January 9, 1998
Miramax
Drama, Comedy, Romance
VHS
B
This is generally well-written and well-acted by real-life best friends Matt Damon (as the title character) and Ben Affleck (as Chuckie Sullivan). They are ably supported by Minnie Driver as love interest Skylar, Ben's brother Casey as Morgan O'Mally (providing much of the comic relief), Stellan Skarsgård as Prof. Gerald Lambeau, and of course Robin Williams as Sean Maguire, the tough but kind therapist. This film got much acclaim (including awards) on first release and it holds up well. But there's just something missing that keeps it from crossing over into greatness. Maybe it's the way that the therapy is presented as an act of both friendship and rescue. Maybe it's that we're never actually shown the reunion between Will and Skylar. Or maybe it's that awful title. No, really, even at the time, I thought it was dumb, like it's about the hunt for goodwill, or Goodwill. And do we need to be told that Will is good? I guess if it was just Will Hunting, we'd think it was about an inheritance.
Daniel Olsen was a Wounded Soldier in Little Women and is an MIT Student here. Steven Kozlowski is Carmine Friend #1 here and would be Lump in Holes.
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| Two guys from Southie |
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