The World According to Garp
1982
****
Director: George Roy Hill
Cast: Robin Williams, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Mary Beth Hurt, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Swoosie Kurtz, Peter Michael Goetz, Mark Soper, Amanda Plummer, Jenny Wright
At the end of WW2, Jenny Fields, an unconventional and unmarried nurse, bears a son, T.S. Garp. While his strong-willed mother becomes a controversial feminist icon, Garp wants to raise a family and establish himself as a novelist, but tragedy always seems to lurk behind the corner. George Roy Hill's comedy drama attempts to condense John Irving's terrific and sprawling 1978 novel into 135 minutes. In the end, the story is funny, wacky, and moving, but what is it really about? Robin Williams, Glenn Close, and John Lithgow all give terrific performances.
