Blu-ray Review: GOOD WILL HUNTING

GOOD WILL HUNTING
Written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon
Directed by Gus Van Sant
Starring Matt Damon, Minnie Driver, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck

Chuckie Sullivan: You know what the best part of my day is? For about 10 seconds, from when I pull up to the curb to when I get to your door, because I think maybe I’ll get up there and I’ll knock on the door and you won’t be there.

I can remember quite clearly what it was like the first time I saw Gus Van Sant’s GOOD WILL HUNTING. It was a particularly snowy winter day which seemingly kept the crowds away from the theatre. It was before Matt Damon and Ben Affleck had become the stuff of Hollywood legend. And while the story of two friends writing themselves a screenplay that would defy all odds to go on and win the Academy Award and make their careers is a story well worth celebrating, it did take away from the film itself. Fifteen years later, the hype has also subsided which allows GOOD WILL HUNTING to to shine brighter than it ever has.

Damon plays Will Hunting, a genius who also just happens to have come from an abusive childhood, an orphan shuffling around from one foster home to the next. After he solves an equation on a chalk board at M.I.T., he runs into more trouble with the law. To avoid jail time, he must meet with an M.I.T. professor weekly to study advanced math, as well as a therapist, to deal with his emotional issues. Enter Robin Williams, in an Oscar-winning turn, as the only therapist Hunting will work with. This is where the film truly takes on its own life and then Van Sant, just drives it home.

GOOD WILL HUNTING makes its first appearance on Blu-ray with a 15-year anniversary edition. Previous DVD features, likes audio commentary from Van Sant, Damon and Affleck for instance, make repeat appearances here. A reflection featurette contains all new interviews with the majority of the cast and reveals so much insight into the making of the film. As Damon and Affleck look back, their appreciation for that moment in time is abundantly obvious, making this anniversary edition well worth celebrating.

EGOT Alert: could Robin WIlliams join the club?

I'm not someone who likes to hype things up. This is true mostly because I've seen so much amped-up hype fizzle miserably.  This is very true for awards season, most specifically the Oscars and the Tonys (mind you, this isn't going to be a Tony or a theatre blog, I'm just making an observation).  But I must cave into my hype on this one for a few reasons, but mostly because of a potential new EGOT champ.

On March 31st, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo staring Robin Williams opened on Broadway at the Richard Rogers Theatre.  Williams received mostly positive reviews, though many single out the play for its excellence more than Williams himself, who plays the titular caged beast.  The most glowing review comes from Charles McNulty over at the LA Times, saying :

Williams submits himself wholly to the play's utterly natural surrealism. Concerns that the actor might turn this into a vehicle for his signature shtick are dispelled right way: Williams is in complete sync with the blasted tragicomic vision of the playwright, whose ample humor is far too sneaky for stand-up showboating...He's put himself at the drama's service.

An EGOT--invented my infamous non-EGOTer Philip Michael Thomas--represents the the Grand Slam of industry awards   an Emmy (TV), Grammy (music), Oscar (film), and Tony (stage).  Someone who EGOTs receives one of each, an impressive feat since few actors ever nab even one.  Williams is nearly there, having an Oscar (as the Best Supporting Actor of 1997 for Good Will Hunting), two Emmys, and four Grammys on his mantle.  This leaves only the Tony.

In the over 80 years the oldest award (the Oscar) has existed, only 10 artists have completed this daunting task.  They range from actors (Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg) to musicians (Richard Rogers, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick) to writers and directors (Mike Nichols, Mel Brooks).  Note that Bengal Tiger just opened at the Richard Rogers Theatre...a sign?

the face of an EGOTer?

Of course, though, Williams will have to survive the very unpredictable Tony season.  In the past, the Tonys used to turn a cold shoulder to celebrities-turned-Broadway-stars, but at last year's ceremony, Denzel Washington, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Scarlett Johanson all took home highly-competitive acting Tonys over more unknown stage stars.  So a potential Tony victory isn't out of the question, but when it comes to the Tonys, the voters typically hold staunchly to their guns and vote for what they actually consider the best, never giving into media hype or overdue status.

Currently, Williams stands alongside greats John Williams, Barbra Streisand, Randy Newman, Cher, Julie Andrews, and Michael Giacchino as Tony-less potential EGOTers.  

Also, it should be noted that I'm not trying to make news out of nothing.  I bring this up only because the potential for witnessing a complete EGOT is rare.  The last chance we had, by my calculation, was in 2009 when Liza Minnelli lost the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.  Before that was in 2002, when John Kander and Fred Ebb lost the Best Original Song Oscar to Eminem.  The most recent member to the club is Whoopi Goldberg, who became a member in 10 years ago in 2001.  Chances to see it are few and far between.  I tend to keep my eyes peeled.  Here's wishing luck to Williams to complete and EGOT...and become the first EGOTer (and Tony winner?) to be awarded for playing an animal.


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