Good Will Hunting
Ranked 2 of 8 drama films by recommenders
Praised for memorable scenes and rewatch value; critics say it misrepresents mathematicians and therapists.
Praised for memorable scenes and rewatch value; critics say it misrepresents mathematicians and therapists.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 5
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Outstanding film worth rewatching
“Makes me want to watch the movie again, though.”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Response to AI slop is from Robin Williams” “Damn this movie is so great.”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Are you stuck in movie logic?” “an outstanding film, FWIW”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Response to AI slop is from Robin Williams” Memorable scenes
“these two scenes are my favorite in cinema”
Comment from 28 Jun 2026 in “Response to AI slop is from Robin Williams” “one of the best scenes in the film”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Are you stuck in movie logic?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Inaccurate portrayal of mathematicians
“the graph theory examples in the beginning are really simple”
Comment from 17 Nov 2025 in “Are you stuck in movie logic?” “the film portrays mathematicians in a negative way and the allegedly hard problem on the blackboard is actually an easy homework exercise”
Comment from 3 Mar 2026 in “Why mathematicians hate Good Will Hunting”
Other drama films people recommend
The four most recommended other drama films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Shawshank Redemption | 18 | 8 | 69% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Good Will HuntingThis page | 10 | 5 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky | 9 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | — |
| The Lives of Others | 8 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Margin Call | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
All 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“So if I asked you about art you'd probably give me the skinny on every art book ever written.”
“an outstanding film, FWIW”
“these two scenes are my favorite in cinema”
“I hate the actual words in the monologue”
“Makes me want to watch the movie again, though.”
“The movie was just so naked in how much it presented the perspective of somebody in their 20s.”
“Matt Damon wrote his chatacter as a power fantasy”
“Frankly, if anything, therapists hate it.”
“the film portrays mathematicians in a negative way and the allegedly hard problem on the blackboard is actually an easy homework exercise”
“Damn this movie is so great.”
“one of the best scenes in the film”
“I think "good will hunting" is a bad example.”
“the graph theory examples in the beginning are really simple”
“His character growth is believing it himself.”
“I'm not a fan of the film, I just know for a fact several characters do this at several times.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.