First Time Watching Good Will Hunting | Movie Reaction & Commentary 

I absolutely loved this film! What do you think about Good Will Hunting? Check me out on patreon.com/casualnerdreactions for early access to Sunset Boulevard, Beetlejuice, Places in the Heart, and Prometheus!

The scene where Ben Afflec tells him about the best part of his day is one of my favorite scenes in Cinema history.

Robin Williams was at the heart of two of the most emotional scenes ever put to celluloid - "Oh Captain my Captain" and "It's not your fault". I saw this one in 1997 when it first came out on video and have always considered it one of the most perfect films ever made.

I'm not crying, you're crying! LOL - Just in case you don't know Robin actually improved the last line - "He stole my line." and they kept it. So perfect! Damon and Affleck won the Oscar for best writing and Robin won for Best Supporting Actress. Minnie should have won for Supporting actress, she is incredible.

According to Wikipedia: "How do you like them apples?” is an expression that supposedly originated during the first World War, when the Allies' anti-tank grenade was colloquially called a “toffee apple” because of its bulb-like appearance on a stick. The phrase was a taunt against the enemy.

My favorite line is "Maybe you're perfect right now and you don't want to ruin that".

The grabbing of the throat ting wasn't violence, that was Southie meeting Southie and set'n boundaries

"How do you like them apples?" Fun Fact: The lines in the scene when Sean talks about his late wife's farting antics were ad-libbed by Robin Williams. That is why Matt Damon was laughing so hard. If you watch the scene carefully, you can notice the camera shaking a bit, possibly due to the cameraman laughing as well. MIT Connection Fact: Matt Damon, a former Harvard student, originally intended to make the title character a physics prodigy. He discussed his idea with Sheldon L. Glashow, a Nobel laureate in physics and, at the time, a Harvard professor. Glashow told him that the premise did not ring true to him: he suggested that the main character be a math prodigy instead. He referred Damon to his brother-in-law, Daniel Kleitman, a professor of mathematics at MIT, who provided advice on the story. Glashow and Kleitman are thanked in the credits. Dream Realized Fact: The very first day of the shooting, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck started crying out of happiness, because it was a scene between Robin Williams and Stellan Skarsgård, accomplished actors, doing Damon's and Affleck's scene verbatim, and they had waited so long (five years) for this to happen.

I love this movie and your reaction to it. The park bench scene always gets me because of the extraordinary writing and Robin Williams’s acting are a perfect combination. He’s one of the few famous people who I still miss.

There was a fantastic spoof of this film in Community, with the school janitors discovering an honors student has a natural talent for menial work and try to convince him to drop out and pursue it.

What I love about this movie is how real all of these characters are... Particularly Will in his relationship with Skylar. He pushes her away because he's afraid if she gets to know him, she'll leave. It's easier for him to not try rather than fail... Something I can relate to

I've seen this dozens of times and I still cry everytime

Great reaction, Chris, as always! I think that the fact that Matt and Ben were so young, when writing this script, is more astounding than winning the Academy Award. They had understanding beyond their years.

Such a perfect film. I host an annual birthday party for Robin Williams. It helps keep his memory alive for me, and our friends and their kids love it. Raising the new generation to appreciate the person and the talent that Robin was.

Amen on your closing thoughts. Beautifully stated. I've seen this film a bunch of times and it's NEVER failed to move me to tears. Brilliant acting, story, direction. Speaking of amazing.: "Pleasantville," "Stranger Than Fiction," "Children Of Men." All are films that are absolutely brilliant in different ways. You'll never forget any of them.

"You're supposed to skip the 6th game of the series" is a brilliant line. The nuances of the human spirit and how it is illuminated in each individual and our choices, is really fascinating. We just can't get out of our own way sometimes.

How do you like them apples!? The old expression is a taunt that means that the speaker has served you something you won't like. The phrase comes from WW1. Supposed a grenade-like weapon was called an apple, so they would throw it and say "How do you like them apples?"

Been waiting for this reaction. Lovvvved it so much. Adore this film and your reaction was so genuine. Sending hugs to all those who may need them right now.... Such an emotional rollercoaster. X

Absolutely loved your reaction to one of my favorite movies. Your comments at end were so dead on. Thank you for always showing empathy when needed and anger when warranted.

When i saw it the first time, I was too young to understand/relate but the second time it hit me like a truck because I had already worked on letting things go from within myself. Robin Williams is such a kind soul. Great reaction.

A fantastic reaction! I love to watch people seeing this film for the first time. And as I watch them react I get to see clips of the movie again and again.

Such a powerful movie! One of Robin Williams’ best! Incredible writing!

I’ve seen this about 15 times. Never gets old!

The fact that Robin took a significant pay cut to get this movie made, tells me everything I need to know about who he was as a person. RIP Robin....

One of the best ever written films. And one of the best ever acted films. Masterful

Thank you, Chris. This is an amazing movie and I sincerely appreciate your reaction. Everyone did so well with this and it's a shame Matt and Ben didn't really write more together after this.

One of the best written scripts ever...

You have got to be one of the kindest human beings on this planet. I love watching your reactions. It gives me a peek at your thought processes and heart. ✨❤️✨

I loooove Robin Williams in this, the more times I watch this the more I love him!

I've seen this movie many times, including once during a workshop I attended with some workmates. After that, whenever someone presents a problem at work, someone will call out, "it's not your fault". It never fails to get a laugh and lighten the mood in the room. If I'm only allowed to watch one movie my entire lifetime, I'll choose this.

Thank you so much for sharing your reaction to this with us! It was a pleasure watching it with you 😀

If you don't shed a tear watching this movie, you best check your pulse you're probably dead. Such an impactful movie. I love the park bench scene, Robin Williams puts it so perfectly.

I really miss Robin Williams.

I first saw this when it came out, when I was trying to figure out my own future. The only thing more satisfying to me than this being a catalyst for some serious soul-searching was seeing Matt/Ben winning Best Original Screenplay and Robin winning Best Supporting Actor. What a wonderful one-two punch from what was an obscure independent film written by two relative nobodys getting their start in Hollywood!

I miss Robin so much, and especially after the recent death of Stephen Twitch Boss…you can’t assume that someone is “happy” and “okay” based on what you see. Remember, as painful as it is to be in that dark place, there is help out there, and hope. People love you, and want you to stay. You are worthy of sticking around…please do. ❤❤❤

As usual, a heartfelt and thoughtful review. Thank you.

This is probably my favorite film from this era. Still pissed that Titanic won Best Picture over this. I’ll never understand that. The writing, acting, directing still holds up perfectly today.

Chris, my wife and I love your reactions, but this one is our favourite so far. We stopped what we were doing to watch this knowing how much you'd love this film, and your reaction exceeded our expectations. There's so much pop trivia about this movie, but I thought I'd share the bit about the "farts in her sleep" scene. This was totally improvised by Robin Williams and Matt Damon laughing was him cracking up organically. This film is a classic, and definitely in my all time top 10.

Another favorite 👍 Thank you for the upload sweetie 😘 Ps/ I bawled my eyes out lol 😭♥️

It's just so unbelievably well put together. The dialogue, the overall narrative, the complexity of the characters, and then having Matt Damon, and Robin Williams creating these interactions... It's literally one of like half a dozen films that I consider as nearly perfect as a film can reasonably be. Also I found your reaction extremely interesting. You pick up on many little things I've seen others miss. I find myself wondering if you aren't a psychologist yourself.

25:41 - Yup. Don't you love it when you call it because it "feels" right? LOL. :'-)

I wish I could like this video a second time for your end commentary

The 2000 film... Finding Forrester is the literary equivalent of this movie. People should check it out.

Excellent reaction and commentary. Thanks for sharing your self. Always loved this movie. Some movies are truly more than entertaining. Some are important. IMO, this is one of them.

Speaking of "awakening".. If you want to see another fantastic movie starring Robin Williams, you should watch the movie Awakenings(1990). Williams plays a different kind of doctor in it, with Robert De Niro playing his patient this time.

One of my favorite movies ever

So good to see you clapping as the end credits rolled.. Very satisfying ending to this film indeed. Another great reaction, and thank you for your indepth review at the end.

I loved your reaction because of its emotional honesty. Keep it up.

HEY Chris! All I can say is...beautiful. Thank you! ~Dawne

Wow.. what a wonderful, WONDERFUL reaction. I have to subscribe. 🥺❤️

I appreciate everything you do and everything you are. That is all. Blessed Bee 🐝

Thoroughly enjoyed your reaction!

Nominated for 7 Oscars including Best Picture but won for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Robin Williams. The scene where Williams tells Matt Damon's character th story of how hi late wife used to fart in her sleep was ad libbed and the cameraman started laughing.

The choking in a way is how he gained will’s respect. Will recognized Sean was more like him. It’s how a lot of guys from South Boston would handle the situation…it’s respectful (in their culture) will respected it…and Sean separated himself from the other therapists by doing it.

I totally agree with you! Matt Damon and the other actors were awesome but the few minutes screen time Robin Williams appeared he bumped them out of the park. We can see here how Robin Williams transmitted those deep emotions in a true manner we all feel personally. It’s one’s saying about the best clowns of all time. That most of them met the sadness of their own soul too often and were always on the way to find the way to the happiness of the good side. Dear Robin I pray for YOU. You gave us, your audience sooooo much. Thank YOU 🙏🏻!

Great reaction Chris, such a beautiful film 🥺

Great reaction to a great movie!! :) Robin Williams was/is a treasure. He is missed!

Saw this one in the theaters and it was so good back then, but it hits different now with 25+ years of aging. Really stands the test of time.

Bravo! Great reaction.

This was a terrific reaction to this movie, but I am a little sad that you left out the best lines of dialog from your edit... "Does this violate the patient/doctor relationship?" "Nah...only if you grab my ass." 😁 I definitely have always had a lot of love for this movie, and I got a crush on Minnie Driver the minute I saw her. LOL I grew up in the Boston/Cambridge area, and I have hung out in many of the places this movie was filmed at, including the burger stand where Will and Skyler had their first kiss. It was called The Tasty, but it actually closed the same year that this film came out...at one point in my youth, I used to go there several times a week. ✌💯😥

I always got the impression that Robin William's character wouldn't have grabbed a different student by the throat in a similar scenario. I read that scene as him being still pretty much in control and deliberate with his actions there. I think he knew he needed to get Matt Damons respect first before the kid was ever going to think about trusting him. And being that they both came from the same rough neighborhood, I think that was him attempting to set a boundary and establishing some level of respect through a familiar means of social behavior to Damon. He simultaneously told Damon's character that he's not some push over. But that he's also not some elitist, stuffy intellectual shrink either - he's a guy that grew up in the same kind of environment that Damon did. (Not to say that Damon didn't touch a nerve with him there. It's just that I don't think he would have flown off the handle like that with just any patient.) Also, in regard to Stellan Skarsgard's character. I do actually think he had genuine interest in seeing Matt Damon succeed. I think that was an honest moment when he says he's not twisting his little mustache scheming things up. I do think he genuinely believed he was approaching the situation the right way and doing what was best for the kid. I just think he was so egocentric and caught up in his own world and perspective, that he didn't really grasp that it might not be what Matt Damon's character needed at the moment. He's a guy that got so wrapped up in his work that he never really experienced what Robin William's character experienced with his wife. (Probably why he enjoys flirting with his students). So he never really learned that there's ways of feeling satisfied with your life outside of reaching for the same things he's reached for all his life. And so I think he probably really did feel like not pushing Matt Damon's character down the right path would result in ruining his life. So I actually didn't dislike his character at all. I thought they did a really good job with the nuance there in making him an antagonist, while not making him an actual villain.

At 8:57 we have Good Will SMITH Hunting.

Great movie . You should watch Robin Williams Awakenings . Also you can do Matt Damon The Rainmaker.

Alot of Robin Williams lines were improvised. RIP to the Genius.

Bitter-sweet movie for me.

Just realized you look at little like Skarsgaard...☺

This is a top 3 movie for me and one that I will watch any reaction to, and your reaction to it was sublime. I’ll be looking at more of your videos for sure. Thanks

THE CAR, classic scary 😈 FREQUENCY, thriller, time travel 😮 GAME NIGHT, pure fun🤣

SO glad you loved the film! It's so so good. Every character was interesting and felt real, I love how complex (and sometimes even troublesome) some of the characters were. Like Robin's character said, "You're not perfect and she's not perfect either..." Each person had good and frustrating qualities, which made the evolution of their emotional journeys that much richer. And the actors were wonderful. Even the ones that you might think you don't like... like the math professor who's kind of arrogant and a bit of dick to Robin's character at times; I still felt for him in that scene where Will burns the paper and the professor is on his knees trying to save it, and he looks so defeated, and then says how sometimes he wishes he'd never met Will and that it's painful for him to see him waste a brilliant talent that very very few have. In that moment, I really felt for Lambeau. It was probably one of the most honest moments for his character. I'm glad you liked one of my favorite parts as well - the final scene with Ben Affleck when his character realizes that Will has actually left this time, I think Ben did a FANTASTIC job expressing all the emotions his character was going through at that realization. You could see the confusion and then the surprise and stunned realization, and then a bit of pride in his friend for taking the brave step... and then even a little bit of sorrow because you know he'll miss his best friend. And then a pleased "Wow, the son of a gun actually did it... wow. Okay." It's just such a poignant moment for his character and says SO much without any words. And it shows that even though he previously told Will that's what he wanted and that that's what Will owes to the rest of them, it's still a hard moment because his friend is truly gone. I loved that. It really got to me the first time I saw this film. I was so impressed with it. And Robin and Matt were amazing together. If you haven't seen Robin's Oscar acceptance speech for the role, and Matt and Ben's acceptance speech for their screenplay, you should seek it out on youtube. It's so funny and sweet and heartening. It's really beautiful how excited they all were and just genuinely happy for one another and for the work they did, and Matt and Ben are so new to everything, so you can really see their fresh, youthful exuberance where most Oscar winners would probably be stoic or just thankful but maybe a little jaded. It's so fun to see people who clearly worked hard and are thrilled to be there and have their efforts acknowledged in a such a big way. I was so happy for all of them when they won. 😊

Mahh Dayymon

*Ben Affleck and Matt Damon Win Best Original Screenplay for "Good Will Hunting" | 70th Oscars (1997)* ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d8RIS5GJqAg.html

I absolutly love your your closing music! Who is it?

If you liked this, you need to see “Ordinary People”. It won several Oscar’s in 1980. Directed by Robert Redford and an all star cast about a therapist helping a teen through trauma.

Wonderful watch! Thanks for the video! ^_^

I think too many people miss that it's the tale of three father types. abusive, emotional supportive , and wanting to achieve greatness in the world archetypes.

Definitely check out the Graham Norton Show clip where Robin Williams discusses his Oscar win for this film. He forgot to thank his mother even after bringing her as his plus-one, which led to months of passive-aggressive "How's the award?". Making it more awkward is that at the same time, he DID remember to thank Harvey Weinstein (Williams had already been gone a few years when that scandal broke, so we'll never know how he would have reacted to it, but I like to think he would have done better than Matt Damon).

At 9:10 it wasnt Sean being unprofessional but Will was getting as cocky as the Harvard guy, using his science to diminish a man... and he had crossed the line with the wife comment

Amazing

I got a couple suggestions for you, because I know you’ll branch out.. Check out The Right Stuff, great 80’s movie about the dawn of the space age.. And this one I’ve seen 25 times, including last night, and my quote at the end is alway in-bleeping-believable… And that movie is All the President’s Men..

The scene where Affleck comes to Will's house and finds him gone, he's angry, then disappointed, then happy for Will. And he does it all with just his facial expressions. The math professor's assistant is John Mighton, who really is a mathematician. The first therapist is George Plimpton. Plimpton was a journalist and literary editor. Despite his high class accent, he really loved sports, and he literally threw himself into sports writing. His best known book is probably Paper Lion, where he tried out for the Detroit Lions football team and wrote about his experience.

He's not trying to hurt Will. To him, that's irrelevent.

Also, on a side note, as much as I love this movie, I recently watched Louis CK's teaser bit for his new Sorry routine. And the bits all about the "How do you like them apples" scene in this, and its effing hilarious. That's worth checking out too if you could use a good laugh.

Hi, I recommend you to react to the song “Tank park salut” by Billy Bragg. It’s so deep and so beautiful, a real gemstone. Even it’s about a father I’m dedicating it to my mother who passed away July the 06th, 2022. This pain is killing me. Sleep well mom. 💔🌹🥺😭 Lu

Wondering if you’ve seen Robin Williams in ‘Dead Poets Society.’

One of the best

March 12th, 2010

finally a movie I'm interested in! When you started out you chose all my favourites but lately, they've not been to my taste. Nice to tune back in. EDIT Talented Mr Riply was the last I watched

It is really hard to fathom the difference between knowing and believing "it's not your fault". Like if one knows it's not, then why does our brain "believe" it is. Especially when it was someone else, usually an adult that abuses a kid?

Does he ever cry at all?

🤠

Great reaction ! Please react to SCENT OF A WOMAN and FOREST GUMP and CASABLANCA

How about that soundtrack though!?

He SHOULD have grabbed Will by the neck. It is sometimes best to communicate with someone in their own language. Will understood him, in Will's own language.

💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

Love for you need geek

It's not your fault

Watch and review "RRR" Its the most entertaining movie of this year

Ty for this vid. Minnie Driver so lovely in this movie. this is emotional and really complex Movie. ty so much for this.

The original story was a spy film. It was obviously heavily reworked by others but Damen and Affleck still,. got the writing credit.

When I first saw this movie when it came out in theaters, I thought it was great and powerful etc., but each time I’ve watched it since I like it less and less to the point where I think the plot is really ridiculous. Even after accepting the absurd premise of it (a super genius who works as a janitor) there’s nothing real about it. Some of the lines no one would ever say and the way it all resolves in a nice Hollywood bow at the end is so trite and contrived. I know I’m the oddball here and I’m sounding really cynical, but on the other hand, I still cry like a baby at the end of It’s A Wonderful Life ha. Now that I think of it, that movie is more realistic than this one is and it’s a total fantasy!