The World According to Garp (1982)

In retrospect of Robin Williams' all too short life, I had to single out two films that were amazingly touching to me, this film based upon the novel by John Irving, and the cult classic "What Dreams May Come". After success on T.V. and the fiasco that was "Popeye", Williams finally became a major forced to be reckoned with on the big screen with this drama filled with subtle comedy about a free-spirited man influenced by his free spirited mom who purposely seduced a dying soldier simply so she could have his child."Don't you dare say sperm in this house!", her imperious papa (Hume Cronyn in an amusing cameo) tells daughter Glenn Close, a nurse with a love of life determined to be a mother without the benefit of marriage. "Why she never even met the son of a bitch", Cronyn tells wife Jessica Tandy, upset to think that she basically raped the innocent man. Mom and dad may not have understood their daughter, but her son (Williams) understands her and loves her greatly, which is proved in a tragic scene where he understands without even knowing that something horrible has just taken place. Close focuses the first part of her life on raising him with great values yet independence, then she moves on to become heavily involved in the women's movement in protest over a young woman who was raped and had her tongue cut out to keep her quiet. Her assistant is a former football player (John Lithgow) who altered his sex to live as a woman. Free-spirited Williams instantly welcomes him/her as a close friend, a very touching gesture to see a straight man live by.Garp marries a smart woman (Mary Beth Hurt), has two children, and undergoes a series of marital issues all the while trying to fulfill his desire to "fly", having learned that his late father was a pilot. Indeed, fliers are everywhere in this life, such as the metaphor of a pilot crashing into the new house Williams and Hurt have just purchased. There's a free spirited sexuality here too, with Close early on pairing her son with hooker Swoosie Kurtz just to study male sexuality and later Hurt's revenge on her philandering husband by having her own affair which leads to funny but disturbing moment where the poor young man she is involved with leads to an ironic twist of fate. The serious elements of this film outweigh the comic, however, and there are many important issues covered here in showing the desire to live one's dreams that sometimes lead to tragic consequences. When this film was first released, there were many complaints from the book readers over how the story was altered, but what ends up on screen is truly memorable. All of the performances are outstanding, with Close becoming a full fledged star as a result of this film and Lithgow moving into the realm of major star to be. Williams proved that he could be a dramatic actor of substance, and Hurt is very touching as well. With direction by the great George Roy Hill, the film has stood the test of time, and with Robin Williams' passing, is worth re-visiting to show that behind the mask of comedy is an even thicker mask of tragedy that sometimes is never revealed until it is too late.

An astounding feat by director George Roy Hill and screenwriter Steve Tesich, who manage to condense John Irving's masterpiece into a cohesive film and not lose anything in the process. Robin Williams has the title role and he does some of his best acting here. He convincingly portrays Garp from high school to middle-age with ease. Hill keeps the film from becoming merely episodic and ties things together in the most believable ways. The film is powerful, funny, suspenseful and extremely well acted by not only Williams, but by Glenn Close (PERFECT as his unusually liberated mother), John Lithgow, and MaryBeth Hurt as Garp's strong-willed yet infinitely patient wife. The outstanding cinematography is by Miroslav Ondrícek (it helps that the film was shot in such places as NYC, Fishers Island and Millbrook NY). The large cast also includes Warren Berlinger, Peter Michael Goetz, Swoozie Kurtz (hysterical as a befuddled yet very helpful hooker), Hume Cronyn & Jessica Tandy as Close's parents, Jenny Wright, Brenda Currin as Cushie, and the inimitable Amanda Plummer as Ellen James. A great movie.

I went out of my to track down this film, the big-screen adaptation of one of my favourite novels. George Roy Hill delivers a consistently faithful cinematic realisation of John Irving's wonderful The World According to Garp.The film is the life-spanning story of T.S. Garp, the unusually obtained son of stern, stubborn, and self-sufficient wartime nurse Jenny Fields. Raising Garp without a father, she watches him grow up, becoming a famed novelist and family man as she herself gains renown as a powerful feminist voice.The World According to Garp is notable as Robin William's first lead role, one he takes and soars with. He is the perfect Garp, bringing to life the beloved character from the pages. In fact, this is true of all the characters and actors, the replication of Irving's story on film well achieved by the faithful Hill. The film is incredibly loyal to the source, and therein is its downfall. Memorable scenes from the novel are featured rather unnecessarily to the movie narrative at times, and ultimately it fails to translate particularly effectively to film, resulting in an overall mediocrity and general lacking. The life spanning plot does not quite work in the film, a consistent storyline only really forming in the last half hour; a half hour which ends up feeling rushed and forced. This medium is simply unsuited to the epic length covered by the far more allowing original text, many scenes finding inclusion when they're really just not needed. For those unfamiliar with the book, the film may well seem messy and inconsistent.Though commendable for its devotion to its literary origins, The World According to Garp fails to construct a fully engaging and engrossing story for its cinematic audience. Nice to see for fans of the book despite this, it boasts a great cast and strong performances which rescue it from ill fate.

I thought that "The World According to Garp" is a pretty good biographical film, however, it was not really the film that I was expecting. The tag line for this movie is, "he's got a funny way of looking at life." I do not feel like that is an accurate portrayal of this film. I feel that Garp has a pretty typical way of looking at life. I was expecting some quirky guy who was very unusual. Garp is a pretty normal guy who goes about his life in a pretty normal way.Robin Williams and Glenn Close both do wonderful jobs playing characters at a number of different ages. I also really liked John Lithgow as the transgender best friend.The ending really caught me off guard. I think it served as a nice way to finish the film so that we get to see the entire course of Garp's life, from birth to death."The World According to Garp" is a nice watch, but not an essential one. It is better than average though and I would recommend.