We all know the memorable moments from 1997’s Good Will Hunting. There’s the iconic bench scene, the best part of Ben Affleck’s day, and how do you like them apples? But none of them can hold a candle to the farting story, and they probably shouldn’t try to!
Okay, maybe I’m full of hot air, but the scene gets even better when you realize that it wasn’t part of the script.
Who came up with the farting scene?
In the scene, we’re given a great bonding moment between the two characters as Williams recalls a fond memory of his wife passing gas in her sleep.
“One night it was so loud it woke the dog up!”
The late, great Robin Williams ad-libbed the entire part about his wife farting. The scene comes at a pivotal point in the story and the farting dialogue seems to blend right in. The infectious and uncontrollable laughter you see between the two characters is a genuine response to the story. The idea that the therapist’s wife farted so loud that she woke herself up was too much for Matt Damon (and his character) to handle.
The actors weren’t the only ones laughing. You see the screen shaking? That’s because the camera operators couldn’t control their laughter, and who can blame them? The close-ups are pretty tight during the farting dialogue and that’s probably to help stabilize the shot. Thankfully they didn’t have to scrap the scene.
On the subject of editing, there were actually more ad-libbed lines from the scene that were cut from the movie.
What lines were cut from the movie?
In the DVD commentary, we learn that Sean (Williams) suggests lighting a match to ignite one of his wife’s farts. Improvising the scene, Matt Damon asks if that is how his wife died. While that’s a hilarious response, it came off as a little too insensitive. The line was ultimately cut, not unlike how Sean’s wife cut the cheese.
The movie needed a bit of levity given the seriousness of some of the content, such as Damon’s monologue during the NSA meeting.
Luckily, Robin Williams was known for his improvisation and comedy. His performances in Good Morning, Vietnam and as the genie in Aladdin were largely unscripted. There are even long compilations of his off-the-cuff talent. While his role in Good Will Hunting is mostly serious, Williams found moments to inject humor into the already stellar story.
Before they were famous A-list actors, Ben Affleck and Matt Damon were childhood best friends with an idea for a movie. They traveled across the country writing Good Will Hunting together. After being constantly denied, the film was greenlit and turned into the movie that we know and love today.
The friends won Best Original Screenplay at the 70th Academy Awards. They nervously delivered a charming acceptance speech as their dreams were realized. There’s really only one line that they could have improvised while holding up the Oscars:
“How do you like them apples?”
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