Directed by: George Roy Hill
Starring: Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Mark Soper, Swoosie Kurtz
I can't actually say what The World According to Garp is about. I know it flows effortlessly between one scene to the next; chronicling the strange life of T. S. Garp (Williams). Garp is the result of a one-time union between Garp's nurse mother Jenny Fields (Close) and a comatose technical sergeant in a VA hospital. Jenny wanted a child and not a husband, so she mounted the practically lifeless body of the soldier (one part still had life in it) and conceived her son Garp. After a conception like that, are we at all surprised at the wacky, random things that happen in Garp's life?
The World According to Garp is the kind of movie in which a plane flies into a suburban house by sheer happenstance and Garp tells his wife Helen (Hurt), "We'll be safe here." His rationale? What are the odds that another plane would hit the house again? Garp encounters many close calls on his life in this movie. The adventure is how he goes from Point A to B to C and the people he meets along the way. Without getting into specifics, Garp marries, has children, becomes a writer who is overshadowed by his mother's fame when she writes a bestseller, befriends a transsexual named Roberta (Lithgow) who used to play pro football, writes a bestseller himself which angers a society of women who purposely cut out their tongues in sympathy for a rape victim, and has a car accident in which a guy loses his penis. I'm sure there are more odd coincidences and self-contained sequences which seemingly come from nowhere, but in this world, it all fits.
What exactly is the payoff of the scene in which Garp confronts a truck driver who continually blows through a stop sign in front of his house? It is dealt with and never mentioned again. You can ask that about many tangents this movie goes on, of which there are many. Through it all, though, we are fascinated. Probably because we know something bizarre or wonderful may happen in the next scene. Or the scene after that.
Garp is Williams' second feature film and instead of relying on his frantic stand-up persona, Williams plays Garp as grounded, bemused, and wide-eyed. He embraces the craziness of his life, loves his family and friends, and comes back for more when life deals him a crappy hand. It is a good acting choice for Williams, who could have easily transformed into "funny" Robin Williams and break the fragile spell the movie casts. Glenn Close and John Lithgow, both Oscar-nominated for their roles here, play memorable people with their own unique takes on sexuality. Jenny seems mostly asexual, while Roberta learns to become a woman while still somewhat trapped in a large man's body. Both are kind, caring, and love Garp, providing him the support system he needs to work through life.
Mary Beth Hurt's performance was not as lauded, but is no less remarkable. She is as grounded as Garp, but more practical and perhaps a little colder. She doesn't seem to recognize how crazy being Mrs. Garp will be. Williams and Hurt create a believable couple. You may be reading this review and wonder what the hell the point of this movie is. I've seen it several times and each time I ask myself, "What was that all about?" However, I also tell myself how engrossed I was and how almost hypnotically watchable the movie is. Director George Roy Hill (The Sting) does a tricky thing here. He takes unfilmable material (based on the book by John Irving) and makes it lively, tragic, random, and funny. I may not even be explaining my feelings towards the film in a way that makes any sense, but seek the movie out and watch it. What you get out of it is up to you.
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