Since the plan is to go all out on Affleckology, we might as well start from the very beginning. Good Will Hunting wasn't Ben's first big break -- he'd had a prolific child actor career in the 1980s, and he was already a Kevin Smith mainstay when the movie came out -- but it was his first big hit, and one he Oscar-worthily co-wrote to boot. This may be a bit of a cheat, because as with all movies where Robin Williams sports a beard and a soulful gaze, the film is one big life lesson in itself. However, what stuck with me in particular was the "Best part of my day" speech Affleck's side character delivers to the titular character. Here:
The Life Lesson:
For those who didn't watch the clip: It's a short, vicious verbal bitch-slap Affleck's Chuckie Sullivan administers to Will Hunting because of the latter's unwillingness to use his genius intellect to escape their poor, blue-collar life. I'm no genius, and there's a chance that some of you reading this aren't either, but the same principle applies to us, too: If you're good at something, Ben Affleck double dares you to embrace it. Because if you don't, he's going to ring your doorbell two decades down the line and fuckin' kill you.
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