FAQ

Arnie ate a birthday cake which Gilbert forbid Arnie to eat and Gilbert lost his temper and hit his brother several times. And on a deeper level, all of Gilberts frustrations in his own life of not being able to pursue his own desires and dreams, came to the surface triggered by these trivial things.

No one has answered this question yet.

In a fictional town called Endora, most likely in Iowa. (His sister gets a job in Des Moines). The story is set around the time the movie was shot (cf. the products on the shelves in the grocery). The headstone of Gilbert's father, Albert Grape, notes 1978 as his dying year. In Lamson Grocery, there is a sticker on the shelf that says 'IOWA'.

It is based on the novel of the same name by author Peter Hedges, who also wrote the screenplay.

Neither the film nor the novel are based on real events or people. There is no real town of Endora, Iowa. In fact, Peter Hedges dedicated the novel to "my mother, who is not fat, and my father, who is not dead."