Good
Will Hunting (1997)
Rating:
R
Runtime:
126 minutes
Box
Office (in today’s dollars): 205 million (approximately)
Characters:
Will Hunting, Sean McGuire, Chuckie Sullivan, Skylar, Professor Gerald Lambeau,
Morgan O’Mally, Billy McBride, Tom
Favorite
Quote: “Do you like apples?”
Favorite
Scene: Chuckie’s “the best part of my day” speech
Favorite
Character: Sean McGuire
Other need-to-see nineties movies directed by Gus Van Sant: none
I
grew up (and currently live) about 10 minutes from Dartmouth College, so I find
it hilarious that Harvard University (where this movie “took place”) seems so
much more prestigious than its Ivy League counterpart. But don’t get me started
on my hatred for the Big Green. This movie reminds me of my times hanging out
with my friends in the late nineties; wanting to “fuck up some smart kids”,
wearing an “I hate L.A.” shirt, and eating a bunch of caramels. I think the
main characters from the movie are ones you either love or hate. Will, Chuckie,
Morgan, and Billy swear and drink a lot but they are always there for each
other. Professor Lambeau and Tom are just looking out for themselves, and doing
equations and shit. It was a toss-up for favorite character: Skylar was the
perfect girl, funny and goofy, but I went with Sean. He taught me to always
choose love over sports . . . unless you know history is going to happen at
Fenway.
There
was a lot of great dialogue throughout the movie, even if you didn’t include
all the uses of the word fuck. “My boy’s wicked smart”, “Keep your ear to the
grindstone” are funny; “I gotta see about a girl”, “It’s not your fault” are
classics. But everyone remembers (my favorite) “Do you like apples?” My
favorite scene is when Chuckie basically tells Will, “I love you, but get the
fuck out of Boston.” It is what all best friends should say to each other.
What
most people will remember about this movie is Robin Williams’ Oscar-winning
performance, and Matt Damon/Ben Affleck winning the Oscar for best screenplay.
But what I think people shouldn’t forget is the amazing music from the film,
especially Elliott Smith’s “Miss Misery”. It should have won the Oscar for best
song over Celine Dion’s Titanic theme
“My Heart Will Go On”. But Titanic
won every award in 1997. Side note: thanks to Skylar for giving me my 2019
March Madness Tournament Challenge bracket name . . . Hook-Hook Dunk-Dunk!!
Next
movie to review: The Big Lebowski
