What’s eating Gilbert Grape
Mr Carver Hey! I’m waiting. . . waiting for that call, Gilbert.
Becky Hey! Hi, Gilbert. Oh, look, come here.
Gilbert What?
Becky It’s a praying mantis.
Gilbert Oh.
Becky You know how they mate? The male will sneak up on the female and she’ll bite off his head and the rest of his body’ll keep on mating. And then when they’re done. . . she’ll eat him. She’ll eat the rest of him. Grandma, we have company. So do you wanna eat?
Grandma Help yourself.
Gilbert Oh, thank you. Wow.
Grandma Well, we missed the rally in Des Moines. If we get on the road by Friday, we’ll make Colorado Springs in time to catch them. Have you ever been to Colorado?
Gilbert No, ma’am.
Grandma Ah. It must be wonderful.
Gilbert It must be incredibly frustrating then, to be stuck here in this place – in Endora.
Becky This place is as good a place as any.
Grandma Think so? Well, she should know. Becky’s been just about everywhere there is to go. Places I didn’t even know existed.
Becky I’m a worldly kind of girl.
Grandma Me, I spent most of my whole life in the same spot. Why doesn’t matter. Anyway she encouraged me to get out.
Becky And now she can’t stay put anywhere.
Grandma She’s the smartest, most beautiful girl in the world. Isn’t she? Isn’t she beautiful? Isn’t she beautiful?
Becky I’m sorry. She has this thing with beauty that. . .
Gilbert Oh, yeah, I noticed that.
Becky I’m not into that, that whole external beauty thing, you know. ‘Cos it. . . it doesn’t last.
Gilbert Right.
Becky Your. . . you know, eventually your face is gonna get wrinkly and you’ll get gray hair.
Gilbert Sure.
Becky Your boobs might sag. You know. So what? It’s what you do that really matters.
Gilbert Mm-hm.
Becky Right?
Gilbert Yeah, sure.
Becky So what do you wanna do?
Gilbert Oh, I, I don’t know. There’s not so much to do here really.
Becky Oh, you can think of one thing. Think of one thing that people do here.
Gilbert Um. . .
Becky Thank you. It was nice meeting you.
Gilbert Be nice.
Becky Hello.
Bobby & Tucker Hi.
Becky Can I have yours and I’ll give you mine instead?
Todd Carver No. No, he wants a big one.
Mrs Carver You know something? The one on top of it is fine. That’s, that’s what. . .
Todd Carver No, we want the big one.
Doug Carver We want the big one.
Gilbert Let’s go.
Todd Carver Come on, get us the big one. Come on, Mom, please.
Ellen Here you go, guys.
Mrs Carver I. . .
Doug Carver We want the big one.
Mrs Carver Yeah, that’s fine.
Becky Oh, it’s changing. That’s what’s wild about the sunset. It’ll just. . . change really, really slowly in front of your eyes. I love the sky.
Gilbert Hm.
Becky It’s so. . . limitless.
Gilbert It is big. It’s very big.
Becky Big doesn’t even sum it up, right? That, that word ‘big’ is so small. You’d have to get those really giant words to describe the sky.
Gilbert Oh, um. . .
Becky What?
Gilbert I have to go do this thing, it’s kind of a family thing. Do you want me to give you a ride back, into town or do you wanna. . . ?
Becky No, actually, I’m just gonna sit here.
Gilbert I could come back. I mean, I can, I can come back then.
Becky Really?
Gilbert Yeah. Will you. . . You’ll be here, okay?
Becky Yeah.
Gilbert All right.
Becky I’ll just sit here.
Gilbert All right, I’ll be, I’ll be back in a little bit.
Becky Okay.
Gilbert Okay.
Arnie Gilbert!
Gilbert Hey, buddy, come on, gotta go. Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go.
Arnie Where’s the duck?
Gilbert There’s the duck.
Arnie I can’t see the duck anywhere. Find him. Look, look, where’s the duck?
Gilbert Where’s the duck?
Arnie It’s hiding.
Gilbert Hm?
Arnie Find the duck.
Gilbert Arnie, I don’t have time for this. Lift up. Okay, good.
Arnie Duckie.
Gilbert Good boy. You know what? You’re such a big boy.
Arnie Yeah.
Gilbert You’re such a big boy.
Arnie I’m a big boy.
Gilbert Well, you know what? I bet you could do this all by yourself if you really wanted to.
Arnie Mm-hm.
Gilbert Could you do this by yourself?
Arnie I’m a big boy.
Gilbert Yeah, be a big boy.
Arnie Big boy.
Gilbert Take this.
Arnie Take this.
Gilbert Wash everything. Your towels are there.
Arnie Okay.
