Their dad died 17 years earlier but...
Ellen was 15? I love this movie and have watched it for many years, but I just now realized that. Kind of a big hole.
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MovieChat Forums > What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1994) Discussion > Their dad died 17 years earlier but...
That's a big plot hole.
shareIn the book it explains how Bonnie was pregnant with the youngest when he died. I don't know why they messed that part up.
I was taking a guess that Ellen wasn't born yet when her father died in another thread. I haven't read the book. In the film, his gravestone says he passed in 1978, and if this film is set in 1993 or 1994, that fits with Ellen not yet born when he died. (She's 15, so I also wasn't sure if she was supposed to be just a baby.)
I guess I missed the "17 years ago" part. I don't know when that was said.
They said she was about to turn 16, she was likely just a few weeks/couple months pregnant when he died. Not really a plot hole, but they could have made it more obvious.
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Yeah, but I believe Gilbert said in the narration that she turned 15 "last week".
shareNo, I think he said that she was 15 and got her braces off "last week."
shareThe words "last week" were never used while describing her. He says and I quote...
My other sister Ellen just turned 15, she got her braces off and for days now she's been going ohh, ahh, like she can't believe the feel of teeth.
"We stayed up all night dry humping, it was awful, I think she gave me poison ivy."
Good catch.
But the father did die in 1978.
So 1978 + 15= 1993.
So the question is why did Gilbert narrate that his father died 17 years ago in the beginning.
So maybe he just rounded up instead of saying 16 years and 3 months ago or what ever.
I do that all the time when ever something was over 10 years ago.... who's got time for math? !
. Ephemeron.