History Film / WhatsEatingGilbertGrape

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The ''Fire!'' {{pinball}} game that Arnie plays in the cafe [[spoiler:is a hint of how the family eventually deals with Bonnie's obese corpse.]]

* Adaptational Attractiveness: In the novel, Arnie is overweight, and one of his eyes is prosthetic. Amy is also described as "not bad looking", but gradually eating herself into another version of her mother.

* BigEater: Bonnie Grape is a very tragic-comical example of the fat version.

** It's implied at the end that Ellen herself was anxious to switch schools; probably not many friends to leave behind if she was constantly teased.

* LetThePastBurn: The family's solution to [[spoiler: how to deal with their dead mother's immovably heavy corpse]] at the end of the film. The protagonists light the house on fire to burn along with their deceased morbidly obese mother who is on the top floor, as this is the only way to dispose of her body without public humiliation. In this case the fire symbolises protection.

-->''Life is a terrible thing to sleep through.''

A 1993 film starring JohnnyDepp as the eponymous Gilbert Grape. The story deals with the Grape household and their friends and acquaintances from Endora, Iowa. Picking up a few years after the suicide of Gilbert's father, we see its impact on everyone involved.

One of the main difficulties the family is having concerns Arnie Grape (played by {{Leonardo DiCaprio}}), who is developmentally disabled which creates a great deal of problems for everyone involved, especially the multiple times he climbs the town water tower and refuses to get down for everyone, except his brother Gilbert.

* ThoseTwoGuys: Gilbert's friends, a handyman and a mortician who often discuss the new Burger Barn that's about to open and how much better then other fast food chains they are.

* LetThePastBurn: The family's solution to [[spoiler: how to deal with their dead mother's immovably heavy corpse]] at the end of the film.

* GracefulLoser: Mrs Carver graciously handing Gilrbert to Becky, knowing she has the youth and joyful-heart to give him the happiness she never could.

* KnightInSourArmor: Gilbert does everything for his family without complaint, but is secretly resentful about it to his
friends.
* LetThePastBurn: The family's solution to [[spoiler: how to deal with their dead mother's corpse]] at the end of the film.

* KillItWithFire: The family's solution to [[spoiler: how to deal with their dead mother's corpse]] at the end of the film.
* KnightInSourArmor: Gilbert does everything for his family without complaint, but is secretly resentful about it to his friends.

* HollywoodPudgy: [[AvertedTrope Averted]]. When Gilbert says his mother is the size of a beached whale, he's not far off.

* HollywoodPudgy: [[AvertedTrope Averted]], when Gilbert says his mother is the size of a beached whale, he is not far off.

* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: discussed by Gilbert's friends about Mr. Carver (who also happens to be offering Gilbert a job while his wife tries to get Gilbert to sleep with her) after he drowns to death in a kiddy pool party, argued to be subverted because he had a heart attack that caused him to collapse in such a way that he drowned in a kiddy pool.

A 1993 film starring JohnnyDepp as the eponymous Gilbert Grape. The story deals with the Grape household and their friends and acquaintances from Endora, Iowa. Picking up a few years after the suicide of Gilbert's father we see its impact on everyone involved.

* I Was Quite A Looker: Bonnie Grape, in a picture (a real picture of the actress), taken before she gained the weight

A 1993 film starring JohnnyDepp as the eponymous Gilbert Grape. The story deals with the Grape household and their friends and acquaintances from Endora, Iowa. Picking up a few years after the suicide of the father/husband of the family we see its impact on everyone involved.

One of the main difficulties the family is having concerns Arnie Grape (played by {{Leonardo DiCaprio}}), who is developmentally disabled which creates a great deal of difficulties for everyone involved, especially on the multiple times he climbs the town water tower and refuses to get down for everyone except his brother Gilbert.

Gilbert ends up chaffing against his role as the new man of the house, along with having to find his way through romantic tensions with a married woman, preparations for a grand party for Arnie's 18th Birthday, and worrying out his future career.

A 1993 film starring JohnnyDepp as the titular Gilbert Grape. The story deals with the Grape household and their friends and acquaintances from Endora, Iowa. Picking up a few years after the suicide of the father/husband of the family we see its impact on everyone involved.