MovieChat Forums > What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1994) Discussion > unintentional or intentional dark humor?...

unintentional or intentional dark humor? (obvious spoilers)


Just saw this film for the first time, I have to admit, the ending did strike me as rather humorous. Not sure they meant it to be this way but just how were they supposed to get Mama out of the house? Funny when Gilbert said they're going to need a crane to get her out. The look on Ellen's face when he said that was just about perfect. haha...

Not sure I agree with torching the house though. Seems like it would be hard to find a place to sleep for a few months but that house would probably be a painful reminder of their family life. So, understandable.

Also read on the internet that Darlene Cates died in 2017 in her sleep. That's kind of like how she died in this movie. Weird...

Anyhow, pretty good film though. I mainly wanted to see it to compare DiCaprio's performance to Val Kilmer's Doc Holiday in Tombstone from the same year. Leo was nominated for an Oscar while Val was not. Have to give a slight edge to Kilmer though. I think his character was tougher to play but Leo did a great job in this movie.

Anyhow.... it's a 7 out of 10 from me.

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