Good Will Hunting (1997)

Good Will Hunting is an extraordinary story on multiple levels, because it is about the little guy. The trajectory of a lowly janitor being propelled to MIT genius is moving no matter how often it gets copied or imitated. It just never gets old. Then there is the story of two young unknowns named Matt Damon and Ben Affleck who shot to fame thanks to some big dreams and a few mentors. Now they are two of the top names in Hollywood over 15 years later and they continue to be (Gone Girl and Interstellar are proof).

However, back then they were a long shot with only a solid idea for a film. It worked wonderfully though because of its core themes. It's about friendship. It's about romance. It's about fear and aspirations. It's about vulnerability. It's about long shots making the most of their lives. Admittedly that could be almost any film so there's a need to bring the microscope in a little closer.

At face value Will Hunting (Matt Damon) seems like a young thug from South Boston who loves his beer, buddies, broads and brawls. He and his friends including Chuckie (Ben Affleck) spend their days trying to make ends meet and fill the rest of their time with the aforementioned. We get glimpses of a different Will however, a brilliant young man holding a plethora of book knowledge and blessed with a photographic memory. He's able to philosophize rings around conceited Harvard students catching the eyes of a cute British girl named Skylar (Minnie Driver). They are a sweet couple and it seems like it might add up to something good.

Then comes the necessarily fateful day when Will solves the unsolvable equation on the MIT wall, following that feat with a brawl fight that lands him with a potential jail term hanging over his head. It's a strange dichotomy and it deeply surprises Professor Gerald Lambeux who quickly realizes the unassuming genius that is Will Hunting. He's fantastic, but in order to utilize his potential Lambeux agrees to have him meet weekly with a therapist.

What follows is an absurd string of therapy sessions where Will who wants none of thisanalysis makes a mockery of his psychologists. When Lambeux's former roommate and last resort Sean Maguire (Robin Williams) is called in it looks like more of the same.  But he is different. He sees something more and Sean is not about to give up on the kid. Their session begin as a battle of wills until Will's defenses finally break down. They construct something beautiful, something real  and in many ways vulnerable.

It is then that Sean teaches Will about true love and living life with no regrets. He had a wife who passed away from cancer and he is hardly a big name academic, but he wouldn't trade his life for anything. That's enough for him. All the while in between sessions Will must figure out his life whether he wishes to work in the stuffy world of academia with professor Lambeux, continue living with his chums in Southie or move forward with Skylar who is off to Stanford soon.

Sean doesn't force him into one decision or another but gives him personal advice. As a young man he met a pretty girl in a bar, the same day in 1975 that Carlton Fisk hit his famed home run. But Sean gave up his seat to spend that evening with a girl and it paid off. She would be his wife for all those happy years before she came down with cancer. In Will's eyes and perhaps even the eyes of the audience he was utterly insane to pass that up, but for Sean there were no regrets. That's enough.

On the verge of turning 21 there are so many choices, thoughts, feelings and fears swirling around. Not to mention Will's ugly past as a foster kid full of abuse and a heavy rap sheet. It's the steady and pragmatic consoling of Sean where he finds relief. Sean will not be quelled in reminding him, "It's not his fault." That's simply the hand he was dealt.

In another beautiful scene that is oft cited, Chuckie tells his friend in the most genuine way that he can that he doesn't want him to stick around. Because the reality is Will has been given a ticket out of Boston and it would be a knock to all of his friends if he stayed around. On the day Chuckie won't need a note. He'll have satisfaction enough that his friend will be gone. To this day it still feels a tad corny, but it works within the film so I will go with it.

Down the line, Sean receives a sincere note in his mailbox and Chuckie walks up the steps to Will's place and no one answers. No one needs to say anything because they all know Will has gone to follow his dreams. Go west young man after the girl you love and take a chance. No regrets. It is the perfect ending for this film and at the same time the most aggravating.

Robin Williams was an obvious standout in this film and it saddens me to think that he is no longer with us. I think I appreciate him most in his dramatic roles because he is so genuinely funny it comes out organically. He is a great counter to Matt Damon because without that dynamic this would be a far less noteworthy film. Also, the script is full of quips and a great balance of intellect and laymen terms making for a unique story. It takes time to acknowledge the idiosyncrasies and pain that are a reality of human existence.  That's why it hits home. Hopefully Will as well as all of us find what we are Hunting for.

4/5 Stars

Good Morning Vietnam (1987)

Goooooooood Mooooooorning Viiieeetnammm! I'm a little late to the party I know, but I wanted to take a look at a film that in many ways personifies Robin Williams. In the last months I have gotten to read a lot on William's as a comic and as an actor. When I watch this film which showcases his many skills, I am especially drawn to what I call his bipolar comedy. Let me explain. On the surface he seems like a pleasant-faced average Joe with a little twinkle in his eye. Maybe there are even moments of emotion or sadness that make their way out. Then, bing pow! The lights go on, the sirens sound and all chaos breaks loose.

Adrian Cronauer is the perfect embodiment of William's quick wit and off the wall antics. He has a constant supply of new voices and old reliable ones, not to mention cultural and political jokes. It all gets thrown in so fast you hardly get to bat an eye and he does it all with that rye smile and one defiant attitude.

This is yet another nostalgic 1980s classic directed by Barry Levinson. The story begins in 1965 with the jockey getting shipped in from Crete and soon he is the hero of all the underlings especially his young compatriot Private Garlick (Forrest Whitaker). Immediately the power dynamic is rather odd. The General overseeing everything loves his zany sometimes crass take on comedy. His two immediate superiors are less than pleased with his early showings of insubordination. If the General is any indication, Cronauer's mix of humor, (censored) news updates and groovy rock n' roll prove insanely popular.

In his spare time Cronauer pursues a young Vietnamese girl while teaching an English class to locals. They soon enjoy his more slang-based approach to English and he befriends a boy named Tuan. He also has some time to start a brawl at a local hangout and eventually see it blown to smithereens. It's after this one occasion where he gets fed up with the censors controlling what he says, because it doesn't seem/ right. It seems to regular army, and he is certainly not that. Cronauer is suspended but during his hiatus he gains a new found zeal performing for the boys in the field.

Due to popular demand he gets reinstated but his superior who has always had it in for him connects him with a wanted South Vietnamese terrorist and Cronauer soon gets the boot with a honorable discharge. The former disc jockey realizes Tuan lied to him all along, but after confronting the boy he fulfills one last commitment with his English class. Cronauer flies off into the wild blue yonder, but not without leaving a gift with Garlick for all the boys. Gooooodbyeeee Vietnaaaam!

This was a grade A performance by Robin Williams and the soundtrack was absolutely superb full of big and small hits alike. Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World was especially impactful due to the images that were juxtaposed with it. Furthermore, just as much of what Cronauer was lost to his students, I feel like many of his cultural quips might get lost to newer generations. I sincerely hope they do not and his political commentary will always swirl around like any of the controversy surrounding Vietnam. The magic of the character is his ability to make men laugh despite their circumstances. The magic of Robin Williams is that he was a man who made us laugh in all circumstances.

4/5 Stars

The Dead Poets Society (1989)

Starring Robin Williams in a career defining role, the film opens with the commencement of a prestigious all boys school. There the boys say tearful goodbyes to their parents and get reacquainted with their chums. The strict and disciplined class regiment soon starts and everything is business as usual for these driven boys. 

However, their new English professor John Keating (Robin Williams) was a former student of Welton and his teaching style is far from ordinary. His pupils first find him strange and then come to admire his methods. He instills them with the phrase "carpe diem," has them rip out the stuffy introduction to their poetry textbooks, gets them to see the world from on top of their desks, and encourages them to call him “O Captain, My Captain.” Above all he leads his students to seize the day and think for themselves in the process.

 A group of his students re-launch the illegal Dead Poets Society that Keating himself had been a part of as a lad. There they share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas freely in defiance of the school. Charlie (Gale Hanson) for one puts an illicit article in the paper only to follow it by an audacious act that receives retribution from the Headmaster. Knox (Josh Charles) somewhat accidentally meets a girl who he immediately falls head over heals for. However, she already has a boyfriend, but the undaunted Knox will not be deterred and he keeps seeing her. Against his father’s wishes, Neil (Robert Sean Leonard) takes up acting in a play only to receive his father’s immense disapproval later on. The outcome of this is tragic and it ultimately leads to an investigation of Keating. Everything seems bleak for the boys as they either rat on Keating or risk expulsion. 

Keating is released and English returns to the same monotony. However, Keating’s impact cannot be destroyed that easily and in one last act of the defiance the boys stand up for their Captain led by the formely timid Todd (Ethan Hawke). I must say that although the film’s ending was inspiring it left me wondering what the consequences were. Also, I did not really understand the point of the Dead Poets Society, the title would seem to be more aptly Carpe Diem. Putting that aside there were some good performances here and Robin Williams was truly enjoyable to watch. He could be my English teacher any day. There are some good lessons to be learned here too. Take note boys. 

4/5 Stars