Tag Archives: Kevin Smith

The Gus Van Sant Podcast No. 6 :Michael J. Glass on Good Will Hunting (1997)

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Michael J. Glass joins me for a discussion of Gus Van Sant’s GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997), a blockbuster success in its day; a film that won Robin Williams an Oscar, made stars of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, and left a big cultural imprint. It’s since been much parodied (in COMMUNITY, THE SIMPSONS, all over youtube) and a dominant critical perspective is slightly sniffy on the film: filmmaking by numbers and committees on a ‘we need a job’ script. We found it an extremely easy watch that holds up and is even more interesting on second viewing. GOOD WILL HUNTING is an effective piece that is surprising in all kinds of ways and still works. We discuss its critique of the US, its focus on class, on abuse, on the fragility of young men. Its rare to see a film that dramatizes how American foreign policy is one of extraction and exploitation and how social mobility in the US is available only to geniuses with sponsorship. We also discuss whether how Van Sant films and what he focuses on might be connected to sexual identity.

 

The podcast may be listened to here:

The podcast may also be listened to on: Spotify here: https://open.spotify.com/show/2zWZ7Egdy6xPCwHPHlOOaT

and on itunes here: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/first-impressions-thinking-aloud-about-film/id1548559546

Some of the clips discussed may be seen below:

Ben’s Speech:

Denunciatory Speech:

A look in the mirror:

Matt’s Look:

The fight:

 

Perspective:

Community Parody:

Family Guy Parody:

Michael J. Glass is co-host, with myself, of the Eavesdropping at the Movies podcast

Jose Arroyo

Eavesdropping at the Movies: 197 – Jay and Silent Bob Reboot

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A trip to the Mockingbird Cinema in the Custard Factory yields a massively hyped up and receptive audience of fat white blokes for Jay and Silent Bob Reboot. Mike is one of them, and he’s never been harder to pick out of a lineup, laughing like a drain at the fan service and antics. José isn’t, and he was already a bit too old for Kevin Smith when he emerged in the 90s, but he has almost as good a time as everyone else there. The film is huge fun and creates a palpable sense of community, filled with friends and family, incorporating in-jokes and characters from throughout Smith’s work – it’s pure comfort food for its fans.

We think about Smith as a figure, his reputation as a writer who can barely direct, and what he takes pride in. And we look over his filmography, José thinking back on what made Chasing Amy radical in its day, and Mike suggesting that with Jersey Girl and Cop Out, Smith’s reputation, and perhaps an external factor or two (remember Bennifer?) played a part in the hostile reception for two films he found perfectly acceptable and even charming.

He’s an interesting figure, Kevin Smith, a director whose cinematic reputation is outshone by his stardom as an individual, something to which his mighty legion of podcasts and Q&As speaks – indeed, Reboot‘s UK screenings come with a bespoke post-credits Q&A, and Smith is accompanying the film around the US and Canada on its roadshow release – but his films have earned and maintained a devoted following for 25 years now, something to which the audience tonight can attest. Wherever Reboot is showing, it’s worth checking out, because with an audience as up for it as ours was, it’s a special event.

The podcast can be listened to in the players above or on iTunes.

With José Arroyo of First Impressions and Michael Glass of Writing About Film.