Rating: 
Summary: Williams Shines!!
Review: I must say that I really enjoyed this film. The writing was fabulous. Each character had a voice, a past, a way about them that was truth their own. I really enjoy films where there is so much depth to the characters that you fell what they feel. This is the story of a young man, who had a horrible past but it so brilliant but hot headed! Set in the heart of Boston, It's about his life, his friends, and the peace he finds within himself. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck both starred, and won Oscars for Best Original Screenplay. Robin Williams was awesome. He gave an award winning performance that one must not miss seeing. He is truly an amazing actor as they all are but Williams performance was so breath taking! Ms. Driver also gave an outstanding performance and it was also nice to hear her real voice! I would highly recommend this film to everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: Sentimentalised? Yes. Bad? No.
Review: Anyone who remembers Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho or To Die For will remember when Gus Van Sant was hailed as the next big thing on the indie scene. So is it any surprise that when his first big commercial success met with equal amounts of derision as with praise? In many ways you can see it from both sides. Good Will Hunting, scripted by best pals in real life as well as on screen Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, is the story of a mathematical genius orphaned caretaker who needs a little professional guidance (or Robin Williams) to put him on the straight path towards happiness. Admitedly the story may make fans of Van Sant's more original work cringe, but there really is something uplifting here. Matt Damon is perfectly cast as Will Hunting, proving as he did in The Talented Mr. Ripley, that he's much more than just a pretty face. Robin Williams is good also, being much better in serious roles such as this than in something like Patch Adams. Minnie Driver is fine, although it's the obvious chemistry between her and her co-star that really interests. Ben Affleck plays the knockaround good guy of Chasing Amy, the only kind of role in which he seems really comfortable in. What's most surprising about the movie though is that aside from it's sweet and sickly message of 'follow your heart' there is more to it. One scene in particular, where Williams and Damon face it off in a discussion of real life versus intellectualism is not only well observed but also well acted by both parties. On top of this, the romance between Damon and Driver is sparky and believable (for obvious reasons), ensuring that you really care when Will's personal demons start impinging on the relationship. Of course, this is the kind of movie that a lot of people will feel compelled to say that they don't like because on many levels it is a little obvious. However, that certainly isn't to say that it isn't affecting in its way, and if parts come across as clichéd then it's a small price to pay for one of the better Hollywood melodramas to come from the 90's. Unfortunately, Gus Van Sant then managed to go downhill with his pointless remake of Psycho and then his virtual replication of Good Will Hunting, Finding Forrester. In this way maybe we should view Good Will Hunting as his last standout film.
Rating: 
Summary: Robin Williams saved this one
Review: I liked this movie. It had an interesting story line that kept my eyes open. My complaint is not with the plot, despite the obvious emotion-targeting cheesiness of the main character's Hollywood-bred personality of lower class/badboy rebel/ladykiller/street brawler/undiscovered genius mix. The characters themselves (save Robin Williams, who's brilliant performance lies behind the three stars I generously gave this film) were egotistical, downright annoying, and carefully designed to further open the floodgates which run into the oceans that are Matt Damon's and Ben Affleck's egos. I really don't feel like wasting time pointing out novel upon novel worth of this movie's flaws, but I'll indulge upon a few of them that stuck out the most... 1. Damon and Affleck's Irish "accents" are completely unbelievable. Damon falsely believes that adding an "R" between the "F" and "U" in his overused, 4-letter word of exhuberance will make him sound Irish. Thankfully, their "accents" only last about five minutes into the movie before they expeditiously dissolve into their native La Jolla tongues. 2. What's with the wardrobe clash? Why does Affleck dress himself as a typical, image-conscious gangbanger wannabe while his friends prance around in blue-collar, tattered workshirts? 3. Does Damon live with his parents or alone? I assume by the movie's ending, in which he just ups and leaves, that he lives with his parents. Otherwise he just abandons his house and all his belongings, few as they may be. 4. Damon and Co. slowly cruise the neighborhood looking to pick fights with ruffians twice their size and in greater numbers. Damon picks one particular fight with a man who he remembers used to beat him up in kindergarten. An unintimidating 5'2" Damon, of course, pulverizes the behemoth, who lays there doing nothing to defend himself. Damon is so tough and rebellious, he then attacks some cops, landing him in jail where he can talk tough to even more people. Give me a break. And seriously, how many fights does the average kindergartener get into? I can't even remember anyone I went to kindergarten with, much less some brat who pulled my hair (until I squealed in outrage) for using all the purple fingerpaint. 5. Damon and Driver are about as romantic as C-3PO and the Tin Man. Driver's nipping voice and forced accent (what's with all the fake GB lingo?) felt like a screwdriver being rammed through my tender earlobe again and again and again. My heart warmed when Damon finally used his genius intellect and made the painfully overdue decision to dump her. 6. Pretty boys Damon and Affleck working as construction gophers would have been a more appropriate scene in a film called "Snowball Fights In Hell" than in a movie that's attempting to have a shred of connection with reality. I suggest the next film that Bratman and his Boy Blunder pen a script for, they use stunt doubles who've actually done manual labor at one time or another in their lives. All in all, this was a great movie, unfortunately written and acted by prepubescent boys aiming for an audience of prepubescent girls. Robin Williams is the only actor who's facial hair is not the product of magic marker. What I found laughable, though, are some other reviews of this movie, bashing it for it's "disrespect" towards mathematics. Who cares if the few mathematics actually used in the movie are inaccurate? Hunting's knowledge in this field is a backdrop for the movie, not the center of gravity around which the movie revolves. The movie is essentialy about Hunting's inner struggle with trust and self-acceptance. The mathematics, the psychologist, the self-defeating attitude, and the bile duct-activating love affair were all variables designed to reveal and/or change Hunting's character...
Rating: 
Summary: Mirimax shortchanges a great movie
Review: This is a great movie, worthy of 4 or 5 stars. But the DVD looses 3 stars because Mirimax couldn't be bothered with producing it in anamorphic widescreen. If you have a widescreen high-def TV, wait to buy this one until someone does an anamorphic video DVD transfer the movie deserves. Very dissapointing DVD issue!
Rating:
Summary: wicked good (ha ha)
Review: Damon and Affleck wrote, starred and won Oscars for this well-done drama about Will Hunting, a vastly intelligent construction worker whose hot temper won't let him stay out of brawls and the courtroom. It is set in the actors' hometown of Boston and its environs, and they pepper the film with authentic locations such as Bunker Hill Community College (where Robin Williams plays a psychology professor) and features the two drinking the ubiquitous Dunkin' Donuts coffee, founded in Massachusetts. Hunting demonstrates his intelligence when he solves a theory on a board at MIT (where he is a janitor). Gerald Lambeau, the professor, upon seeing his gift, wants to take him under his wing, but Will is not having it. Sensing the boy needs guidance, he sends him to his friend Sean maguire (Williams), who is a therapist. While Sean unlocks Will's past so he won't wreck his future, Will has started a romance with Skylar (Minnie Driver), a brilliant pre-med student. A stand-out in this stellar movie is Casey Affleck, younger brother of Ben, who is the doofy younger friend of Will and company. His delight in being able to take the front seat of the car, when he is usually regulated to the back, is pure comedy in an everyday fashion.
Rating:
Summary: Nice to see a movie where intelligence is praised.
Review: Rather than restate the plot, I'll counter some arguments about why people didn't like the movie... adding in a few comments why I thought the film was valuable. First, I give the film points for having characters which praised intelligence. That includes all Will Huntings hoodlum friends. I'm sick of these low grade ghetto movies, where the poor inner city kid shuns book learnin' cuz' their going to sell "crack" for a living and drive a jacked up BMW. Example: The scene where Chucky (Will's best friend) tells him "No offense, but if your still hanging out with me in 20 years, I'm gonna kill ya.... You have something all these guys (construction workers)here would kill for (Wills great intellect)." Secondly, the film gave great exposure to the field of mathematics, which was the subtle background plot of the movie. You'll note that no mathemeticians publicly decried the movie; so you shouldn't either. It amounts to good exposure, and implied that you can be "cool", but still be smart. The recent film, "A Beautiful Mind" gave even better exposure to the field of mathematics, but unfortunately the characters mental nature sort of took a little bit away from that :-) Thirdly, criticism is people say that nobody can possibly know so much about so many things (math, chemistry, history). Nonesense. It is not at all uncommon for geniuses to have an affinity for books and subjects of all types. The comment that nobody could be that smart without it being noticed is totally 100 percent bogus. First off.... everyone noticed. Who didn't? All Will's friends knew it. Also, we live in a world where many people "slip through the cracks." This works both ways. Usually it means that dumb people manage to make it through classes because teachers cut them some slack... but on not so rare occasions, it works the other way. There are alot of very smart people in this world who end up being janitors for a living. Just look into the statistics of the MENSA organizations. Geniuses come from all backgrounds. Scholarships to MIT or Caltech aren't just handed to people on a silver platter. The scholarship fairy doesn't magically show up at your door.... and clearly, as was the whole plot of the movie... will obviously wasn't going out of his way to bring his talent to the right peoples attention. Final notes: Minnie driver... just gave me the creeps.
... and that grad student who followed the Professor around
for the ENTIRE movie! Whats the deal there, if ya' know what I mean.... My favourite lines: "Why shouldn't I work for the NSA?" ... "How da' like them Apples."... and "R-E-T-A-I-N-E-R"
Rating:
Summary: Engaging Story, Intelligent Script & Superb Acting
Review: "Good Will Hunting" was one of the best films in 1997 thanks to a combination of excellent direction, brilliant writing and superb acting to create an engaging drama for the audience to embrace. Being the first film ever written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, director Gus Van Sant (who also directed "My Own Private Idaho" in 1991 and "To Die For" in 1995), created a very plausible atmosphere for the unusual story to unfold: A young genius named Will Hunting (Matt Damon) never attended college, but read mathematical, scientific and literary books on his own for many years. Severely abused as a child in an adoptive home, Will now prefers to exist as a manual laborer living in a condemned house in a dilapidated Boston neighborhood. While working as a janitor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) one night, he solves a heretofore unsolvable mathematical problem written on a classroom chalkboard. The professor who originally transcribed the problem, Gerald Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgård), is shocked to find the problem solved but doesn't know who solved it. He eventually finds Will, but Will was arrested and jailed for his involvement in a beating while on a night out with his best friend Chuckie Sullivan (Ben Affleck), who is a true manual laborer. Determined to save Will from himself, Gerald enlists the aid of a former friend & college roommate, Sean Maquire (Robin Williams), who now works as a community college psychology teacher, to provide psychological therapy for Will. To be released from jail, Will agrees to regular counseling sessions with Sean and to work for Gerald. The initial therapy sessions between Will and Sean are very intense (more so for Sean than for Will, as Will uses his genius to tear into Sean's core and has had a lot of previous psychotherapy experience), but Sean finds ways to work with him. Complicating matters, a mutual attraction develops between Will and a female MIT student, Skylar (Minnie Driver). Though some that watch this film may be disturbed by the violence depicted when Will relentlessly beats a man, it helps to demonstrate how deeply troubled the character is. Other well acted supporting characters in the film include Morgan O'Mally (played by Casey Affleck, Ben Affleck's younger brother) and Billy McBride (played by Cole Hauser). Ben Affleck did a good job with his portrayal of Will's friend Chuckie. "Good Will Hunting" earned Matt Damon and Ben Affleck the Oscar for Best Writing for a Screenplay and Robin Williams won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. Other Oscar nominations received include Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Original Music, Best Song, Matt Damon for Best Actor, Minnie Driver for Best Supporting Actress and Gus Van Sant for Best Director. Overall, I give "Good Will Hunting" a rating of 5 out of 5 stars and highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys a well-acted, gripping, psychological drama.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece that deserved more credit
Review: Amazing piece of work! This is the movie in 1997 that should have won best picture, not that sorry-excuse-for-a-drama Titanic. Puh-lease! I don't think people truly realize the genius behind a film like Good Will Hunting. This story is so intelligent and thought-provoking that several producers who read the script could not fathom it was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, actors who at their age would normally be portraying drunken frat boys at a party. After all, there are some very mature themes in this movie: abuse, personal pain, distrust and coping with guilt. Yet, there were also comic elements in the film that kept the story from becoming too serious and depressing. This movie demonstrates that despite our natural talents and strengths, we are still vulnerable human beings who get hurt. Absolutely Brilliant! It would have been understandable if this was written by a psychologist, but it wasn't. Hence the widespread acclaim and brilliance behind this piece of work! If THAT is not an indication of sheer genius, then tell me what is? Please, don't say a big boat that collides with an Iceberg. The acting in Good Will Hunting on all accounts was superb. This was by far Robin Williams's best role to date. He nailed the part with such frank and believable honesty. It couldn't have been done any better. I'm glad he finally got his long deserved oscar. Thankfully, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon did, too. It would have been a crime if the authors of this brilliant work didn't receive the recognition they deserved. Titanic...King of the world my .... Make way for some real talent.
Rating:
Summary: Please
Review: Now I saw this movie when I was pretty young, but Good Will Hunting was the most unrealistic drama I have ever seen. The dialog is ridiculous and the acting is terrible. Robin Williams saves this film from being 1 star. Has anyone ever met a genius janitor. I don't think so. The seen where Matt Damon and Ben Affleck get in a fight with two other college students at a bar is a joke. Ohhh let's have a fight and see who can say the most clever line. Give me a break. Spare yourself and rent something that could happen.
Rating:
Summary: Top five, no doubt
Review: Ben Affleck and Matt Damon wrote a fantastic screenplay for this film and supported it with immaculate performances. Affleck plays a young man from south Boston who despite growing up poor and with a poor formal education to match it, he ends up a genius solving nearly impossible proofs at MIT. The only drawback to Damon's performance was his phony accent. It seems like he tries a little too hard to get it right. There is not one bad performance from the entire cast. Robin Williams gives a good performance as a sort of father figure to Damon and also his psychiatrist. Affleck gives a terriffic performance as Damon's best friend and fellow hard-nosed "Southy." Although I have not seen Minnie Driver in anything else, I definitely think her performance in this film was impressive and would have no qualms seeing her in other films. This film joins my top five.
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