One of the best 5 movies of the year.

Rating: 9/10 (29 November 1999)

After reading some of the previous comments made by viewers on this site, I get the impression some people believe a group of 21 year old guys who go to bars and drink and fight is not realistic. I would suggest they try spending a night in bar and come back to reality. Even beyond realism, this is just a flat-out great movie.
Robin Williams, normally not the best actor in the world, does an outstanding job with this role. He was at the same time funny and insightful and deserved the Academy Award. Damon was convincing as a "lazy genius" and this was definitely his best role so far. The script was excellent, and Van Sant got every bit of emotion possible out of his cast. It is so rare to see a dramatic movie like this that combines humor and drama so effectively. Even if, like me, you are not interested in run-of-the-mill drama-tearjerker type movies, I highly recommend this one, because it is fantastic. The only dim spot in the movie is Minnie Driver's character. I've never really liked her, and I found her character to be more than slighlty annoying. Despite this one flaw, Good Will Hunting is one of the top movies of '97, and other than L.A. Confidential, maybe THE top movie if the year.