Overview: Gilbert Grape lives in Endora, a place where nothing much happens. The only times the police got something to do is when Gilbert's autistic brother Arnie tries to climb up on the watertower nearby. Taking care of Arnie is mostly Gilbert's task which can be pretty demanding, at least while you are working at the local grocery store. Then one day Becky and her grandmother passes through Endora getting trouble with the car. Gilbert falls in love with Becky, but gets problems when he tries to find time for his own private life.

DVD Verdict: Contrary to what some believe the Grape family depicted here is not dysfunctional. Rather they are a loving one that hold together despite personal tragedy. Director Lasse Hallstrom relates their story with the correct degree of understatement and virtually no sugar coating. The film is aided by a superb cast. Johnny Depp is stupendous as the taciturn title character who is the rock and support mechanism of the Grapes after the absence of the father. Darlene Cates is a real find as the morbidly obese Momma. Cates evokes the tragedy of her character with little pathos. The best performance here comes from Leonardo DiCaprio as the mentally handicapped Arnie. I cannot recall a performance in any other film where retardation was presented so realistically and it's even more amazing when considering DiCaprio's relative youth at the time. The American heartland is also beautifully lensed by Ingmar Bergman's longtime cinematographer Sven Nykvist. In a word, essential viewing. This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.85:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Commentary by: Director Lasse Hallstrom and writer Peter Hedges
The characters of Gilbert Grape: Interviews with Peter Hedges, Lasse Hallstrom, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis, Darlene Cates and Mary Steenburgen
The voice of Gilbert Grape: Interviews with author/screenwriter Peter Hedges, director Lasse Hallstrom and Johnny Depp taking a closer look at the creative evolution of bringing the book in to the feature film experience
Why we love Gilbert Grape: Director, author and select cast talk about their favorite moments making the film
Original theatrical trailer
Photo Gallery