THE WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP

US, 1982, 130 minutes, Colour.
Robin Williams, Glenn Close, John Lithgow, Mary Beth Hurt, Jessica Tandy, Hume Cronyn, Swoozie Kurtz.
Directed by George Roy Hill.

The World According to Garp is a striking film directed by George Roy Hill (Hawaii, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting). It is an adaptation by Steve Tesich (writer of Breaking Away, Four Friends) from John Irving’s novel. Irving has a cameo role. Other films from his novels include The Hotel New Hampshire (1984, directed by Tony Richardson) and The Cider House Rules (1999, directed by Lasse Hallstrom from a screenplay, which won the Oscar, by Irving himself).

The film focuses on a feminist, Jenny Fields, played by Glenn Close in one of her earliest roles. A single mother, she brings up her son in the 50s and 60s but becomes a radical feminist, publishing a book, Sexual Suspect. On the other hand, her son Garp, played by Robin Williams again in an early film role (after Mork and Mindy and Popeye) is a more conventional author. Also in the cast are John Lithgow as a transsexual, Mary Beth Hurt as Garp’s wife and Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy.

The film is full of ideas, eccentric characters, interactions, comments on the 1950s and 1960s from the perspective of the 1980s.

1. The status of the novel? A skilful adaptation for the screen? Material included? Material not included? The screenplay getting the style and the spirit of the novel? John Irving's appearance as the wrestling referee? The work of George Roy Hill and the adaptation of novels e.g. Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five? The work of Steve Tesich (Breaking Away, Four Friends)?

2. The film as a piece of Americana of the '80s? The background of the eastern states: New Hampshire, New York and the environment? The sense of period of the various decades? The importance of the musical score and musical comment? 'When I'm 64? 'You Alone'? The lyrics of the Alice Cooper song?

3. The comic and serious style of the film? The opening credits and '64' with the smiling bouncing baby? The introduction to Garp? The reprise of the song at the end and the irony of Garp not reaching 64? The episodic straightforward narrative? The insertion of the animated segment for Garp's imagination of flying with his father and being a hero? The dramatisation of Garp's short story and the use of fantasy?

4. The structure of the film: the credits and the introduction to Garp and his conception, Jenny Fields and her work as a nurse, role in the school and Garp's childhood? Garp as a youth and the transition to adolescence in home life, study, sport, relationships? The adolescent Garp and his writing, encounter with Helen? The transition to New York? Success? Marriage? His mother and her new life? The social involvement as well as the creativity? The ups and downs of the marriage? The family and the son's death? Disaster with the death of Jenny? Violence for the death of Garp? A resume of America from the '40s to the '70s?

5. The significance of the title: a world view, an American 20th. century view? The validity of Garp's world view? Audiences agreeing with it or not? Garp's world shaping his life and ideas? The way that he lived, the importance of remembering, the way that it ended? The world according to Jenny Fields? American, feminine, mother? The values of her being a mother and in control, her relationship to her son and forming him? The blend of the ordinary and extraordinary? Faith in the individual more than in society?

6. The atmosphere of the introduction: the baby, the beach and the location, the year? The Fields' discussion of Garp's name ? the hostility, the fainting mother? (Their not being seen again and the sequence of the father's funeral?) The emphasis on death with Garp's only words, his dying, Garp being conceived by the action of a dying man? Garp's own emphasis on death? The later explanation of what happened in Jenny's telling the story to Dean Bodger? The book? The offbeat comic tone blended with inherent sadness and violence? The inevitability of Garp's death ? or not?

7. The initial focus on Jenny Fields: her love for the baby and her cherishing of its conception and her independent hold over it? Love and her anti-lust attitudes? Her work in the war? The feminine assertions? Having the child by herself? Calling the child Garp? Her lack of knowledge of the father ? his only two words: Garp, good? Her work in the school, the efficient nurse? The American mother, nurse? Her doing her duty, the incident with the magazine and its being hidden in Garp's pram? Her threat to the boys in the dormitory about the plague? The boy with the stuck zip? Her love for her son, planning his courses? Not giving him enough control? The discussions about flying? The incident of the dog biting Garp? His going out on the roof and her getting him down? Antagonism towards the neighbours, friendship with the dean? Her caution about his swimming and the undertow (and the boys later calling it the undertoad)? The independent woman and her 'momism'? Loving possessiveness and protection ? and the effect on Garp?

8. The small sequences of Garp as baby and the indications of theme with the dirty magazine hidden in his pram? Garp as a boy and his drawing, flying, longing for his absent father, imagining heroics? The ease of relationship with his mother? The neighbouring girls and the jokes about having headaches etc.? The vindictive spying girl? The sport, the shower room scene, the wrestling and Garp's fascination? The fight with the dog and Carp's being bitten and Jenny's assertion? The incident on the roof and his being rescued? The swimming and the undertow?

9. Jenny and her protectiveness in Garp's adolescent years, arranging his studies, sport and her vigilant disapproval? The telling of the story to the dean? The irony of her later forbidding Garp to write about her but her writing about him in her book?

10. Garp growing up, running, his skill in wrestling? The discussions with Helen and his making the faux pas about her father? The T.S. and Terribly Shy to Terribly Sexy? His ease with Helen, the discussions about writers? The girl coming back from college and the sexual encounter? Helen's laughing, looking and disgust? The vindictiveness of the spying girl? The short story and the humour of the papers blowing about and Helen and Garp having to collect them?

11. His revenge on the dog by biting it? The reaction of the neighbours?

12. The transition to New York? Garp and Jenny Fields learning about New York? Shopping, seeing the hooker and the long discussion with her? The forwardness of Jenny Fields in discussing the sexual behaviour? Carp's reaction, the influence on Jenny Fields, paying for the hooker to go with Garp? The story-writing? Garp's experience of seeing the couple quarrelling, his imagining the story and its being visualised: the piano, the gloves, the pianist, the high building, the fall? His taking the story to Helen and her weeping reading it? Jenny writing her book in the meantime? Preserving her privacy, her reaction to Garp using her in a story and her excluding him? The size of the respective manuscripts? The visit to John? Jenny and the timeliness of her book? The repercussions of bestsellerdom in the United States? The fanfare and razzamatazz? Garp being quiet by contrast? His story being published? John becoming his publisher? The fanfare with Jenny and the signing of the autographs, the hooker coming up and asking was she in the book? The black lady and her personal difficulties? The shootings ? and the prophecy of the later violence?

13. Garp's love for Helen, bringing her the story, their marrying? The decision to find an isolated house? away from Jenny? The agent and her chattering about Garp and his being a celebrity? The spectacular humour of the plane crashing into the house and it being suitable for hiding away from Jenny? Their life together , Garp's writing, Helen's teaching? Their discussions about the book and student reaction to it? Her announcement that she was pregnant? The birth of Duncan and the recklessness? The relationship with Jenny and her being a grandmother? Garp's love for his son, and wanting him to say 'Dada'? The birth? The family growing up? Their going out and thinking about the children, going back to look at the kids? The talk about being 30? The babysitter and Carp's talk about being Terribly Sexy? The relationship with the babysitter and its momentary influence on Garp, yet the repercussions with Helen? The contrast with Helen and her classes, Michael and his note, his forcing his attentions on Helen, the breakdown of the car, her going with him and insistence on cleanliness? The jealous girl and the giving of the note? The repercussions on Garp, taking the boys out for a hamburger, the film? The phone calls and Helen's promise to break off the liaison? Michael's arrival and plea? The ironic humour of the fellatio? The crash? The build-up to it ? and Walter's death? Michael's injury? Garp and Helen and their injuries? The resentment and Jenny looking

13. The character of Roberta Muldoon? The initial encounter with Garp and the discussion about football? The theme of masculinity and femininity and the transsexual? John Lithgow's award nomination performance? visits? The reckless driver in the suburbs and Garp's attack, at various times, his final exasperation while jogging with Roberta? Roberta's reaction? Roberta getting on well with the children? The consoling of Helen and Garp at Walt's death? Trips, friends in New York? The bond with Jenny Fields? The funeral sequence? A sympathetic portrait of a symbolic character?

14. The sketch of the kids, the importance to their parents, the bond between the two, the games? The theme of the undertow, 'undertoad'? The children repeating Garp's behaviour and his repeating his mother's words?

15. The impact on Jenny of her father's death? Having the house? Her making it a refuge for women? Garp's reaction to the women living there, their hostile reactions, the Ellen James women and their taking out their tongues, the writing of notes? Their not wanting to be touched? The meetings, the resentment? The later meeting after Jenny's death and Garp's publishing the book about Ellen James, his receiving Ellen's letter, Ellen helping him escape from the hostile women at the meeting? His losing his own tongue and experiencing what the Ellen Jameses felt? The Ellen James Society, as a symbol of excessive feminism?

16. Jenny's house, the feminist movement, the various representatives of Women's Liberation, Jenny protecting them, freeing them? Her love for her family? delivering the granddaughter? Her going on political platforms? The build-up to her death ? and Roberta's inability to save her? Roberta's grief afterwards? Why was Jenny Fields shot? What did she symbolise in terms of the American woman? Mother (without being wife)? The independent woman? even as regards conception and mothering her child? Her book, her revolutionary attitudes? Her compassion? What did Carp inherit from her?

17. Garp, the funeral? His rallying? His work at the university? His entering into the wrestling? The influence of his writing the book on Ellen James, the meeting after his mother's death and his disguising himself as a woman ? and the same girl spying him out and attacking him?

18. The possibility of a more peaceful future after Jenny's death? The different babysitter, life at home? The extraordinary assassination and its drawing together the themes of the past?

19. His dream of flying and his finally achieving it in the helicopter?

20. The film as symbolic, visionary? Americana? ordinariness and extraordinariness? A perspective on the meaning of life?