And I have plenty of backed-up ruminations on how walking through Harvard Yard on quiet evenings recalls Good Will Hunting, and what it means to make a Boston Movie in this cinematic age.
But instead of blogging about any of that, I’m going to just post this and call it a day:
So amid all the recent debt ceiling drama, Republicans reportedly used a scene from The Town to persuade fellow party members to back Speaker Boehner’s plan.
Director Ben Affleck’s reaction? He spoke to the Huffington Post and explained “I don’t know if this is a compliment or the ultimate repudiation — but if they’re going to be watching movies, I think [layoff drama] The Company Men is more appropriate.”
Does it seem odd that President Obama has given the Republicans nearly everything they could ask for and yet they still threaten to drive the country into financial ruin? Maybe they’ve just learned from this classic scene in Good Will Hunting, where Affleck’s masquerading Southie is offered a generous salary with perks, but still demands a “retaaaaainer” and threatens to storm out of negotiations. Let me tell you something: The president is suspect.
Amy Poehler told students to find people who challenge and inspire you.… (BRIAN SNYDER/REUTERS)
Harvard graduated this week, and Harvard Square swarmed with black and crimson caps and gowns. I was delighted to learn that Amy Poehler delivered the Class Day speech to the students and their families on Wednesday, and was especially delighted when I read on Salon (in a piece by pop culture contributor Drew Grant) that Poehler invoked Good Will Hunting in her speech.
So after watching the amusing address online, I must put forth a short but pointed open letter to the editors of Salon, and anyone else would would care listen.
Speaking in an affected Boston accent does not constitute “quoting ‘Good Will Hunting.’”
That said, Poehler’s message that “you can’t do it alone” is certainly one espoused by the film–a missed opportunity by Poehler, to be sure, that she didn’t directly invoke the Damon-Affleck masterwork–but I see direct references to Good Will Hunting everywhere all the time, and saw none here.
Sincerely,
Blog Will Hunting
ANYWAY, if you haven’t seen Amy Poehler’s Class Day address, enjoy! Especially the Boston accenty part, because it is pretty funny, even if it’s not a direct reference to an Oscar-winning best original screenplay.
What an unexpected context for a subtle Good Will Hunting reference — Saturday night’s SNL brought us a digital short with Pee-wee Herman, Anderson Cooper, and the memorable final line from Good Will Hunting.
The other day I heard a story on NPR about the meme-erific site xtranormal.com — you know, the one where you can type in a script and create a video with some computer-animated teddy bears or robots.
As NPR says:
Xtranormal’s computerized voices can give almost anything a touch of humor, even when it isn’t supposed to be funny… The most popular scripts have a formula: There’s a wise guy who is the voice of reason, and a tone-deaf, argumentative adversary.
We're just some guys in Boston who think that Good Will Hunting is more than just the sum of its parts.
Thrillist calls us a "seemingly 10-year-too-late fansite based entirely on the TNT classic" and
someone on Metafilter recent stated, "After five minutes wandering around it, I still couldn't figure out if it was a fan site or a parody." Well... both. You're all right, I guess. At least we weren't unoriginal.
Southern France: I much prefer the line: "You are 21.Can legally drink… So we thought the best gift would be a car!" I bet Will was drunk while driving to California at the...
dissembly: I thumbs-downed you for liking Titanic, because I knew it would annoy you, but now I feel guilty and must explain myself. You see, Titanic was a movie we were all *supposed* to enjoy,...
