Review of What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) by Amber F — 16 Oct 2010

This is the kind of movie that is very hard to watch, but somehow you hang in there and see it all out. There wasn't a single bad role in this movie. The director did an amazing job in casting. There are very few actors that you can say that their entire portfolio is amazing.

In this movies case, they had 2 actors who will have such a portfolio (they just didn't know it at the time). Johnny's portrayl of the simpleton was awesome and I believed in the characters the whole length through.

They committed 100% to the story and truly moved me. I think when it comes to portraying a mentally challenged individual, you can either astonish people or make them feel uncomfortable. Leo was so real I bet many poeple, because he wasn't quite a household name yet, thought he wasn't acting.

I don't generally like Juliette Lewis, but she actually brought her "A" game with this movie. I was pleasantly surprised. Darlene Cates also gave a riveting role as the morbidly obese mother, weighing in at almost 550 lbs.

This movie is one of those rale indie films that doesn't feel like a film at all. It's like these peoples lives really existed and you're just like reliving some of their memories or maybe you're right there with them.

Well, what is Eating Gilbert Grape? Let's hope it's not the mom. Just kidding.