The World According to Garp

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The World According to Garp

R

1982

2h 16m

Comedy

Drama

Crime

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Popcornmeter

71%

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21 Reviews

78%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A nurse during World War II, Jenny Fields conceives with a dying pilot and bears a boy named T.S. Garp whom she raises alone. When Garp grows up, he has some success writing fiction, but not nearly so much as his mother has with feminist-themed nonfiction. Rich and famous, she starts a center for troubled women, and while Garp marries and has children, he remains a constant, if somewhat critical, observer of the strange community that forms around Jenny.

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

04/27/2018

[George Roy] Hill's "Garp" is a dense, rich, textured work, a sequence of scenes ultimately creating a complex, complicated life, one that is at once funny, horrifying and heartbreaking.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

10/23/2004

3/4

Something has to be wrong with a film that can take material as intractable as Garp and make it palatable.

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Mattie Sue Athan

OUT FRONT Magazine (Denver)

05/08/2023

Garp is one of those perfect movies; it makes you laugh and it makes you cry.

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Michael Bronski

Gay Community News (Boston)

09/19/2022

If you hated the book you’ll loath the movie.

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Jay Boyar

Buffalo Courier-Express

09/21/2020

2/5

There is no doubt that what Hill has accomplished is titillating. But some very powerful emotions are trashed in this movie, and some tender sensibilities are trampled on.

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Haley Tiresius

Transgender Tapestry

05/21/2020

There is art and subtlety in the role [of Roberta] as it is written for the movie; and there is artistry and subtlety in the way the role is acted by John Lithgow.

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Landon J

@Minxsykitty 2d

Good, felt a lot like a tv special for better or worse. Something happens, then something happens again, repeat, with no real connection to the last thing. I don't know what we're meant to take away from this, as I'm not sure it takes a firm stance one way or the other. Interesting and slightly moving at times, but not much else.

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies May 6

This movie has a special place in my heart. Robin Williams, Glenn Close, Mary Beth Hurt and John Lithgow are absolutely outstanding. Being a writer, this is definitely the best movie ever about a writer, his life and creativity. It is the best film adaptation of a book and there are so many powerful scenes and a huge heart amidst heartbreak and darkness.

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Glory K

@Ms.Glory Feb 23

An epic life story in the most ordinary terms. Life is absurd and mundane and magical all at once. Absolutely wonderful film.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 07/14/2025

Funny in 2 hours and 16 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Adam K

@Adamkapl 02/16/2025

Underrated performances and movie

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Mark H

@RT00262860 01/17/2025

A masterpiece of drama, comedy, satire and social commentary that feels a bit like an epic about an incredible life. It’s mostly highly respected, especially for the acting, but it’s also not an easy watch, which might explain why it’s a bit underrated. Robin Williams had only done tv, a cameo in a 1977 comedy and then Popeye. Casting him this early (1982) in such a heavy drama took some imagination. Williams is brilliant, portraying a real, imperfect, vulnerable person surrounded by colorful characters who still feel real. Garp features some of the saddest moments in film, realistically tragic. By the end, it can feel a bit exhausting, but I view Garp as a story about how life actually feels. We have some success, some triumphs, some love, but also much pain, many mistakes and losses. Garp is a special film, painful, funny, and moving, complete with a heartbreaking ending.

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George Roy Hill

Director

Robin Williams

Garp

Glenn Close

Jenny Fields

Mary Beth Hurt

Helen Holm

John Lithgow

Roberta Muldoon

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Synopsis

A nurse during World War II, Jenny Fields conceives with a dying pilot and bears a boy named T.S. Garp whom she raises alone. When Garp grows up, he has some success writing fiction, but not nearly so much as his mother has with feminist-themed nonfiction. Rich and famous, she starts a center for troubled women, and while Garp marries and has children, he remains a constant, if somewhat critical, observer of the strange community that forms around Jenny.

Director: George Roy Hill
Producer: Robert Crawford Jr.
Screenwriter: Steve Tesich
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Crime
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 23, 1982, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 24, 2008
Runtime: 2h 16m