What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
Speaker: Darlene Cates
A special video presentation of Darlene Cates, who played the role of Arnie Grape's big hearted and bodied mother Bonnie, was shown before "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?" Although she was not able to attend in person, Darlene Cates said she was delighted to describe both her role as Bonnie Grape and the making of this film for our festival. This was the first film role for the native Texan Darlene Cates, who is a person of size. Darlene Cates has also played roles on the movie "Wolf Girl" and the televisions shows "Picket Fences" and "Touched by an Angel".
What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (1993)
Gilbert Grape lives in Endora, a place where nothing much happens. The only time the police have any duty is when Gilbert's brother Arnie, who has a cognitive impairment, climbs on top of the water tower nearby. The police are then called to remove Arnie from the water tower.
Gilbert is almost entirely responsible for assisting Arnie with daily life. This is shown to be very demanding, since he is also working at the local grocery store.
Gilbert meets a young lady named Becky when she and her grandmother are passing through town. They have to stop because of the trouble they are having with their car. Gilbert falls in love with Becky, but cannot seem to find enough time to have his own private life. He is so busy assisting Arnie and every other member of his family that he cannot have his own personal life. Gilbert's mother Bonnie is a person of size and Arnie is a person with a cognitive impairment.
This movie was the first appearance of Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Arnie. DiCaprio's portrayal of Arnie was so accurate and convincing that many people believed that the actor Leonardo DiCaprio himself had a cognitive impairment.
