Bad Liver And A Broken Heart

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