A sweet story without much drive

Slightly askew fairy tale from director Lasse Halstrom, who thankfully has abandoned his penchant for overwrought irony and comic nastiness, has a big heart but one that isn't always well-placed. Dedicated to his mentally backward brother and reclusive, overweight mother, grocery worker Gilbert Grape (a nicely understated Johnny Depp) rethinks his life after meeting an attractive young woman passing through town. The film has finely-balanced little moments that spring up at you, however Mary Steenburgen's role as a cheating wife isn't really necessary (it's just there to give us some input into Gilbert's situation), but Juliette Lewis, John C. Reilly and Crispin Glover are very charming as Gilbert's friends. Leonardo DiCaprio...you gotta hand it to him, he pulls off a tricky role with amazing aplomb. Hallstrom's film doesn't always strike the chords it wants to, and occasionally it seems to intentionally wobble while juggling its emotional priorities. Some scenes that should cut deep don't (as with Gilbert shopping at the competition and getting caught by his boss, or with Gilbert letting neighborhood kids get a peek at his mother). Still, a pleasant, thought-provoking outing, one that is nonchalant about its emotions (and its brains). It isn't a heady mix of dramatic ideas, but it does leave you with something--thoughts that may return to you a day or so after seeing