Yesterday I made the mistake of watching Good Will Hunting a few hours before I was scheduled to meet a client. This was a movie that mysteriously I had never seen despite loving Robin Williams, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck! The only reason I use the word mistake anywhere within ten words of this movie title was the timing!
Do not watch this movie if
1) you have a heart and… need to be out in public later;
2) you are scheduled for some black tie appearance;
3) you are meeting clients!
My husband had told me it was a sad movie to which I immediately asked “Does anyone die?”. He assured me they do not. Sad was not the right word though- I thought it was an incredibly happy ending- I was cheering, crying, screaming with hundreds of crumpled up tissues clutched in my hand- in other words a complete blubbering mess. Matt Damon’s performance is so emotionally affecting-witness his casual tightly controlled nonchalance when describing the horrific abuse at the hands of his foster father. His and Robin Williams’ performances were so incredible there is nothing I can say that others much wiser than I have not. This movie reinforces some universal truths that can get lost or forgotten in these fast paced hectic and money focused times-
1) you can’t live your life according to someone else’s’ plan or timeline for it;
2) in fact you owe it to yourself and those who love you to live to your fullest potential
3) Without Friendship and loyalty and love to those friends you got nothing
4) if you close yourself off to loving so you won’t get hurt by losing that love, you are not really living at all;
5) Money is not the be all and end all! When you find your passion or it finds you, follow it
no matter how much out of your comfort zone and “…If the professor calls about that job, just tell him, sorry, I have to go see about a girl!” (From Good Will Hunting; Will’s note to Sean
left in his mailbox).