The World According To Garp (1982)
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79% of critics liked it
(14 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(20,063 ratings)
The 1982 film version of the John Irving novel The World According to Garp attempts to captures the quirky spirit while condensing the Irving original. Robin Williams plays the title character, the son of unmarried, unorthodox feminist Jenny Fields (Glenn Close, in her film debut). Every effort made… More The 1982 film version of the John Irving novel The World According to Garp attempts to captures the quirky spirit while condensing the Irving original. Robin Williams plays the title character, the son of unmarried, unorthodox feminist Jenny Fields (Glenn Close, in her film debut). Every effort made by Jenny to broaden Garp's outlook on life -- she even arranges for him to spend the night with a hooker (Swoosie Kurtz) -- crams more fears and phobias into his psyche. Aspiring to become a novelist, Garp succeeds in this goal at the same time that his mother publishes her first feminist manifesto. Though successful and happily married to college sweetheart Helen Holm (Mary Beth Hurt), Garp remains envious of his fearless mother, who has taken in the radical "Ellen Jamesians," a group named after a young woman who had her tongue cut out by a rapist. Mutilation, in fact, becomes something of a leitmotif in Garp's life, climaxing (in every sense of the word) in an auto accident brought about by Helen's tryst with Michael Milton (Mark Soper). There is, of course, much more to the story than this: standing out amongst the dozens of offbeat supporting characters is John Lithgow as Roberta Muldoon, a transexual ex-football jock. John Irving appears as a referee during a college wrestling match, while director George Roy Hill plays the pilot whose low-flying plane crashes into Garp's new home. The World According to Garp didn't attract as large an audience as other, more conventional Robin Williams vehicles, though Close and Lithgow would both be nominated for Best Supporting Actor statues. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- George Roy Hill
- Genres
- Drama, Romance, Comedy
- In Theaters
- Jul 23, 1982 Wide
- Studio
- Warner Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Alex Sandell, Juicy Cerebellum
Robin Williams displays the acting chops that would later win him an Oscar
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Good effort, sometimes nearly great
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Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
True to the spirit of the novel, the film compels us to consider the ambiguities of love, death, sex, and violence that characterize modern life.
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James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk
seems to waver between almost sitcom-like normality, and bizarre outlandishness
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Robin Williams
as T.S. Garp
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Mary Beth Hurt
as Helen Holm
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Glenn Close
as Jenny Fields
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John Lithgow
as Roberta Muldoon
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Hume Cronyn
as Mr. Fields
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Jessica Tandy
as Mrs. Fields
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Swoosie Kurtz
as The Hooker
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James McCall
as Young Garp
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Peter Michael Goetz
as John Wolfe
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Mark Soper
as Michael Milton
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Nathan Babcock
as Duncan
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Ian MacGregor
as Walt
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Warren Berlinger
as Stew Percy
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Amanda Plummer
as Ellen James
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Katherine Borowitz
as Rachel
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Susan Browning
as Midge Percy
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James M. Call
as Young Garp
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Dominic A. Cecere
as Opposing Coach
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Al Cerullo
as Helicopter Pilot
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Matthew Cowles
as Speeding Plumber
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Brenda Currin
as Pooh
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Jean De Baer
as Speaker
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George Ede
as Dean Badger
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David Fields
as Infant Duncan
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Tim Gallin
as Fireman
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Danny Goldman
as Wrestling Opponent
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Eve Gordon
as Marge Tallworth
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Bette Henritze
as Woman Candidate
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Kaiulani Lee
as Chief Ellen Jamesian
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Brandon Maggart
as Ernie Holm
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Kate McGregor-Stewart
as Real Estate Lady
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Laurie Robyn
as Young Pooh
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Jillian Ross
as Young Cushie
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Lori Shelle
as Laurel
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Jenny Wright
as Cushie
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Ronald C. Frazier
as Stephen
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George Roy Hill
as Pilot (uncredited)
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Vic Magnotta
as Coach
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John Corcoran
as Man in Tree
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Ryan Davis
as Duncan at 2 Years
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Harris Laskaway
as Randy
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Isabell Monk
as Woman with Book
- John Irving
