The World According to Garp Reviews

an interesting character study, kind of sad to me but i thought it was well- acted. also very thought provoking. sad because i hated the way he was treated as a child and then cheated on by his wife.
i've said previously that i don't watch a lot of movies and this one is a good representation of why; tv and movies, in my opinion are supposed to "entertain". this movie had very little entertainment value for me

Seriously, this movie must be one of the most disappointing features I have ever seen. I don’t know, since I kept hearing good things about this flick, I built up some rather huge expectations and it sure didn’t live up to those expectations. First of all, I haven't read the book so I have no clue if it is faithful or not. Secondly, to be honest, it wasn’t actually a bad movie, not all but I guess I was expecting something deep and meaningful but, eventually, I thought that the characters were rather annoying and not really interesting whatsoever. I mean, there was definitely some potential and I was intrigued by the whole thing but eventually, I couldn't help thinking that those characters were acting weird just for the sake of it and they were basically created to make you feel more or less uneasy. Seriously, I do like excentric and/or strange characters but I have to believe in them in some way but, with this story, they all seemed forced and rather artificial to me. Still, even though it was a let down, it still remains a well made feature seamlessly mixing drama and comedy with some good performances, especially by John Lithgow. Anywy, to conclude, even though I was expecting more, I guess it is still worth a look, but don't expect anything mind-blowing whatsoever like I did.

I read the book by John Irving a few times before I was even aware that there was a movie. I love the book, and I have enjoyed the movie each time I have seen it. It is close to the book, which is great---although, I don't like the actress who plays Helen. She isn't how I pictured that character while reading the book.

John Lithgow is good as the transsexual former football player who becomes a good friend to Garp's mother, and then to Garp and his family.

The only thing I don't like about the movie is the way it ends. Although, I don't know how else they could have ended it.