The World According to Garp | 80's Movie Guide

Taglines: Robin Williams is Garp. He's got a funny way of looking at life. The World According to Garp movie storyline. T.S. Garp has led an unusual life. Born in 1944 and named after his father, he is the bastard son of opinionated feminist nurse Jenny Fields who wanted a child but not a husband. She got herself pregnant by a hospitalized soldier on his deathbed, he known only to her as Technical Sergeant Garp. As a young adult, Garp, shaped by his upbringing especially his mother's influence, is an aspiring writer and freestyle wrestler. He shows great aptitude in both. His writing inspires his mother to try her hand at it as well, her subject being her greatest curiosity in life which is human sexuality, most specifically male lust and its effect on women. Into Garp's life comes a myriad of Jenny's friends, acquaintances, groupies and advisers, which includes a transsexual ex-football player named Roberta Muldoon, a reformed prostitute, and a group of women who practice self-mutilation all in the name of making a statement. Also into his life comes Helen Holm, the daughter of his wrestling coach. Garp and Helen have a stormy but passionate relationship, the passion based in part on their joint love of literature. Through all these unusual experiences, Garp just wants to find his place in the world which has a different sensibility than him. The World According to Garp is a 1982 American comedy-drama film directed by George Roy Hill and starring Robin Williams in the title role. It is based on the novel of the same title by John Irving, who co-wrote the script with Steve Tesich. For their roles, John Lithgow and Glenn Close were respectively nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role at the 55th Academy Awards. The movie adaptation was filmed mostly in the Leewood Estates neighborhood of Eastchester, New York in the spring and summer of 1981. Many scenes were filmed at the town's high school, as well as Rutgers University. The World According to Garp (1982) Directed by: George Roy Hill Starring: Robin Williams, Mary Beth Hurt, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, Swoosie Kurtz, James McCall, Amanda Plummer Screenplay by: Steve Tesich Production Design by: Henry Bumstead Cinematography by: Miroslav Ondrícek Film Editing by: Stephen A. Rotter Costume Design by: Ann Roth Set Decoration by: Robert Drumheller, Justin Scoppa Jr. Art Direction by: Woods Mackintosh Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures Release Date: July 23, 1982