In Collection
#595
My Rating:
8
Seen It:
Yes
(6/18/2005 Camillus)
Owner:
Ben
Drama, Romantic Comedy
USA / English
Johnny Depp |
Gilbert Grape |
Leonardo DiCaprio |
Arnie Grape |
Mary Steenburgen |
|
Lewis, Juliette |
|
This is the movie that Leonardo DiCaprio received an Oscar nomination for, five years before
Titanic. And, in fact, this is the movie that should have made him a star, he's so good in it. Based on the novel by Peter Hedges (who adapted his own book) and directed by Lasse Hallstrom (
My Life as a Dog), this is the funny, moody tale of a young man named Gilbert Grape (Johnny Depp) who lives at home in a small town with his 500-pound Momma (beautifully played by nonpro Darlene Cates), his mentally retarded younger brother Arnie (DiCaprio, utterly convincing), and his sisters. Not a lot happens--Arnie keeps climbing a water tower and getting stuck; Gilbert is involved with a married woman (Mary Steenburgen), then meets a nice new girl in town who's closer to his age (Juliette Lewis). And that's exactly what makes this movie so much more than your run-of-the-mill Hollywood product: it's not about some mechanical, formulaic plot; it's about these characters, and it allows you to spend some time with them and get to know them. Depp may have started out as a TV teen idol on
21 Jump Street, but his feature film choices since then--in such wonderfully offbeat and diverse movies as
Cry-Baby,
Edward Scissorhands,
Benny & Joon,
Donnie Brasco--have made him one of the most interesting, unpredictable, and risk-taking young actors in American movies.
--Jim Emerson
Edition |
Widescreen |
Barcode |
097363295549 |
Region |
Region 1 |
Release Date |
11/17/2001 |
Packaging |
Jewel Case |
No. of Disks/Tapes |
1 |
Scene Selection
|
Color Closed-captioned Widescreen Dolby |
|
Purchase Date |
6/17/2005 |
Purchase Price |
$6.99 |
Store |
Best Buy |
Condition |
New (Still Sealed) |
Current Value |
$6.99 |
Links |
Amazon US
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