TV watcher

Good Will Hunting

review by Orlando C. Fernando

June 7, 1998

Storyline: 9.5 (0=worst, 10=best)
Originality: 9.5
Acting: 10
Special Effects: 0
Overall: A- (F=worst, A=best)

Will (Matt Damon) is a college janitor at MIT (a prominent university in Massachusetts). Raised in south Boston, complete with a heavy accent, he and his family don't have much. However, with his family and especially his friends, he's just happy where he is and his place in society. But something stands him out from his comrads, his nack for math, in fact, his art for math. Between his sweeps near a calculus classroom, he solves open problems on the doorside board in seconds- problems which the students in that class have barely touched upon. This stupifies the professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard), and eventually learns it's Will's work. Will is offered special entry into the university to become his aid, but Will doesn't want any part of it. So Lambeau calls upon an old college buddy of his now turned psychologist Sean McGuire (Robin Williams) who's had a similar rebellious attitude at his age in the hopes of getting through to Will. But as Sean tries to get into Will's mind, Will amazingly does the same, and gets into Sean's troubled past - Vietnam and his wife's death. The excellence of this movie comes through the toungue-in-cheek heated banter and gentle soul-sharing between Sean and Will, bringing out family, job, and romantic issues that many of us can relate to. Sean and Will both eventually find out that BOTH of them have past issues to come to terms with.

In the meantime, Will agrees (sort of forced actually, since Lambeau bailed him from jail for a ghetto brawl) to comply with the professor...to a certain extent. In the course of toying with the Ivy League snobs at the university pub, he comes across and is entranced by Skylar (Minnie Driver), an equally brash but friendly Harvard college student. Both of them want no more than to get through their situations and be done with, not to get entangled in a romance, but as the film evolves, of course, their attitudes change. Together they have the best of times, but holding a mask. Will wants to hide his low class life and family to her, not wanting her to feel outclassed by her wealthy family (she was able to attend the university from her family's inheritance). Some creative dialogue goes between Will and Skylar when they discuss during a chess game why she can't have the same natural talent to play the piano.

What is Will going to do with his life? What is it with his past that gives him such a rash egotistical edge around that analytical brain of his - with nothing to show for it but his secretive Nobel prize winning algorithms "when he feels like it" and a nice left hook punch?

Matt Damon is a budding new young star in the movie scene who I feel could strongly pass as a brother to Leonardo DiCaprio. In fact, I can almost see him and Minnie being understudies for Leo and Kate Winslet in "Titanic". Looks like him and Leo could be competing for the hottest teen girl idol in Hollywood. Minnie is equally talented, showing varied emotions (especially the hurtful ones) very well and very authentically. And Robin Williams, back in true form from his "Dead Poet's Society" days at last. A good mix of true grit character mixed with a dash of his off-the-wall humor (much less than from "Mrs. Doubtfire"). He equally shares the spotlight with Matt.

Final words: See and enjoy this movie. It's an inspirational film mixed with hard realities, but with not so much to depress it. Only excessive adult language (a turn off for me), unneeded most of the time and overreiterates Will's rash character, is the only major quality preventing it from a perfect score. Worth full movie admission AND a rental. The ending will leave you wanting more; you think you get to see what happens next, but instead we're left to assume it. (You'll see what I mean.)