Somewhere in the mid-1990s, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck got together to write a film that still tops many people’s lists of favorites almost 20 years later. Good Will Hunting tells the story of a young man named Will (Damon) with an unparalleled level of intelligence, a group of loyal friends and a history of unruliness, to say the least. The genius’ path is crossed by a counselor (Robin Williams) who’s intent on gaining his trust so he can help him grow and reach his true potential, whatever that may be.
Luckily, Damon and Affleck, who plays Will’s best friend, Chuckie, didn’t save all of the best lines for themselves, although they did win an Academy Award for Best Writing and helped get Robin Williams his first and only Academy Award. Everyone was given an opportunity to deliver a powerful line, some of the same lines that make us wish real-life conversations were half as interesting.
This is a list of the most memorable lines from Good Will Hunting, in the order of which they occur:
Chuckie: Let me tell you something. If you’re not out there in two f*ckin’ seconds, when I’m done with them, you’re next.
Will: See, the sad thing about a guy like you is, in 50 years, you’re gonna start doing some thinking of you’re own, and you’re gonna come up with the fact that there are two certainties in life. One, don’t do that. And two, you dropped 150 grand on a f*ckin’ education you could’ve got for $1.50 in late charges at the public library.
Will: Yeah. Maybe, but at least I won’t be unoriginal. But, I mean, if you have a problem with that, maybe we could just step outside, and we could figure it out…
Morgan: My boy’s wicked smart.
Will: Do you like apples? Well, I got her number. How do you like them apples?
Skylar: You know, I figured out, at the end, my brains gonna be worth $250,000.
Sean: People call these things imperfections. But they’re not. That’s the good stuff, and then we get to choose who we let into our weird little worlds. You’re not perfect, sport, and let me save you the suspense. This girl you met? She isn’t perfect, either. But the question is whether or not you’re perfect for each other. That’s the whole deal. That’s what intimacy is all about.
Sean: I just slid my ticket across the table and said, “Sorry, guys. I gotta go see about a girl.”
Chuckie: Allegedly, your situation, for you, would be concurrently improved if I had $200 in my back pocket right now.
Will: Alright, well, Beethoven. He looked at a piano, and it just made sense to him. He could just play… I look at a piano, I see keys, three pedals and a box of wood. But Beethoven, Mozart, they see it. They could just play. I couldn’t paint you a picture, I probably can’t hit the ball out of Fenway, and I can’t plan the piano. Well, I mean, when it came to stuff like that, I could always just play. That’s the best I can explain it.
Skylar: My father died when I was 13, and I inherited this money. You don’t think everyday I wake up, and I wish I could give it back? That I would give it back in a second if it meant I could have one more day with him? But I can’t, and that’s my life, and I deal with it. So, don’t put your sh*t on me when you’re the one that’s afraid.
Tom: Most people never get to see how brilliant they can be. They don’t find teachers that believe in them. They get convinced they’re stupid.
Gerry: Most days, I wish I never met you because then I could sleep at night. I didn’t have to walk around with the knowledge that there was someone like you out there… I didn’t have to watch you throw it all away.
Chuckie: I mean, what’s wrong with you? You’ll hump a baseball glove? / Morgan: I-I didn’t… I just used it for clean-up.
Sean: I just have a little question here. You could be a janitor anywhere. Why did you work at the most prestigious technical college in the whole f*ckin’ world? Why did you sneak around at night and finish other people’s formulas, that only one or two people in the world could do, and then lie about it? Cause I don’t see a lot of honor in that, Will.
Will: You played a hand, and you lost. You lost a big f*ckin’ hand. Some people will lose a big hand like that and have the sack to ante up again.
Chuckie: Look, you’re my best friend, so don’t take this the wrong way. But in 20 years, if you’re still living here, coming over my house to watch the Patriots games, still working construction… I’ll f*ckin’ kill ya. That’s not a threat. That’s a fact. I’ll f*ckin’ kill ya.
No, no, no. F*ck you. You don’t owe it to yourself. You owe it to me. Cause tomorrow, I’m gonna wake up, and I’ll be 50, and I’ll still be doing this sh*t. That’s alright. That’s fine. I mean, you’re sitting on a winning lottery ticket, and you’re too much of a f*ckin’ pussy to cash it in, and that’s bullsh*t. Cause I’d do f*ckin’ anything to have what you got. So would any of these f*ckin’ guys. Be an insult to us if you’re still here in 20 years. Hanging around here is a f*ckin’ waste of your time.
Let me tell you what I do know. Everyday, I come by your house, and I pick you up. We go out and we have a few drinks and a few laughs, and it’s great. You know what the best part of my day is? About 10 seconds before I pull up to your curb, and when I go to your door. Cause I think maybe I’ll get up there, and I’ll knock on the door, and you won’t be there. No “good-bye.” No “see ya later.” No nothing. You just left. I don’t know much, but I know that.
Sean: Why does he hang out with those retarded gorillas as you called them? Because any one of them, if he asked them to, would take a bat to your head. That’s called loyalty.
Sean: It’s not your fault… It’s not your fault.
Sean: I’m ready to put my money back on the table and see what kind of cards I get.
Will: Hey, does this violate the doctor-patient relationship? / Sean: Nah. Only if you grab my ass.
Bill: You’re legally allowed to drink, so we figured the best thing for you, kid, was a car.
Sean: The son of a bitch stole my line…
