Just Another "Holden Caufield"

Rating: 2/10 (10 March 2017)

After watching Good Will Hunting, I was struck by two similarities to other works of fiction (in this case, novels) that I had previously read: J.D. Salinger's "Catcher in the Rye", and Stephen King's "Rage". Unfortunately, I did not enjoy either of those efforts, and didn't take to "Hunting" any more pleasantly.
For a basic plot summary, this film centers on young Will Hunting (Matt Damon), a mathematical genius (of savant proportions) who spends his time mopping floors at a local university before solving a complex equation left on a blackboard and catching the eye of a math professor (Stellan Skarsgård). However, Will is a troubled young man who lacks motivation, along with a history of violence, and thus is sent to therapist Sean Maguire (Robin Williams), who tries a rather unorthodox approach to salvaging the boy's unique talents.
Although I can see why some people would like this film much more than I (due to the deep psychological themes), I have never been one much for the "bratty youngster needs a character treatise to understand what he is going through" type of storytelling. To me, Will Hunting was an arrogant, unmotivated jerk in the beginning of the film, then a whole bunch of psychological terms/scenarios were thrown around, and now suddenly I'm supposed to believe that everything is okay? Not quite.
To me, the most interesting scenes in this film revolved around Hunting's potential girlfriend (played by Minnie Driver). I actually felt that her relationship with Will (and her character altogether) were the high points of the film, not the "tense" client-therapist scenes that were supposed to steal the show.
I realize that I am probably in the minority here, but I really can't recommend this film to anyone besides those who love to be wowed by psychological scenarios/situations. I found it be pretentious and bloated to be otherwise.