What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

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 feelings, new thoughts and new hope for the put upon Gibert, something new is eating Gilbert Grape.

Keywords: actual-animal-killed, adultery, americana, anger, aquaphobia, arson, autism, based-on-novel, bathtub, beating

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Momma: You're my knight in shimmering armor. Did you know that?::Gilbert: I think you mean shining.::Momma: No shimmering. You shimmer, and you glow.

Tucker: How's momma?::Gilbert: She's fat.::Tucker: Come on, man. She's not all that big, Gilbert.::Gilbert: What?::Tucker: Listen, I saw a guy at the state fair who was... a little bit bigger.::Gilbert: A little bit bigger?::Tucker: Look, all I'm sayin' is that she's not the biggest I ever seen, okay?::Gilbert: Tucker, she's a whale!::Tucker: Well, take her out for a walk once in a while.::Gilbert: Take her out for a jog!::Arnie: She's a whale! Tucker, she's a whale!

Gilbert: You know what? You're such a big boy.::Arnie: Yeah!::Gilbert: You're such a big boy.::Arnie: I'm a big boy!::Gilbert: You know what? I bet you could do this all by yourself if you really wanted to. Could you do this by yourself?::Arnie: I'm a big boy!::Gilbert: Yeah, you're a big boy. Now take this...::Arnie: Take this.::Gilbert: Wash everything, your towels are there.::Arnie: Okay!::Gilbert: And your robe is there.::Arnie: Okay! The big boy is gonna wash himself!

Becky: I love the sky. It's so limitless.::Gilbert: It is big. It's very big.::Becky: Big doesn't even sum it up, right? That word big is so small.

Arnie: Match in the gas tank, *boom* *boom*!

Arnie: I'm having a birthday party, but you're not invited, but you can come if you want.

Becky: Tell me what you want as fast as it comes to you.::Gilbert: I wanna be a good person.

Arnie Grape: Good night to you but not me.

[Arnie jumps onto Gilbert's back]::Gilbert: God, Arnie, you're getting so big. Pretty soon I ain't gonna be able to carry you no more.::Arnie Grape: No, you're getting littler, Gilbert. You're getting littler, you're shrinking! You're shrinking, Gilbert, you're shrinking! Shrinking, shrinking, shrinking!

Gilbert: [to Becky] I don't know what to say.::Arnie: Say "thank you," Gilbert. "Thank you."::Gilbert: [whispering] Thank you.