Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

What's Eating Gilbert Grape is one of my favorite movies. It has everything going for it. The acting is phenomenal, all the actors were great the best of which being Leonardo DiCaprio, it is one of the best acting performances I've ever seen and is pretty underrated seeing as he didn't even win the Oscar. It is a very realistic movie about a family that is all types of messed up. The mom is obese and the younger brother is special Ed. The little sister is a brat but not to the point were it makes you too angry. The movie takes its time and the only real plot is that it's Arnie's (the special Ed brother played by Leonardo DiCaprio.) 18th birthday coming up and because the doctor said we wouldn't live past 10 it's a big deal. While all this happens we see these characters develop. We see how much of a loving and great brother Gilbert (Johnny Depp) is. We also see that despite how fat and seemingly lazy Bonnie Grape (Darlene Cates) is a mother that would do almost anything for Arnie. By the time she dies at the end is genuinely sad. Gilbert is an extremely reliable character that though has messed up wants his brother to be happy.

I've seen this movie many times and it always touches my heart. It does have slow parts in it but the movie overall is amazing. The film tells the story of the Grape family including the youngest member Arnie who is played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Arnie is mentally disabled. They live in a rural town where the population is small and there isn't much to do for people. Gilbert played by Johnny Depp looks after Gilbert because their sisters must look after their morbidly obese Mother. The film shows how Gilbert is torn between his responsibilities for Arnie and his desire to be a free guy and be in a relationship with Becky. Becky passes through town and her and Gilbert are drawn to each other. Johnny Depp is really good at playing the part of Gilbert and Leonardo does amazing acting as a mentally disabled boy. Even down to the mannerisms and speech. To me the part at the end when they burn the house with 'Momma' inside is a way of giving them all freedom. I think their Mom and the house tied them down for so long. Very emotional film but memorable.

If you want to see DiCaprio at his best, this is the film to see! As many times as I watch it, his portrayal of Arnie, a retarded soon to be 18 year old boy, never ceases to amaze me! His performance is captivating. DiCaprio becomes Arnie. This film is an extremely touching story of family loyalty, albeit dysfunctional family loyalty. The title character is played exceptionally well by Johnny Depp, but it is difficult to focus on anyone but Leonardo DiCaprio. The best scenes in the film are those between Depp and DiCaprio. Gilbert is Arnie's primary caretaker. His love for Arnie is undeniable but marred by frustration and on occasion, resentment that he has been saddled with the burden of being his brother's keeper.But for most of the movie Depp plays a kind of straight man to DiCaprio's goofball antics. They have a wonderful chemistry together, for not only do they mine some restrained comedy from these scenes, but they also ably portray a strong brotherly bond. Gilbert will care for Arnie till the day he dies; Arnie loves and trusts Gilbert, even if he has not the mental capacity to understand why. This is the most carefully crafted film I've ever seen. Every scene, almost every line, reinforces the theme and illuminates the main characters' motivations. In my opinion, "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" is as nearly perfect as play writing gets.Overall rating: 8 out of 10.

Initially, this movie would seem to be a pretty boring two hours. It doesn't have a terribly definitive external plot like people expect lots of movies to have. That's not to say that there's not a story there, but it's just not one that you could advertise well. Actually, one could make a case that it was spoofed by Napoleon Dynamite eleven years later since very little happens in either Midwestern town, but Endora is made laughable enough that there's nothing really to spoof.Gilbert seems a little bit like one of those characters who "didn't exist before the movie", but I think this is actually his Inactiveness. The quoted phrase above is typically used when critiquing how a character is written, but I think it actually holds true for Glibert as a person. We don't think he's existed prior to the events of the movie because he hasn't. He's just been content with his dead-end life and doesn't feel like making any change to it, not because he likes it, but because he's just never considered doing anything else. Throughout the story, we see him try to shed the burdens and responsibilities that his family has placed on him and begin to seek his own interests. His most prominent burden is his disabled brother Arnie. I get the feeling that if Arnie ever did die, Gilbert would then be able to handle practically any challenge that he faced for the rest of his life. Firstly, he would finally have the freedom to accept other responsibilities without having to worry about Arnie, and secondly he would have so much day-to-day experience with hardships and dealing with difficult people that other tasks would seem fairly easy to him. But all the same, Arnie's innocence makes him worth the workload and he provides emotional support for Gilbert like nobody else could. A less rewarding burden is Mrs. Grape, a lump of a woman who becomes the laughingstock of the town for her extreme obesity. The other two women in Gilbert's life are his adulterous lover Mrs. Carver and the out of town visitor Becky. Eventually, Becky's presence in his life makes Gilbert more aware of himself and helps him to bring his entire family to a better state of life (even in the form of Mrs. Grape's death). Mrs. Carver is probably the most hatable character (outside of maybe Ellen Grape) because of her poor parenting and how she takes advantage of Gilbert's problems. On the other hand, Becky is a breath of fresh air to everyone she meets, but you don't get the sense that she's a saint or anything. The acting was amazing all around. Obviously DiCaprio steals the show as Arnie, but the other actors deserve props as well. Johnny Depp didn't really have an opportunity here for a great performance, but he did well enough for the part he was in. The overall directing felt way ahead of its time. Without knowing the year, I would have guessed that this came out ten years later than it did. I especially liked the way the camera was positioned so that you were constantly aware of how much danger Arnie is in whenever he is in an elevated position. The script was pretty good with dialogue and the author did a good job adapting the screenplay; I could feel the care that was put into the action lines as they were performed on-screen. The score did a really good job capturing the mood of care-freeness when that was called for.As I said at the start, it might not seem that appealing, but I would encourage you to give it a try. It will most likely not be one of your favorite movies, but it will be a fairly enjoyable and enriching experience. I suppose if you like one of the actors featured, there's already some draw anyways. If that is the case, you will not be disappointed by DiCaprio, but know that it is a relatively low-key performance from Johnny Depp. Overall Rating: 8/10.