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Good Will Hunting

1997Runtime unavailableDramaRomance

Movie details, ratings, and The Rewatchables episode for Good Will Hunting.

On the mic
Good Will Hunting1997
RT CRITICS97
RT AUDIENCE94
METACRITIC71
Directed byGus Van SantMovie director
On the mic
RT critics97%Tomatometer
RT audience94%Popcornmeter
Metacritic71Critic score

MAKE IT A MOVIE NIGHT

Where to watch

UNITED STATES

Checking where Good Will Hunting is available…

THE POD'S PICKS

Episode awards

See who or what the hosts picked for each award.

30award categories
EPISODE 388

Good Will Hunting (Live from Boston)

19 picked · 3 without a winner

Who won the movie?

Picked on the show

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck

The room ultimately says the movie belongs to Damon and Affleck together because they wrote it, starred in it, and made it happen.

~ 1:30:00Runner-up: Robin Williams

Most rewatchable scene

Likely pick

The playground fight scene

The hosts first settle on the playground fight scene before spending a lot of time debating the Harvard bar sequence too.

~ 0:32:00Runner-up: The Harvard bar / apples scene

Apex Mountain

No winner

No clear winner

The conversation ranges across several possible apex candidates, but no single winner is firmly locked in.

~ 1:10:00Runner-up: Miramax / Boston as a movie city
Show every award19 more, in episode order

What's the most 1997 thing about this movie?

Likely pick

No internet / payphones / pre-smartphone life

They land on the movie's pre-internet world, especially payphones and how much easier it was to communicate then.

~ 0:50:00Runner-up: Matt Damon and Ben Affleck at the start of their careers

What's age the best

Likely pick

The Boston accents

The room singles out the Boston accents as the element that has aged best, with some support for the film's friendship chemistry too.

~ 0:50:00Runner-up: The friendship dynamic

Great shot, Gordo

Likely pick

The construction-site / Chucky monologue sequence

They choose the construction-site moment as the standout visual sequence, while also praising a couple of smaller camera moves elsewhere.

~ 1:00:00Runner-up: The Harvard bar overhead and Williams push-out shot

Den of Thieves Benihana Award for scene stealing location

Picked on the show

The Boston Common

The hosts specifically name the Boston Common as the scene-stealing location.

~ 1:00:00Runner-up: The Harvard bar / Au Bon Pain locations

Chess Rockwell and Brock Landers Award for best character name

Picked on the show

Chucky Sullivan

They crown Chucky Sullivan as the best name, with Lambeau noted as the main challenger.

~ 1:00:00Runner-up: Professor Gerald Lambeau

Vincent Chase award for are we sure this character was actually good at his job?

No winner

No clear winner

The discussion turns into a debate over whether Sean is actually a competent therapist and whether Lambeau is a strong professor, without a clean consensus.

~ 1:00:00Runner-up: Professor Gerald Lambeau

Weak link of the film

Likely pick

Tom, the graduate assistant

They mostly settle on Tom, the graduate assistant, as the weakest supporting piece in the movie.

~ 1:10:00Runner-up: Bill's naming / the car logic

What's age the worst?

Likely pick

Harvey Weinstein as the movie's hero / the Miramax baggage

The strongest answer is the Harvey Weinstein/Miramax hero framing, with several other 1997-era details also called out.

~ 1:10:00Runner-up: Frosted-tips hair and other 1997 style choices

The Sean Penn, I brought my own pack award for excellence in on-screen smoking

Picked on the show

Damon

They single out Damon as the clear winner for on-screen smoking.

~ 1:10:00Runner-up: Cole Hauser

Best that guy word

Picked on the show

Scott Winters as ponytail guy

They identify Scott Winters, the ponytail Harvard bar guy, as the standout that-guy performance.

~ 1:10:00Runner-up: Jimmy Flynn

Dion Waiters Award

Picked on the show

Jimmy Flynn

After a few nominees, they settle on Jimmy Flynn as the memorable low-line-count player who stands out most.

~ 1:10:00Runner-up: Cole Hauser

Recasting couch director's city

Likely pick

Philip Seymour Hoffman as the Harvard ponytail guy

They float Philip Seymour Hoffman in the ponytail-guy role as the clearest recasting idea.

~ 1:10:00

The Sean Fennessey Award for a stealth homage that gives every movie nerd a criteria orgasm

Picked on the show

The Chasing Amy naming callback / Chinatown line / Hearts of Darkness bug line

They call out multiple hidden references, especially the Holden & McNeil name and the 'how do you like them apples' callback.

~ 1:20:00

Pick nits

Likely pick

The car logistics at the end

The hosts focus on the broken-car and travel-logic issues near the ending as the main nitpick target.

~ 1:20:00Runner-up: The walk from Bunker Hill Community College to Boston Common

Unanswerable questions

No winner

No clear winner

They toss around several hypotheticals about the movie's alternate timeline and character choices without settling on one answer.

~ 1:20:00

Hottest take award

Likely pick

Will Hunting is just the guy mocking the Harvard bar at the bar

Bill's strongest hot take is that Will is no different from the Harvard-bar blowhard he mocks.

~ 1:20:00Runner-up: Sean's note that Dr. Sean McGuire may not be a great therapist

How do you like them apples / life lesson

Likely pick

It's not your fault, but sometimes it is

They turn the last lesson into a mix of self-belief and the joke that not every problem is actually someone else's fault.

~ 1:30:00Runner-up: Bet on yourself / don't answer yes to the apples question

Best double feature choice

Picked on the show

Air

Bill picks Air as the pairing that best fits after Good Will Hunting.

~ 1:30:00Runner-up: The Martian

Fantasy

Picked on the show

The Martian

They choose The Martian as the better fantasy-style follow-up for Damon-at-his-smartest energy.

~ 1:30:00Runner-up: Armageddon
EPISODE 17

Good Will Hunting

6 picked · 2 without a winner

What’s aged the best?

Picked on the show

the friendship/interpersonal relationships

They settle on the movie’s friendship dynamics, especially the bonds between Will, Chucky, and Sean, as what has aged best.

~ 0:40:00Runner-up: the dialogue
Show every award7 more, in episode order

What’s aged the worst?

Likely pick

Robin Williams’s Boston accent

They agree the weakest aging element is Robin Williams’s Boston accent, which they say does not sound right.

~ 0:48:00

The Deion Waiters Award

Likely pick

Casey Affleck

Casey Affleck’s energetic supporting turn carries the room over Cole Hauser’s menace and the other nominees.

~ 0:56:00Runner-up: Cole Hauser

The Mark Ruffalo, they knew! overacting moment of the movie

Picked on the show

Clark with the ponytail

After rejecting the premise that the movie has real overacting, they land on Clark’s ponytailed reaction as the closest fit.

~ 1:12:00

Unintentional comedy award

No winner

No clear winner

They pile up several funny bits, but the slow-motion fight emerges as the strongest single example without a clean formal vote.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: Matt Damon’s frosted tips

My biggest nitpick

Likely pick

the NSA recruiting subplot

The room’s main nitpick is that the NSA trying to recruit Will feels implausible and tonally out of place.

~ 1:12:00Runner-up: the Chucky/job-interview scene

Best quote

Likely pick

“Son of a bitch, you stole my line.”

Among the quoted lines, they settle on Robin Williams’s “Son of a bitch, you stole my line” as the standout.

~ 1:20:00Runner-up: “My boy’s wicked smart.”

Proudly Unanswerable Questions

No winner

No clear winner

They riff on hypothetical remakes and sequels, but the segment stays exploratory rather than producing one supportable answer.

~ 1:20:00

About these picks Winners come from the episode transcript. Timestamps may be a little off.

WHAT TO WATCH NEXT

Movies to watch before and after.

Three movies to watch before Good Will Hunting, and three to watch next.

Finding six movies…Three to watch first and three to watch next.
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