(The Disneycember logo is shown, before showing clips from Good Will Hunting)
Doug (vo): When people hear Miramax Studios, there's a couple movies that instantly come to mind: the Tarantino films, maybe some of the Kevin Smith movies and almost inevitably, Good Will Hunting, a film that I liked when it came out, but I had some reservations about. But looking back, yeah, I can see why everybody really loves this movie, it actually is pretty damn good.
Story[]
Doug (vo): Will is a janitor at MIT who's a pretty run-of-the-mill guy. He likes to just go drinking, go on dates, hang with his friends, just generally waste time. But when a teacher puts up an incredibly difficult math problem and invites the students to solve it if they can, Will solves it on his own, but doesn't take the credit. He's eventually discovered by the teacher, who's shocked to find he really has no interest in making a life in mathematics. In fact, he has no interest in making a life for himself at all. So he sets him up with a therapist, played by Robin Williams, who tries to see if he can find a way to break through to him and show that his life and his gift are more valuable than he gives them credit for.
Review[]
Doug (vo): Alright, so this isn't the most original idea. Like, everyone I feel like has heard a story similar to this, whether it be in fiction or even sometimes in real life. But what really sets it apart are the performances, which with this cast, you can assume is very, very good. I mean, you got Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Robin Williams, Minnie Driver. But also the writing. This is the first script from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and a lot of people pointed out that it's a damn good first film. In fact, they haven't really written that many movies together afterward. In fact, this might be their only one. There are a lot of moments in this movie you've seen in other films, and I think when I was younger, I didn't like that because I felt like it was nothing that new. I kind of knew the steps, the points, the tropes and everything. But listening to the dialogue again, they're very good at crafting it in a way that's believable. Like, he has to go through these other therapists before he gets to Robin Williams and you know he doesn't take it seriously, and they're all like, "Oh, I've never been so insulted", at least that's how I remember it. But looking back and really watching what they say and how they say it, it is believable. Like, these people do have other lives to go to and important things to handle, and to some extent, they do ask, "Why is this guy worth it? Why don't you just let him live his own life?" So he doesn't want to be a math genius. So what?
(Footage focusing on Will and Skylar is shown)
Doug (vo): The relationship with the Minnie Driver character is good, but I was kind of waiting for that third-act breakup that feels so forced, and I always hate that in movies because again, they're so contrived. But here, it does make sense because Matt Damon's character truly is lost, and everytime he starts to get a path, he derails from it. And this movie really does go into why where I feel like other movies don't really do that, they just kind of have the third-act breakup to have a third-act breakup.
(Footage focusing on Dr. Sean Maguire is shown)
Doug (vo): But even as a teen, I knew this movie was good. These conversations feel so real, and yeah, it probably goes without saying, the scenes with Robin Williams as the therapist are very well done. And again, there's a scene where, like, he goes too far and he kind of chokes him. I'm thinking, "Oh, come on, a therapist would do this?" And yeah, probably not. But for a movie, that's a very good way of showing this guy knows how to get through and really push people's buttons. Like, he can see people in a way that others can't, but he uses it for his own cruel means. He shows that he can really hurt someone and he can really figure out how to do it quickly and attack fiercely to a point where Williams's character not only feels really bad, but now he kind of feels like he owes it to this kid to give him some really good help.
(Various footage is shown, mostly focusing on the more iconic moments)
Doug (vo): Everything I had a little bit of a problem with when I was younger, even though, again, they weren't major things, I found out years later really do hold up better. This movie is crazy quotable. I think everybody knows the "apples" line, I think everybody knows the "it's not your fault" line, I think everybody knows the conversation about the Unabomber. These are well-written moments that feel very real, but do have a real, believable structure to them. They sound like natural conversations, but they're memorable conversations and they do drive the story forward. And we find out more about the characters the more they talk as well as how they act. If I do have one problem with the movie, it's that maybe their Boston accents are a little too heavy. Maybe it's because we know how these actors talk in real life, and yeah, I don't know, just something about them doing the really thick accent and everything, it just sounds a touch phony to me. But it's not to a point where it hurts the emotions of the characters.
Final thought[]
Doug (vo): I don't know, is there anything I can really add to this movie that hasn't been said a million times in the past? It's great. It's well-written, it's well-acted, everybody's interesting, everybody's revealing something as the film goes along. They don't just feel like they're there to move the story forward or just make things happen. Like, you do find out about what makes them tick and why they do the things they do, it isn't just the main character. Honestly, I wish I could have more to say about it, but most of you already know why it's good. However, if you have some reservations about it like I did when I was younger, I'd definitely say check it out again. It is a flick that manages to get better over time.
(A scene where Will is laughing is shown)