Matt Damon and Ben Affleck go together like peanut butter and jelly. There’s never been a time when the duo haven’t been synonymous with one another, as they’ve been lifelong buddies that have carried their strong bond into the movie business, putting their friendship out there for all the world to see. The pair recently reteamed for the upcoming Netflix crime thriller, The Rip, but long before that, their first successful outing was a drama that came out of nowhere to earn nine Oscar nominations. Now, 28 years later, it’s once again a hit on streaming.
Premiering in 1997, Good Will Hunting starred Damon and Affleck as a pair of working-class friends from South Boston who enjoy drinking and fighting. Affleck’s character of Chuckie Sullivan is a construction worker, while Damon’s Will Hunting gets by as a janitor at MIT. The catch is that Will is a super genius who is able to solve complex mathematical equations that stump almost everyone else. He hides that part of himself, though, as his upbringing as a troubled youth seems much easier to lean into. His distrust of authority causes him to set boundaries for fear that he’ll be taken advantage of, which prevents anyone from ever getting to know his authentic self.
Enter Robin Williams’ character of Dr. Sean Maguire, a therapist who challenges Will at every turn with compassion and empathy. He soon becomes the father figure that his patient never had, breaking through his walls to help him realize that all the abuse he suffered as a kid wasn’t his fault. This allows Will to feel a sense of personal freedom for the first time in his life, which gives him the motivation to explore sides of himself –and life – that he’s kept under lock and key for years.
Directed by Gus Van Sant and also starring Stellan Skarsgård, Minnie Driver, Casey Affleck, and Yellowstone‘s Cole Hauser, Good Will Hunting is a phenomenal movie about self-discovery, emotional healing, and loyalty. It’s hard to believe that Damon and Affleck were only in their early-20s when they began work on the script, as their words and themes show maturity beyond their years. It’s almost as if the duo were ignorant to their inner critics, who surely at times made them question if they were on the right path, and instead decided to plow through no matter the outcome.
The results paid off, as Good Will Hunting won Williams the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Affleck and Damon the award for Best Original Screenplay. To this day, the former still holds the record for the youngest person to ever win in that category, as Affleck took home the trophy when he was just 25 (Damon was 27 at the time). Their win marked a turning point in their careers, and allowed them to break through the glass ceiling in Hollywood. They’d take full advantage, as both would go onto become global superstars and eventually form their own production company, which is another testament to their strong friendship.
If you’ve never seen it, or perhaps want to relive the greatness that is Good Will Hunting, the award-winning drama is currently streaming for free on Pluto TV, where it currently sits at #9 on their list of Top 10 movies.
