wanting him to come over today for a delivery and Thursday (during her anniversary with her husband no less), he is asked to do a delivery for Becky. Gilbert drives her back to her trailer, and Arnie tags along. When they get there, Arnie drops some of the groceries. Despite Gilbert profusely apologizing, Becky downplays everything and is really cool about it. Following this, we get another hard-to-watch dinner scene as the Grape family continues to plan for the party. As Gilbert argues with Ellen again once Ellen refers to him as “Dad” when he asks her to not chew with her mouth full, he plainly says “Dad’s dead”. Arnie hears this and repeats it over and over again, causing Momma to freak out and yell at Arnie. She stands up and stomps her foot on the ground. This is where Gilbert notices the floor shaking. After he shows Amy, we jump to Tucker in the basement explaining to the two what’s wrong with how the floor was constructed and how it could be a huge problem soon. Once he leaves, he tells Gilbert he got the job at Burger Barn.

The constant references to this place is actually pretty funny in context.

That night, we see Gilbert and Amy try to put Momma to bed on the couch. Of course, she needs a smoke first and refuses to turn off the television even though she’s been nodding off for a while. The next day, Gilbert, Tucker, and Bobby are at the diner again with Arnie. Betty, Ken, and their kids are also there but go to leave soon after. On the way out, Ken reminds Gilbert that he’s waiting for him to call so they can talk. Once they leave, Tucker and Bobby make jokes at Gilbert’s expense because they are very aware of his relationship with Betty. Sometime after, Gilbert and Tucker start working on the basement discreetly, but Tucker needs more help inside. Gilbert tries to get Arnie to help, but he refuses because “Dad’s in there”. He is then forced to chase Arnie when he tries to run away. Later, Ellen hits Arnie for trying to climb the water tower again, and Gilbert flips out on her. After tending to Arnie’s wounds and taking him home, Amy gives Gilbert shit for not watching Arnie well enough. At the same time, Ellen practices the trombone to further the annoyance of the situation, forcing Gilbert to drive off for a moment of clarity, almost hitting Ellen on the way out.

At that point, it’s hard to blame him.

He drives over to Becky’s trailer. Right as he gets out of the car, Ken miraculously drives by and reminds him about that call again. Immediately following this, Becky calls Gilbert over and they eventually have a snack together with Becky’s grandmother. Afterwards, they hang out and sparks start to fly. Unfortunately, Gilbert’s life and family will complicate things.

My Thoughts:

What is eating Gilbert Grape? Based off what we see, it’s a lot of things.

Any normal person would crumble at the amount of pressure this young man has to go through. Every day becomes a new adventure for Gilbert, as he has to not only navigate through his own life but keep a constant watching eye on his brother Arnie. It’s a thankless job, but Gilbert knows this is what he has to do to take care of this family, even though they don’t seem to appreciate him nearly as much as they should. As soon as Arnie is out of Gilbert’s sight for a second, he’s up to some type of trouble. It’s stressful. When Ellen attacks Arnie for trying to climb the water tower again and Gilbert takes him home, he gets yelled at immediately from Amy upon getting home. She exclaims, “We’ve got to keep a closer eye on him! We’ve got to do better!”. It’s a team effort to watch Arnie, but she talks to Gilbert like it’s his fault. Granted, he’s the primary person that watches over him (and Amy doesn’t have a single moment in this movie where she watches Arnie), but no one cuts Gilbert slack whatsoever. It’s like it’s his job, and he can’t let his guard down for a single solitary second. This shit is not easy for Gilbert nor is it easy to watch. Can they give him a break? He’s got an actual job people! He can’t watch over Arnie 24/7! Why doesn’t Ellen ever get disciplined? She actually hit the poor kid! Even Momma yells at Gilbert, saying the same thing Amy did. Does anyone realize how tirelessly he works to keep this family afloat? The frustration to us as the viewer increases scene by scene, with Gilbert getting bullshit from every corner and almost never getting a moment to his self.

Now, without a doubt, we know Momma loves her kids, but she offers zero help to anyone and still directs orders to the point where we understand everyone’s frustrations. The sympathy we may have for her is gone pretty early into the movie. Towards the end, she admits she’s a burden on everyone and Gilbert, trying to comfort her, tells her this isn’t true. However, from an objective point of view, she is absolutely correct. Maybe I’m desensitized from watching so many movies, but it would be hard to sit there and lie and say otherwise. She does absolutely nothing for these kids to help out. Her sole purpose is to garner more sympathy for our troubled protagonist. Considering this, she does an outrageously good job. Though she’s overshadowed by the stars of the film, Darlene Cates, in her first major acting role, does very well in playing the hopelessly depressed mother who is treated like a circus act by the public.

This idea of “moving on” is played with a lot throughout this film and the developments that come with it are quite interesting. Early on, Arnie is told to not go anywhere once they get home, and he starts shouting jovially over and over again, “We’re not going anywhere!”. As Gilbert puts all the groceries on the porch while hearing Ellen practice her trombone obnoxiously, and hearing Arnie shout this statement aloud, you can see Gilbert on the verge of a breakdown. He’s trapped, and it’s being told to his face unbeknownst to Arnie. Throughout this movie, Gilbert is reminded of his discontentment and how he needs a moment to collect himself to stay sane. Here, Arnie’s words sting as Gilbert is being reminded front and center that there’s no way out. This is the life he was given, and he’s not going anywhere. Does he want to go somewhere else? Look, he loves his family, but you can’t fault him for expressing feelings of wanting to leave. Gilbert may never outright say it, but you can see how much this family has taken out of him. Despite barely knowing her, the only place he can go is Becky’s. This is where we see glimpses of his real feelings as he hangs out with her free spirit. Becky’s mere presence changes his outlook on life, and it’s nice to hear this outside perspective. It gives him clarity. However, there’s still a level of frustration that comes with it because Becky doesn’t understand Gilbert as much as we are led to believe.

This is what bothers me about Becky’s involvement in the narrative.

It’s easy for someone to try and open this view of the world for someone else when they aren’t living in the same situation. She doesn’t understand how badly Gilbert’s family needs him. If he left, they would crumble. Becky is able to move from town to town with her grandmother because they aren’t attached to anyone or any area. She doesn’t really get it. I can see why Gilbert is attracted to her because of this idea of freedom and doing what makes you happy, but it’s hard for me to not think that he’s attracted to her lifestyle rather than her. This isn’t touched upon more than that, and we’re supposed to take their immediate connection for what it is, but we could’ve gone a bit deeper here. He never really blows up on her or expresses these facts about how it’s not as easy as she makes it seem. For me, it’s the first thing I would mention if I was in his situation. Throughout the entire course of their short romance, she’s never in the wrong which doesn’t seem realistic. Based off their hangout sessions and conversations, she seems nice and is a person that puts Gilbert at peace, but I don’t see them ending up together (or why they belong together in general). There’s not a lot of substance in their relationship. There only seems to be a bit of a connection between the two because Gilbert’s life is in shambles and their relationship is age appropriate. This is pretty much it.

On the other hand, maybe all Gilbert wants is someone that gives him peace for the time being. He’s not much of a long-term plan type of guy, so I could see that.

While on the subject, Becky’s budding friendship with Arnie was a bit off-putting. Some scenes, it looks like she’s weirded out by him and other scenes she’s like his best friend. It’s as if they didn’t know whether the character would make Arnie feel comfortable around her, or they were trying to make her seem like a potential problem for Gilbert’s pursuit of a relationship. Basically, I wasn’t buying what Juliette Lewis was selling.

Betty’s reasoning for her relationship with Gilbert is also worth noting. After her kitchen almost sets the house on fire and her and Gilbert watch as Ken plays with the kids to distract them, Gilbert asks Betty why she would risk everything for him. She responds with the telling statement of, “I knew you’d always be there. I knew you’d never leave”. There’s that theme of “moving on” again! The people of Endora and those that are closest to him know that Gilbert can’t move on to bigger and better things because his life won’t allow for it. Once again, he’s “not going anywhere”. As he keeps being reminded of this fact by his family, Arnie, and everyone else, it only pushes him further to the brink, as well as closer to Becky because she’s the only one trying to put a positive spin on his life. Everything comes together for a reason and as sad as things will eventually get, Gilbert and his family need it to happen so they can finally move on, something that seems impossible in the beginning.

Johnny Depp does a great job as a young man trying to find a place in this world while dealing with these constant stresses. He’s at a constant battle of trying not to snap and eventually doing so in big moments. Depp is able to control the picture and keep things grounded, while the viewer gets worn out (to say the least) at the stuff he is forced to put up with. Gilbert is not a role model, and he doesn’t try to be (as evidenced with his highly entertaining affair with the older Betty), but is he a great older brother? Is he a great son? I would like to think so. He does everything for this family! A lot of it isn’t seen by his sisters or his mother, but he does it anyway, never asking for anything in return. It’s his duty because they can’t rely on anyone else. Gilbert’s older brother moved a while ago and their father has been deceased for some time. He’s the man of the house by default. He may not like the responsibility, and we assume he doesn’t based on the lack of smiling he does throughout the film, but it was a role that has been forced upon him and he answered the call. Even when he’s alone with Becky, she asks him what he wants in life and everything he says revolves around his family and Arnie. Gilbert can’t think selfishly. Even when asked objectively for what he wants, he thinks family first. It shows us that no matter what happens in this movie and what Gilbert does, he’s still a person trying his absolute best.

He has to put everyone else first. Otherwise, this family would fall apart without him. When he’s on his date with Becky, he remembers he has to go home and give Arnie a bath. He doesn’t ask for one of his sisters to do it for him, he still makes time for it. However, to make it back to Becky, he makes the simple mistake of doing 90% of the job and letting Arnie finish the last 10% himself. This simple moment is enough to almost kill Arnie because he stayed in the tub and almost got hypothermia, showing us the stress Gilbert is under. He can’t put himself first for a single moment without someone being affected in a major way. Unfortunately, neither Becky nor anyone else for that matter gives Gilbert a shred of credit for his sacrifices. It’s never admitted by anyone, continuing the theme of Gilbert having to eat shit at all times. Honestly, it’s surprising he doesn’t snap sooner.

In an incredible performance, Depp showcases an ability to hone his internalized feelings and struggles as the older brother, without saying anything directly. We feel every bit of what he’s going through, garnering an amount of sympathy not many protagonists have been able to reach without seeming melodramatic.

What sucks is that Gilbert can’t rock the boat too much either because everything turns into an argument or screaming match. Since he can’t exacerbate Momma’s depression and the sensitivity she has towards her looks, he has to try and reinforce the ceiling of the basement without her knowing, just so her big ass doesn’t fall through it one day. You know how hard it is to use a hammer quietly? A major issue at hand is that the problem is too far gone, and Momma not only refuses to acknowledge her personal issues but has done nothing to try and get better. Admittedly, seeing it firsthand will make you feel sympathetic towards her. A major moment in the film is seeing Momma flip out and finally leaving the house after having to pick up Arnie at the police station. Once they exit the station, the entire town watches as she walks to the car with the rest of the family. The feeling of public shame is unparalleled like how it’s portrayed here. It’s as if the entire town hits the “pause” button to watch this mythical woman show herself. In addition, it shows us the true colors of this family front and center. When her back is pushed against the wall, Momma will fight for her family, Gilbert accepts his place, Amy helps her mother walk proudly and refuses to be intimidated by the townspeople, and Ellen looks vehemently embarrassed.

This is saying something considering the previous sentiments of Gilbert where we see him be downright disgusted by his mother’s weight when dealing with others outside the family. He may feel strongly about it, but when things get bad, he’s still all about his family and loves them. The only person he doesn’t really bond with is his younger sister Ellen who (let’s be honest) is kind of a bitch.

However, Gilbert eats shit and does what he’s told, and it tends to tear him apart from the inside. Many of us can take a lot but eventually, the stresses will boil over. He foreshadows it right from the beginning narration telling us (when referring to Arnie), “Some days you want him to live. Some days you don’t”.

That’s a harsh truth, isn’t it? We can’t speak for those that have intellectually disabled family members, but we imagine it’s not easy. Having to constantly apologize for their actions for those that don’t understand and having to cater to them over anyone and anything else can take a lot out of you. A great example would be the first water tower scene. Once Gilbert gets Arnie down, he promises to the cops it won’t happen again and Arnie agrees. Before they leave though, Arnie immediately tries to reclimb it, saying he wants to go back up, making Gilbert look like an asshole. It’s a constant battle for him as he has to cover for Arnie’s every move. It takes a toll even though he loves his brother, is very protective, and would do anything for him. Families with these kids or certain family members have to devout a majority of their time to them. In What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, everything that happens revolves around Arnie and his actions and how the rest of the family deals with it, much like how families in real life have dealt with it. I’m not going to say it’s a perfect representation of the situation, but it’s very well done, heartfelt, emotional, and realistic.

Leonardo DiCaprio does an otherworldly job as Arnie, pulling off a masterclass performance as the helpless little boy. You can give DiCaprio all the credit in the world for his roles as an adult, and rightfully so, but if you’re a fan, you have to see how magnificent he is as Arnie. You completely forget about the actor. It’s all about the character, a testament to DiCaprio’s ability. He does such an astounding job that he makes Depp look even better. You forget you’re watching Johnny Depp. It really felt like we were getting a look into the lives of Gilbert and Arnie Grape. Though some of the film may be a bit overly sentimental and a bit uncomfortable at times, one takeaway you should get from this movie is how incredible the acting is from our leads. Look, Tommy Lee Jones was great in The Fugitive, but he was not doing what Leonardo DiCaprio did in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. I’m sorry. I’m not going to say DiCaprio was robbed because that wording is a bit strong, but he deserved it over Jones. You may think this is controversial, but I implore you to watch this film and still try and argue with me afterwards. From the speech pattern to the tics, to the mannerisms, to the outbursts, while managing to keep an innocent demeanor throughout, DiCaprio put together an all-time performance ranking right up there with his best work ever.

Family gets tested a lot in film, but none are as uncomfortable, well-acted, frustrating, and loving as we see in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. We’re hit with a lot in just under two hours but seeing this hopeful family try and keep things together for themselves and each other is a wonderfully invigorating look on how our humanity can be tested on different levels depending on the familial situations we live in. With elements of humor (when he got caught with the cake from Foodland, I couldn’t help but laugh), a bit of romance, and a very exciting subplot involving an extramarital affair, Johnny Depp leads us through the small, boring-on-the-surface town in Iowa that has a lot more to offer audiences than we are led to believe in the opening minutes. In-depth, emotional, and at times, infuriating to watch, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape will make you feel just about everything in the course of its runtime.