Quite good, except for a bogus ending

Rating: 7/10 (20 October 2002)

Barbed script full of "F--- you's" doesn't seem like a likely candidate for a Best Original Screenplay Oscar, but this one did win and I think the performances are the reason. The acting here is so strong--particularly by Matt Damon, who co-wrote the thing--that I believe it makes the writing seem better than it is. There are some terrible sequences that can be blamed on the script, direction and editing, such as the bit where Damon's friend Ben Affleck substitutes for him at a job interview. However, the acting usually rescues it, with Oscar-winner Robin Williams pensive and endearing as a psychologist who becomes therapist and mentor to closet-genius Damon. Minnie Driver is also excellent as an unlikely love-interest for Matt, but the finale is almost too hokey to believe. In their efforts to tie this all up with a big satin bow, novice writers Damon and Affleck sink their modest little ship just as it's about to dock. Too bad. **1/2 from ****