What’s Eating Gilbert Grape was a sleeper of a movie that highlighted some of today’s biggest stars. Johnny Depp plays the dedicated common little hero who sacrifices his life to care for his morbidly obese mother and mentally handicapped brother, played phenominally by a 19 year old Leonardo DiCaprio. John Reilly (Chicago, Boogie Nights, Walk Hard), Mary Steenburgen, and Juliette Lewis are all exceptional. (DiCaprio got best supporting actor for this role.)

Juliette Lewis also played a mentally handicapped young woman in The Other Sister, with Diane Keaton as her mom and Tom Skerrit as her dad.

Both are outstanding films that received little recognition at the time. They are dramatic and heartfelt. If you want a more obscure and mindless fare try Bubble Boy and Pootie Tang.

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