What's Eating Gilbert Grape

In the small town of Endora, Iowa, Gilbert Grape is busy caring for Arnie, his mentally disabled younger brother who is about to turn 18. They are watching tourists' trailers pass through town during an annual Airstreamers' Club gathering near the town. Their father went bankrupt seventeen years earlier, and died by suicide two years later. Their mother Bonnie spends her days on the couch eating and watching television. Her obesity leaves her unable to care for the children on her own and Gilbert has taken on many of her responsibilities. He does repairs on the family house and is protective of Arnie, who often climbs trees and the town's water tower. Sisters Amy and Ellen help with the housework, but their oldest brother Larry has moved away. A new FoodLand supermarket has opened, threatening the small Lamson's Grocery where Gilbert works. Gilbert is also having an affair with a married woman to whom he delivers groceries. A young woman named Becky and her grandmother are stuck in town when the International Harvester Travelall pulling their trailer breaks down. Gilbert begins a romance with Becky, and leaves Arnie alone in the bath to spend time with her. When he returns home late and finds Arnie still in the bath, shivering, he is guilt-ridden, the family is angry, and Arnie has developed aquaphobia. When Gilbert is again distracted by Becky, Arnie is arrested after scaling the water tower and requiring rescue. Bonnie leaves the house for the first time in seven years to demand Arnie's release at the police station. As Arnie's 18th approaches, his behavior deteriorates, ruining two birthday cakes and refusing to bathe. Gilbert loses his patience, hits Arnie, then flees in his truck overcome by guilt. Arnie seeks help from Becky, who helps him overcome his fear of water. She then convinces Gilbert to return home for Arnie's 18th birthday party. He reconciles with his brother, his sisters, and his mother, and introduces Bonnie to Becky, something he had been reluctant to do. Following the party, Bonnie climbs the stairs to her bedroom and sleeps in her bed for the first time since her husband's suicide. Arnie discovers her dead in the morning. Unable to remove her body, the police plan to return with a crane. To avoid a painful public spectacle, the family empties the house of their possessions, and Gilbert sets the house on fire, creating a funeral pyre for Bonnie. A year later, Amy is managing a bakery in Des Moines and Ellen plans to switch schools and live in a bigger city. Gilbert and Arnie, about to turn nineteen, return to watch the tourist trailers come by. Becky and her grandmother stop to pick them up. Gilbert tells Arnie, "We can go anywhere."

Plot from What's Eating Gilbert GrapeCC BY-SA 4.0