Overview
A unique blend of humor and heart, exploring the complexities of life through the eyes of a writer and his unconventional mother.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- witty
- absurdist
- reflective
- literary adaptation night
- character drama viewing
What critics said
Critics broadly found it a generally favorable, faithful, well-acted adaptation with fresh visualization and an absorbing mixture of social observation, absurdist humor, satire, and melodrama.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Garp’s life and Jenny’s feminist writing expose changing attitudes toward gender, sexuality, parenting, and public identity.
The film places eccentric domestic episodes, public controversy, violence, and grief within a wry observational framework.
Garp wants to become a serious writer while marriage, parenthood, family conflict, and public pressures reshape his priorities.
Roberta Muldoon is a prominent transgender character whose depiction has been criticized as reinforcing a stigmatizing comic trope.
Films like The World According to Garp, and why
The Hotel New Hampshire
shared literary adaptation, eccentric family drama, social satire, and bittersweet emotional register
Running on Empty
shared coming-of-age perspective, unconventional family dynamics, dark humor, and picaresque storytelling
Wonder Boys
shared domestic melodrama, writer protagonists, absurdist humor, and complicated parent-child relationships
An Unmarried Woman
shared feminist themes, unconventional women, social observation, and tragicomic tone
Movie Details
- Director
- George Roy Hill
- Release Date
- 1982-07-23
- Runtime
- 136 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (400)
Cast
- Robin Williams
- Mary Beth Hurt
- Glenn Close
- John Lithgow
- Hume Cronyn
- Jessica Tandy
- Swoosie Kurtz
- Brenda Currin
- Peter Michael Goetz
- Jenny Wright
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The World According to Garp about?
- An eccentric writer and his fiercely independent mother navigate love, parenthood, feminism, and violence in a sharply observed tragicomic family saga.
- What is The World According to Garp like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The World According to Garp as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The World According to Garp violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The World According to Garp as moderate.
- What did critics think of The World According to Garp?
- Critics broadly found it a generally favorable, faithful, well-acted adaptation with fresh visualization and an absorbing mixture of social observation, absurdist humor, satire, and melodrama.
- Which films are like The World According to Garp?
- Films with a similar feel include The Hotel New Hampshire, Running on Empty, Wonder Boys, and An Unmarried Woman.
- How long is The World According to Garp?
- The World According to Garp runs 136 minutes.
- Where can I watch The World According to Garp?
- In United States, The World According to Garp streams on Howdy Amazon Channel.
