Rating: 
Summary: Good film, good job for a first time screenplay/movie.
Review: This film, which was the first time for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, in writing a screenplay, turned into a movie, is an impressive piece of work. About a shy, yet with an attitude, young man (who as we find out later was abused) who demonstrates his brilliance, but who will not let people get too close. Ben Affleck (before all of this "Bennifer" nonsense) is good as his buddy, who really wants him to use his "gift". With an outstanding performance by Robin Williams (who deserved his award) and Minnie Driver, the lads have put together a funny, poignant, movie; which wasn't "overdone" as some movies might be. Williams and Damon interact with each other with the right amount of "attitude" as they help each other overcome their fears, hopes, missed opportunities, and dreams. A better film than I thought it would be. I'd recommend it. The downside (for peope offended by language, i.e., profanity, is that there is a lot of it, especially the "F" word). If one can overlook that, if one's offended [I'm not overly so]; then, this movie speaks to the person inside all of us, as we ask ourselves some basic questions; what do we want out of life, do we have regrets, did we try hard enough to succeed, what does success mean, and so on. Damon's character refused to be "manipulated" by anyone, including the professor who had his own issues. Definitely worth seeing. Had a pretty decent soundtrack too.
Rating: 
Summary: A drama with emotional depth
Review: This quiet drama about what genius means was the surprise hit of 1997, with friends Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both collaborating on the screenplay and acting. Damon plays Will Hunting, a troubled, gruff young man who works as a janitor at MIT despite his incredible self-education and intelligence. When a mathematics professor discovers that Will has solved a complicated problem left on the blackboard, he pursues Will as a potential protégé. But Will is not good with authority figures, as his past includes abuse at the hands of his father. When Will lands in jail, however, and the professor manages to obtain his release with the stipulation that Will work on mathematics with him and see a counselor, Will's whole life begins to open up. As a patient of psychologist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), Will forges a relationship that acts as a catalyst for a new future.Matt Damon does a wonderful job with the title role, although at times he seems a little wooden. As the therapist with a painful history that Will eventually connects with, Robin Williams turns in one of his less flamboyant performances. His suffering is palpable, and his need to save Will from himself lends real passion to the film. Affleck provides solid balance as Will's friend Chuckie, although his performance is less memorable than the other two, more of a function of the role than the actor. Minnie Driver is charming and believable as Will's new girlfriend Skylar. The screenplay is intelligent and skillfully developed despite some unbelievable facets of the premise, most notably that such a wounded individual, no matter how bright, would have the discipline to teach himself as much as Will knows. Still, this movie only gets better as it progresses. The relationship between Will and his therapist is dynamic, poignant, and meaningful. This is a good film to own, as it uncovers additional subtleties on second viewing, as long as you don't mind revisiting emotional angst. Its feel-good story arc is somewhat predictable, but the dialogue and interactions are not, making this flick surprisingly complex given the young ages of Damon and Affleck when it was made.
Rating:
Summary: Some Outstanding Moments, but Not a Masterpiece
Review: GOOD WILL HUNTING was actually written by two of its stars, boyhood friends, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. I was surprised when I first learned this; the screenplay, while still a little rough around the edges, shows a lot of insight for the twentysomethings that Damon and Affleck were in 1997. GOOD WILL HUNTING is the story of, who else, Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a janitor at MIT and a young man with a very troubled past. Will was an orphan and a victim of child abuse. As an adult he's a petty criminal with a short fuse and an uncanny ability to reduce the most complicated math problems and theorems to simple answers, something he does at night on MIT's chalkboards. Will is a mathematical genius with a photographic memory, but he neither recognizes his gift nor cares. He'd much rather be out with his other blue-collar buddies, drinking and getting into trouble. Two things happen to change Will's errant ways. The first is the fact that his genius is found out by one of MIT's professors, Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard). Professor Skarsgard wants to do something to encourage Will to develop his gift. The second, and more pivotal thing that happens is that Will assaults a police office on one of his nightly binges and lands in jail. Luckily, Will comes before a judge with some understanding of what he really needs. Instead of being sent to jail, Will is ordered to spend one day a week with Lambeau, studying math, and one day a week with a therapist in order to work through his short temper and his need to self-destruct. After a few false starts, Will ends up seeing Sean McGuire (Robin Williams), a teacher at Bunker Hill Community College and Lambeau's former college roommate. As things progress, it becomes more and more evident that Will is just as good for Sean as Sean is for Will. Will also receives help and encouragement from his childhood friend, Chuckie (Ben Affleck) and a pretty Harvard student from Britain, Skylar (Minnie Driver). The plot of GOOD WILL HUNTING is very, very predictable, as is its ending, but that really didn't stop me from enjoying the film. There are some outstanding moments and set pieces, but overall, the film is only a little above average. The dialogue is sometimes above average and, much to my delight, there was actually subtext, something so much screen and literary dialogue lacks these days. The thing that really rescues the film from mediocrity, though, are the performances from all the actors, especially an uncharacteristically subdued performance from Robin Williams. The scenes between Williams and Damon feel "real" and the chemistry between Affleck and Damon and Damon and Driver is palpable. Of course, the fact that Affleck and Damon have been lifelong friends and that Damon and Driver were romantically involved during the filming of GOOD WILL HUNTING didn't hurt the "chemistry" one bit. Still, it could have gone wrong. Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were engaged when they made GIGLI and that fell flatter than any proverbial pancake ever could. GOOD WILL HUNTING is a very solid, though predictable piece of entertainment, with strong performances from all concerned. I would recommend renting it before buying it, however, as it's not a film that one wants to see again and again. At least not in my opinion.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful, thought-provoking . . . perfect
Review: This movie is either perfect, or as close as it's possible for a movie to be. The acting is outstanding. The direction is terrific. The script is heartfelt and real. The soundtrack, featuring Elliot Smith, is perfectly suited to the movie. All in all, it's one of the greatest movies I've ever seen, and it's my personal favorite. Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a janitor at MIT who harbors a secret genius for mathematics. Rather than bank on his intelligence, he spends most of his time riding around and drinking with his buddies (Ben Affleck, Cole Hauser, and a particularly funny and excellent Casey Affleck). However, his gift is discovered by a professor at the university (Stellan Skarsgard) who bails Will out of jail (in on a count of assault) on the conditions that he start doing math regularly with the professor and that he see a psychiatrist. Enter the psychiatrist, Sean (Robin Williams). To add to the mix, Will meets a Harvard student, Skylar (Minnie Driver) who is possibly the first woman for whom he's ever had real feelings. Over the course of the movie, all of these characters in their own way try to make Will live up to his potential. The movie doesn't have much of a plot other than this -- however, that's fine, because it's meant to be more of a character study and it's a great one. Pretty much every scene is two people sitting down talking to each other -- yet it holds the viewer's interest because the characters are so captivating. Sean and Will's scenes in particular are terrific. Matt Damon and Robin Williams, besides both being fine actors, have a natural chemistry that you just can't fake. Damon and Minnie Driver are also great together (of course, as it's widely known, the two dated during the filming of the movie) and it's my opinion that both were robbed of their Oscars. Ben Affleck shows that spark in this movie which he showed in most of his '90s movies, and he's great in his role -- but even better is his brother Casey. Watch the movie with the audio commentary, and you'll gain so much more appreciation for both the role of Morgan and the actor Casey. The same goes for Stellan Skarsgard. Cole Hauser is good with the few lines he has. All in all, this is a great movie -- beautifully shot, well-written . . . well, I've said it all before. If you're not offended by excessive use of the word "f***" (and yes, some people really do talk like that) you should love it. Forget the naysayers -- "Good Will Hunting" is one of the most heartfelt, poignant movies in recent history. Too bad all the awards that year automatically went to the movie with the grandest special effects instead of the one with better dialogue and better characters.
Rating: 
Summary: This Movie is a Sure-Fire Cure for Insomnia!!
Review: This movie was widely applauded when it came out, replete with Oscar Nominations and awards as well. Perhaps I missed something because when I saw this I was expecting something that I did not get. It wasn't fifteen minutes before I was asleep!! This film is a real snoozer....but that's just my opinion. The only thing good about it is that it cures my insomnia when I have trouble falling asleep!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Will Hunting
Review: Well, I decided to watch this movie because I saw Gus Van Sant's first film, "My Own Private Idaho" and thought it was quite intriguing. Well, this one was not "My Own Private Idaho." It was more like a precursor to the lesser film, "Finding Forrester," which is more or less a rip of this film. Unlike that terrible Sean Connery film, this one does have heart. It's just too surrounded by fluff to really be affecting. It wasn't a bad film, though.
Rating:
Summary: the best movie ever
Review: I haven't gotten sick of this one yet, and don't know if I ever will. The class warfare as played out in this movie is completely thrilling to me, as blue collar Boston finds it's champion in Will Hunting, a super-genius who has the talents to make him desirable to the intellectual elite, and the gumption to tell them to f*** off. Lots of funny scenes involving Will and his brickworking buddies, and some excellent dramatic moments as well.
Rating:
Summary: Deserves more credit than it gets
Review: I avoided seeing "Good Will Hunting" for years due to its reputation as a "bad pic disguised as an Indie flick". Then, one night, I decided to try it. How bad could it be? If it was awful, I figured, at least with Affleck it oughta be funny (in an unintentional way).
But guess what? It wasn't funny. It wasn't bad. In fact, it was pretty near great.
The story has been done before, albeit in slightly different form, so don't look for anything too special here. Young Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is, secretly, a mathematical genius, who puts out a rebellious attitudeto disguise this. While working as a janitor, his talent is discovered by a college professor (Stellan Skarsgard), and from there Will's life is changed forever. He meets his dream girl (Minnie Driver) and undergoes psychological therapy in an attempt to fix up his attitude. The only shrink who has any chance with Will, however, is another college professor: Sean Maguire, played by Robin Williams. Along with his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck), Will embarks on a journey that will change his life forever.
Damon and Affleck, at the time relatively new to filmmaking, grabbed an Academy Award for "Best Original Screenplay" for writing the tale of "Good Will Hunting". Williams also received an Academy Award for "Best Supporting Actor", and the film was nominated for seven other awards including "Best Picture". The cast is terrific here - even Affleck isn't horrible - but it's Damon and Williams whose performances really reach out and grab you.
Someone who should have won an Oscar was director Gus Van Sant. His unique directing style gets moving performances from the entire cast and really brings to life Damon and Affleck's otherwise ordinary script. There's also a not-so-remarkable score by Danny Elfman.
I find this film to be severely underrated. If you give it a small chance, it will really have an effect on you. "Good Will Hunting" is one of the best films of the year, a shlock flick turned into a touching wonder. This movie really deserves more credit than it gets.
Rating: 
Summary: Unexceptional
Review: I remember seeing this movie in a theater in December of 1997 with a group of friends. Afterwards we went out to eat and it wasn't until we were finishing up coffee and desert before someone even brought up the movie for discussion. We were all in agreement that the movie was competent but forgettable -- an unexceptional Hollywood fare, complete with utterly predictable ending, posing as an "indie."
There is little here you haven't seen before. Sure, the "boy math genius" angle adds a slightly different twist to the "downtown boy meets uptown girl" formula, but it isn't anything like enough to sustain this movie for the 2 hour running time. At first one is amazed to see Robin Williams showing actual restraint from his usually highly annoying over the top shtick until you realize that the whole thing was for him to show "sensitivity" to get him an Oscar. Ca-ching. It worked.
If you have managed to get thorough the past 7 years without seeing this movie there is no reason to take the time to correct it. If you have already seen it, it is difficult to think of a scenario under which you might feel even remotely compelled to see it again. If, for reasons known only to you, you STILL feel like this is a must see, tape it from one of the 4 billion times a year it is shown on Bravo and then fast forward through the commercials. That way you've saved your self both some serious time and money.
2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: A MODERN CLASSIC
Review: Believe it or not, there was actually a time when the now famed "Good Will Hunting" was just the little-movie-that-could. When it was released in the late 90s, America was under the mighty "Titanic" spell, and any actors who weren't named Leonardo or Winslett basically got ignored. In fact, for what it's worth, the film was not a major blockbuster by anyone's standards. The director, Gus Van Sant, had somewhat of a cult following (thanks to previous movies such as "My Own Private Idaho") but little else. Matt Damon (who plays the lead) and Ben Affleck (who plays his friend) were still Hollywood mid-carders. The only thing the film had going for it on a marketing level was Robin Williams.
But low and behold, audiences began to click with it. Damon and Williams had an on-screen chemistry that rivaled Leo's and Kate's, and the screenplay (written by Damon and Affleck in college) was...well, brilliant (it eventually won an oscar).
In case you don't know, the film is about a troubled Boston youth (Damon) who is from the wrong side of town but posesses a brilliant photographic academic mind. Damon eventually begins seeing Williams, a therapist, and the story goes from there. The tone and theme are very academic and carpe-diem, similar to another Robin Williams film, "Dead Poets Society," but with a more gritty edge. It also seems influenced by the classic Peter Schaffer play, Equus (probably a mere coincidence, though) in that the film straddles the theme of the therapist ultimately becoming the patient, and vice versa.
The film has achieved somewhat legendary status among college students over the years as THE inspiring story about love, friendship, loyalty, and plunging into the real world. Whatever the case, if it wasn't for this movie, Damon and Affleck would most likely not be where they are today. It was the oscar that they received that truly made Hollywood open its eyes to the duo. It's a shame that they both seemed to have possibly peaked as far as creative energy is concerned. Lets hope not.
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