Back in 1982, a great adaption of one of John Irving's best books hit the screen in The World According to Garp. What a world it is.
Ripe with the unique character traits, sexual abandon, sudden death and the deep emotion of the book, director George Roy Hill (Butch Cassidy, The Sting, Slap Shot) goes for broke by ignoring traditional film values and creating an eccentric masterpiece.
Robin WIlliams only had one film under his belt when he made Garp (the dreadful Popeye misfire) and he shocked me by nailing every emotion of the film's complex center, TS Garp.
The bastard son of one-time nurse and now feminist icon jenny Fields, Garp is surrounded by the most eclectic supporting characters you will find on film.
John Lithgow is brilliant as former NFL player and current transsexual Roberta Muldoon. Watch Williams's physical reactions to his early interactions with Lithgow and compare them with the relationship later in the film. It was only afterward back in 1982 that I realized my reactions changed just as much as Garp's did by the end of the film.
This is a beautiful movie about tolerance, eccentricity, family in many forms, relationships, betrayal, trust and love. I really loved this movie when it came out (31 years ago!) and lost track of it. It's amazing how well it holds up today.
It's not conventional. It's controversial, adult, frank and has a lot to say without ever being preachy.
It's one of my all time favorite books and in my top 50 films of all time. Brilliant. A+
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