What's Eating Gilbert Grape

Synopsis: What's Eating Gibert Grape is a beautifully shot movie of tenderness, caring and self-awareness that is set amongst the fictional working class one street town Endora. Centred around the Grape family Ellen and Amy and their two brothers Arnie and Gilbert, who, along with their morbidly obese widowed mother Bonnie Grape are striving to survive and coexist with the absence of a father figure, low wage work and seventeen-year-old Arnie's severe mental condition. It is in this awkward and extremely one sided affair that the unfortunate Gilbert has to constantly, while working for the town's slowly dying convenience store, take care of his younger brother Arnie. Gilbert's life, his future, is thwarted he knows this, but it is in this guardian angel that his love and bond for Arnie cannot, and will not, be let go. That is until the free spirit of Becky arrives in town, and with her grandmother are stranded for the week while waiting for parts for their vehicle. This realization unties new fe
Genre: Drama
Director(s): Lasse Hallström
Production: Paramount Pictures
  Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 7 wins & 6 nominations.
 
IMDB:
7.8
Metacritic:
73
Rotten Tomatoes:
89%
PG-13
Year:
1993
118 min
3,132 Views


nine, ten, eleven...

twelve, thirteen,

nineteen, seventeen...

- Arnie...

- fifteen, seventeen.

- Arnie, eat some chicken.

I don't...

I don't want any chicken, Gilbert.

You want some corn?

- I want... I want some corn.

- Have some corn.

Yeah, here.

- Good?

- Mm-mmm.

Not good corn.

- Gilbert?

- Hmm?

Are they gonna come soon?

'Cause I gotta go back home,

you know?

- Pretty soon.

- I want them to come.

- You wanna go home?

- No.

I wanna see 'em.

Okay.

They're gonna come soon, huh?

How many more miles

till they come, Gilbert?

- Three million, buddy.

- Three?

- Yep.

Okay.

Gilbert! That's them, huh?

Gilbert, look, it's them!

Look! Look over there!

Over there!

Look at them, Gilbert!

They're coming!

Honk your horn!

Honk your horn!

- Arnie, get back here!

- Honk your horn!

- My brother Arnie's about to turn 18.

- Arnie!

- My family's planning

a big party for him.

- Arnie, come on!

Watching the campers

is our yearly ritual.

They're doing the right thing

just passing through.

God, Arnie. You're gettin' so big.

Pretty soon...

- I ain't gonna be able

to carry you no more.

- No.

- You know,

you're getting littler, Gilbert.

- Yeah.

You're getting littler.

You're shrinking.

You're shrinking, Gilbert.

You're shrinking.

Shrinking, shrinking, shrinking!

Endora.

Endora's where we are.

Describing Endora

is like dancing to no music.

It's a town where

nothing much ever happens...

and nothing much ever will.

Lamson's Grocery is where I work.

And miles out of town on the interstate,

there's Foodland...

where everyone else shops.

This is where I live with my family.

My dad built the house...

and it's my job

to keep up the repairs.

Doctors said we'd be lucky

if Arnie lived to be ten.

Well, ten came and went.

Now the doctors are saying...

"Any time now.

Arnie can go at any time."

Some days you want him to live...

some days you don't.

- What is it, buddy?

- I killed him.

- I killed him, Gilbert.

- I know.

- I killed him.

I know, buddy.

I know.

My older sister Amy's

more like a mother.

She used to manage the elementary

school cafeteria over in Motley...

until it burned down last year.

My other sister, Ellen,

just turned 15.

She got her braces off,

and for days now she's been

walking around going, "Ooh. Ahh."

Like she can't believe

the feel of teeth.

I got another brother, Larry,

but he got away.

And then there's Mama,

who in her day...

was the prettiest girl

in these parts.

Ever since our dad

was hung out to dry 17 years ago...

Mama's had her hands full.

You see, with Mama there's

no nice way to break it to you.

She hasn't left the house

in over seven years.

- I'm Gilbert.

- Amy, I need your help.

- What is it?

- Gilbert Grape.

- The garbage.

- "This is the stuff of the circus."

- Sunshine? Where's my sunshine?

I don't know, Mama.

- Just the essentials.

- Okay.

Gilbert, get him down from there.

- Arnie?

- Hurry.

- Let's go.

- Amy, have you seen Arnie?

- No.

- I thought he was with you.

- No. No.

- I wonder where he is.

- Gee, I don't know.

Ellen, have you seen your brother?

- He's in the tree.

- Ellen!

He is not in the tree.

Gilbert already looked in the tree.

Isn't that right, Gilbert?

Yeah, that's right.

Whoa! Arnie.

Don't do that.

Don't do that. You scared me.

Come here.

- Wait, wait. I was up there, Gilbert!

- Yeah, you were up in the tree.

I was right up there.

Can I help you with anything?

- No.

- Thank you, and goodbye.

- Gilbert?

- Sir?

- Is something goin' on at Foodland?

- Well, I wouldn't know, sir.

I don't shop there.

I'd rather die.

I'll tell you, Foodland's

up to something if you ask me.

It's those lobsters, isn't it?

Scads of lobsters all in a tank.

Am I right?

You know,

you shouldn't worry about it.

It's just a phase.

People will come back here, believe me.

- You think?

- Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

The way you say that makes me think

I'm talking to your father.

- Can I have these two, Gilbert?

- No, just one.

- Come on.

- Can I have these two?

- Sure, go ahead.

Say "Thank you."

- Say hello to Mama for me.

- All righty. See you tomorrow.

Gilbert? That was Mrs Carver

needing a delivery.

Could you?

- Hello, Gilbert.

- Hello.

- Boys, go on outside.

- But we don't want to.

- Yeah, we don't want to.

- Go play.

Okay.

Hey! Hey!

Arnie, get back in the truck.

Keep countin', okay?

Okay. I was counting.

Five, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen,

fourteen, fifteen, sixteen...

Hey, kids, let's play!

Come on! Look!

We got the trampoline.

Come on, boys. It's fun!

The, uh...

The ice cream's gonna melt...

soon.

You're right.

It is melting.

Oh, my God!

Oh, my God!

- Oh, my God.

- Oh, my!

- Oh, my God.

- Oh, my.

- Oh, my God.

- Come on up here. I wanna show you.

- I don't wanna do it.

- I don't either.

- You don't wanna do it?

- I want a pool.

- You want a pool?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, we want a pool.

Come on. Come on up here.

Up, up, up, up, up, up.

Gilbert was just making a delivery.

Oh. Oh.

Gilbert, come here for a second.

- Here.

- Oh, no, no, no, no. Really, uh...

Oh, no. No, no, here.

I insist. You deserve it.

- Thank you.

- Thank you.

- Bye, Gilbert.

- Bye.

Gilbert?

Come by my office.

We need to talk.

Okay.

Arnie?

Okay, son, it's a little dangerous

up there. Come on down.

- Arnie, get down!

- "Come on, son."

Rate this script:4.3 / 6 votes

Peter Hedges

Peter Simpson Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and film director. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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