Culture Vulture Schmulture – G
In a feature shamelessly “inspired” by The Times‘s Culture Vulture, British Expat brings you the above titled (subtitled “Things you should own, if they’re the sort of thing you might like…”)
This week we’re on to “G”, and you’ll be surprised to hear that – in what is rapidly becoming time-honoured tradition (is it possible to become time-honoured rapidly?) – I’ve thought of something I forgot last time around. Full Metal Jacket is boss. (That means good, for the editor’s info’.) Oh well, that’s in the past now. Incidentally, does that make any sense to anyone – “all in the past now”? Is it just me that gets confused by all the tenses flying around there? In the future, things won’t ever have been this hard.
Anyway. “G”. I was, until approximately 12 seconds ago, going to suggest The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. But that’s now soon to be in the past. Last week I saw the best film I’ve seen since the last best film I saw (L.A. Confidential, fyi) – Good Will Hunting. Starring Matt Damon, Robin Williams and Ben Affleck (grrrrrr), it won Oscars. Not always a recommendation, since they’re so obviously given out in sympathy sometimes (how the hell else can you account for Michael Caine winning Michael Clarke Duncan’s Best Supporting Oscar last year? Eh? You can’t). But this film deserves them. Robin Williams fully deserves his Best Supporting Actor Oscar and even if, like a lot of people, you hate his paint-by-numbers “zany” brand of comedy he’s well worth a look in this one. The other Oscar makes me sick to my very core, no word of a lie. Orson Welles; pretty clever chap really. He won Best Screenplay Oscar for Citizen Kane sometime in BCT (Before Colour Television). Research? Me? With my reputation?…
Welles was 25. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon co-wrote the screenplay for Good Will Hunting. Both were younger than Welles. This, above all else, means I have less than 5.5 years to get my arse in gear and write something good. Who’s with me?
Matt Damon’s hard. Physically, yes, but also mentally. At least he thinks he is until he is introduced to Robin Williams (surprisingly enough, I can’t remember any character names at all!), who teaches him – basically – life from a different perspective. He’s a mathematical genius (presumably why Damon took the lead role, Affleck is a Muppet after all) who doesn’t want to throw life away just because he has a talent. Cue poignant scenes between Damon/Williams, Damon/Affleck and Damon/Minnie Driver.
Best Line? Driver: I bet you were hoping for a goodnight kiss, weren’t you? Damon: Actually, I was hoping for a goodnight lay.
Go on my son, get in. Go buy it, it’s boss. Quite undoubtedly something you should maybe spend money on if you think it might be something you’d quite like to maybe spend money on. You get me?
Next Week: H – and proof that all 19 year old blokes aren’t just after girls and violence…
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