Although it racked up less than $10 million at the box office on its initial release in 1993, Lasse Hallström's What's Eating Gilbert Grape, adapted by Peter Hedges from his novel, has gone on to find an appreciative audience on home video, especially given the star presence of Johnny Depp and Leonardo DiCaprio, who here play Gilbert and Arnie, respectively, the de facto man of the Grape house (absent the father) and his primary charge, a mentally retarded younger brother (DiCaprio's performance rightfully earned him an Oscar nomination). Treading gainful employment water as a grocery store delivery boy, Gilbert's routine includes funeral shop talk with a bud (Crispin Glover), the occasional afternoon dalliance with a housewife (Mary Steenburgen), good-naturedly letting kids peek in the Grape windows at his 500-pound mother (Darlene Cates), and rescuing Arnie from the hands of the local police who are threatening to lock the boy up for repeatedly climbing the water tower. When a RV caravan blows into the small-town of Endora, Iowa bearing a free-spirited naïf (Juliette Lewis), Gilbert is forced to examine his ambitions, family, and life in general. What's Eating Gilbert Grape remains such a wonderful film today because it continuously transcends its quirky trappings to touchingly explore, much like Jonathan Franzen's award-winning novel The Corrections, the family ties that bind us--for better or worse. Although disappointingly extra-less, the disc shows off cinematographer Sven Nykvist's soft imagery to advantage. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)
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