Good Will Hunting

Nabbing two Oscars this year (Robin Williams, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay, from stars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck), this formulaic but winning drama stars Matt Damon as Will Hunting, a closet genius who scrubs floors at MIT and hangs out with his far less erudite South Boston buddies. When Will is "caught" writing out the proof to a difficult math problem, a math professor (Stellan Skarsgard) decides to take the prodigy under his tutorial wing, until a pending jail sentence threatens to put the glib Will behind bars. Enter the counselors, which Will goes through like some precocious kids go through nannies, with a preternaturally honed sense of their weak points…until he meets up with a psychologist (Robin Williams) struggling with his own personal demons. With the professor after his brain, the psychologist after his soul, a girlfriend (Minnie Driver) after his heart, and his friends after his personality (and good knuckles), poor Will Hunting is one mixed-up kid. Although Good Will Hunting owes more than a little to the similarly themed Ordinary People, it stands on its own as a powerful story about that most compelling of stories: good but flawed human beings coming to the aid of one another. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[Blu-ray Review—Aug. 30, 2011—Lionsgate, 126 min., R, $19.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Good Will Hunting boasts a great transfer and DTS-HD 5.1 audio. Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Gus Van Sant and costars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, deleted scenes (21 min.), a production featurette (7 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (4 min.), the “Miss Misery” music video by Elliott Smith, a brief Academy Awards montage, trailers, and a bonus digital copy of the film. Bottom line: a welcome Blu-ray debut for a winning dramedy.][Blu-ray Review—Aug. 28, 2012—Lionsgate, 126 min., R, $39.99—Making its second appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Good Will Hunting (15th Anniversary Edition) features a great transfer and a DTS-HD 5.1 soundtrack. Extras carried over from previous releases include audio commentary by director Gus Van Sant and costars Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, deleted scenes (21 min.), a production featurette (7 min.), a behind-the-scenes featurette (4 min.), the “Miss Misery” music video by Elliott Smith, a brief Academy Awards montage, and trailers. Bonus features new to this edition include the four-part retrospective documentary “Reflecting on a Journey: Good Will Hunting 15 Years Later” (62 min.) and “Matt Damon Remembers” (17 min.). Bottom line: a nice Blu-ray update of this winning film, but those who already own the previous Blu-ray release can pass on this one.]