Alexis Johnson

UWRT 1103

Professor Wray

I Gotta See About A Girl

Hunting was a blockbuster film of its time and continues to affect peoples
Good Will

lives daily. It does a fantastic job of showing mental struggles when it comes to school and also

how a lot of people seem to be pushed into a certain career path or education choice by society.

The title of the film is also a good play on words because it is speaking of the main character,

Will Hunting, actually being a good man. While also speaking on the whole theme of the film,

searching for a kindly feeling of approval and support, within themselves and others.

The film was written by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and directed by the Oscar

nominated, Gus Van Sant. Gus Van Sant is known for his more eccentric directing, which some

argue that you can not really see in this film. Some of his famed works include, Milk,

Portlandia, and When We Rise. ood Will Hunting first premiered in 1997 and was
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nominated for 54 awards, winning 23. Some of the awards include: Best Actor in a Supporting

Role- Robin Williams(Oscar), Best Screenplay- Motion Picture(Golden Globes), and

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role- Robin Williams(Screen Actors

Guild Awards).

Some of the Good Will Hunting stars are: Matt Damon, Robin Williams, and Ben Affleck,

to name a few. Matt Damon plays Will Hunting, a wicked genius when it comes to anything

school related,especially math, but likes to stick to the honorable blue collar jobs, like as a

school janitor or construction worker. Throughout the movie you can see that his character is

struggling with letting people get close to him because of his rough past. To sum him up, he is a

fighter, not a lover. Robin Williams plays Sean Maguire, a psychology professor at Bunker Hill
Community College, that meets with Will Hunting once a week. His goal was to help Will, but in

the end Will will also help Sean. Chuckie Sullivan, played by Ben Affleck, is Will Huntings loyal

best friend. He seems to be the head of the friend gang and dreams of bigger things than South

Boston for Will.

Good Will Hunting features Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a 20 year old Boston janitor who

cleans classrooms and hallowed halls of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He grew up

bouncing from foster home to foster home, where he had been physically abused and through

that, taught to not trust anyone. He turns out to be a mathematical genius, that would go to

solve the math problems that a professor, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, writes on

the chalkboard in the hallway. For most, it would have taken them months, even years, to solve

the problems, but for Will it was as easy as breathing!

One day Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) sees the young janitor writing on the

chalkboard, but Will runs away before the professor could confront him. Soon after, Will is

arrested for fighting a childhood nemesis, but Professor Lambeau comes to his rescue in

agreeance that Will will work on math problems with him and attend weekly counseling

sessions.

Will Hunting is too difficult a patient for the five psychologists Lambeau takes him to see,

before eventually taking him to his old college roommate, Sean MaGuire (Robin Williams), who

teaches psychology at a community college. In the first meeting, Sean ends up snapping

because Will Hunting insinuated that Sean married the wrong girl, only to find that his wife of 17

years had just recently lost the battle to cancer. Still, Sean MaGuire agrees to work with Will

Hunting, even though their relationship tended to be quite explosive, based on the fact that

Sean MaGuire was convinced that he could help Will find some stability and happiness.
 Over the next few months Will continues to show his butt during math and therapy

sessions, but also becomes romantically involved with Skylar (Minnie Driver), a student at

Harvard who had decided to go to medical school in California. Skylar falls deeply in love with

Will and asks him to move to California with her, but because of Wills fear of letting people get

too close to him, he pushes her away and she leaves without him.

After a miraculous breakthrough with Sean, Will seems on the track Professor Lambeau

set up for him. Ultimately though, it is Sean who get through the most with Will and it is his

direction that moves will to follow his own desired path in life.

Personally, one of my favorite things to do when watching movies is picking out the

PERFECT quotes and this movie offers many opportunities to do so! Here is a few of my

favorites: People call those imperfections, but no, thats the good stuff, Youll have bad times,

but itll always wake you up to the good stuff you werent paying attention to, Youre not perfect,

sport, and let me save you the suspense: the girl youve met, shes not perfect either. But the

question is whether or not youre perfect for each other, I gotta go see about a girl, and my

personal favorite, Its not your fault.

I believe this movie is a statement for all who are struggling with the big question of,

what to do next? Through focusing on a character that grew up beaten and put down, that

eventually gets recognized for his special talents speaks volumes to our education system. It

shines light on the fact that what someone wants for you is not always what is best or that what

is the societal norm shouldnt necessarily be your norm. Today so much importance is put on

getting a higher education, to the point that mental health and well-being is pushed aside and

those that do not have the means to go after a higher education are thrown to the dogs. Good

Will Hunting shows us that it is okay to be, what society calls, different. That there is no one

way to be successful in life, and most importantly its not your fault.
 Citations

"Full Cast & Crew." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.
"Good Will Hunting Movie Poster (#1 of 3)." IMP Awards - All the Latest Movie Posters. N.p., n.d.

Web. 22 Feb. 2017.

"Goodwill." Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2017.