Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close

Aside from being a warmly enjoyable movie, and the best screen adaptation of any John Irving novel, The World According to Garp features several young actors who went on to be among the best in...( read more  read more... ) the business. Oscar nominee John Lithgow is the sweetest transsexual ex-pro football player you'd ever hope to meet; Oscar nominee Glenn Close is a sensible, utterly sexless nurse and mother; Amanda Plummer is a mute crime victim; Mary Beth Hurt is a schoolgirl turned wife and mother, the love of T.S. Garp's life and the personification of the idea of Home. And Robin Williams, in his first starring role, has never been better cast--in the role of a human being, that is. This most unusual life story--written by Steve Tesich (Breaking Away) and directed by George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)--perfectly captures the tragi-comic, absurdist/humanist worldview of Irving's novel. The opening credits, with a wide-eyed baby floating about the screen to the tune of the Beatles' "When I'm Sixty-Four," sums up the movie's scope and tone. After watching The World According to Garp, you may find yourself marveling anew at the world around you, a strange and wonderful place indeed. --Jim Emerson

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76% liked it

16,793 ratings

R, 137 min.

Directed by: George Roy Hill

Release Date: July 23, 1982

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DVD Release Date: April 3, 2001

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Flixster Reviews (705)


  • September 16, 2009
    Williams, Close and Lithgo's performances are brilliant in this perfect Sunday afternoon film! Tragedy and hilarity go hand in hand in this adaption of John Irving's excellent novel.
  • May 26, 2008
    in parts so slow I got bored and in others so fast I couldn't catch up. As much as I love Robin Williams, this isn't necessarily a film I'd want to see again.
  • January 29, 2008
    Saw this years ago. Although it is advertised as funny and unconventional, I found it to be sad, and not funny at all. Big thumbs down.
  • October 30, 2007
    Based on the novel ny John Irving, this touching, quirky and sad 'coming of age' story remains a cult classic. A little dated now, but ultimately engaging and interesting. Glenn Close is great in her feature debut and Williams shows his flair for both drama and comedy. Some great...( read more) twists to be had. Not to be missed and the ending is truly, truly shocking!!!
  • July 15, 2007
    A quirky drama about the life of Garp (Robin Williams) with some funny happenings thrown in. It's an interesting life he had. His nurse mother Glenn Close was great. Very adult. I wanted all the characters to be happy, but they got into things they shouldn't have.
  • November 2, 2009
    George Roy Hill's film buckles under the magnitude of its source material, but still manages to be a watchable movie. Perhaps my opinion is biased, since I read and loved the novel only a few months before seeing this adaptation. John Irving's book is a rich, complex and profound...( read more) masterpiece with an incomparable sense of absurdist humor. This film is messily structured, with some segments working more effectively than others. It's funny at times, but it doesn't have any emotional impact, nor does it maintain Irving's insight. Williams is very good in the lead role, and it's a nicely shot movie as well.
  • November 1, 2009
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  • October 27, 2009
    Such a darkly funny, bizarre, and brutal film. I love this movie, despite it's many differences to the book.
  • October 5, 2009
    It wasn´t bad, but still the book is much better
  • September 6, 2009
    in this ten years of my past i watched again and again. always touching my heart and never get me bored.

    life is somehow odd and sometimes too hard to survive,but still worth keep going.

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The World According to Garp Trivia


  • In what film does Robin Williams' character make up meanings for his otherwise meaningless first name, T.S.?  Answer »
  • I can name that movie in ? notes! Listen and pick the movie that made it famous or vice versa (this was the very opening of the movie, with the baby)  Answer »
  • I portrayed a transsexual former professional football player in the movie 'The World According To Garp.' Who am I?  Answer »
  • Terms of Endearment, Ricochet, The World According to Garp. Name the actor.  Answer »

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