In 1997, two young actors Matt Damon & Ben Affleck, co-starred in the movie Good Will Hunting. They also co-wrote the screenplay, which ended up winning an Academy Award for Best Screenplay, Written Directly for the Screen. There are a lot of great scenes in the movie, but my favorite is this one: Where Will (Damon) backs up his buddy Chuckie (Affleck) and utterly puts down a stuffy Harvard grad student:

INT. BOW AND ARROW -- CONTINUOUS

Chuckie is collecting money from the guys to buy a pitcher,all but Morgan cough up some crumpled dollars.

                       CHUCKIE          So, this is a Harvard bar, huh? I          thought there'd be equations and shit          on the wall.

INT. BACK SECTION, BOW AND ARROW -- MOMENTS LATER

Chuckie returns to a table where Will, Morgan and Billy havemade themselves comfortable. He [Chuckie] spots two ATTRACTIVE YOUNGHARVARD WOMEN sitting together at the end of the bar. Chuckiestruts his way toward the women and pulls up a chair. Heflashes a smile and tries to submerge his thick Boston accent.

                       CHUCKIE          Hey, how's it goin'?

                       LYDIA          Fine.

                       SKYLAR          Okay.

                       CHUCKIE          So, you ladies ah, go to school here?

                       LYDIA          Yes.

                       CHUCKIE          Yeah, cause I think I had a class with          you.

At this point, several interested parties materialize. MorganBilly and Will try, as inconspicuously as possible, to situatethemselves within listening distance. A rather large studentin a HARVARD LACROSSE sweatshirt, CLARK (22) notices Chuckie.He [Clark] walks over to Skylar and Lydia, nobly hovering over them asprotector. This gets Will, Morgan, and Billy's attention.

                       SKYLAR          What class?

                       CHUCKIE          Ah, history I think.

                       SKYLAR          Oh...

                       CHUCKIE          Yah, it's not a bad school...

At this point, Clark can't resist and steps in.

                       CLARK          What class did you say that was?

                       CHUCKIE          History.

                       CLARK          How'd you like that course?

                       CHUCKIE          Good, it was all right.

                       CLARK          History? Just "history?" It must          have been a survey course then.

Chuckie nods. Clark notices Chuckie's clothes. Will and Billyexchange a look and move subtly closer.

                       CLARK (cont'd)          Pretty broad. "History of the World?"

                       CHUCKIE          Hey, come on pal we're in classes all          day. That's one thing about Harvard never          seizes to amaze me, everybody's talkin'          about school all the time.

                       CLARK          Hey, I'm the last guy to want to talk          about school at the bar. But as long          as you're here I want to "seize" the          opportunity to ask you a question.

Billy shifts his beer into his left hand. Will and Morgan seethis. Morgan rolls his eyes as if to say "not again..."

                       CLARK (cont'd)          Oh, I'm sure you covered it in your          history class.

Clark looks to see if the girls are impressed. They are not.When Clark looks back to Chuckie, Skylar turns to Lydia androlls her [own] eyes. They laugh. Will sees this and smiles.

                       CHUCKIE          To tell you the truth, I wasn't there          much. The class was rather elementary.

                       CLARK          Elementary? Oh, I don't doubt that it          was. I remember the class, it was          just between recess and lunch.

Will and Billy come forward, stand behind Chuckie.

                       CHUCKIE          All right, are we gonna have a problem?

                       CLARK          There's no problem. I was just hoping          you could give me some insight into          the evolution of the market economy in          the early colonies. My contention is          that prior to the Revolutionary War          the economic modalities especially of          the southern colonies could most aptly          be characterized as agrarian pre-          capitalist and...

Will, who at this point has migrated to Chuckie's side and iscompletely fed-up, includes himself in the conversation.

                       WILL          Of course that's your contention.          You're a first year grad student.          You just finished some Marxian          historian, Pete Garrison prob'ly, and          so naturally that's what you believe          until next month when you get to James          Lemon and get convinced that Virginia          and Pennsylvania were strongly          entrepreneurial and capitalist back in          1740. That'll last until sometime in          your second year, then you'll be in          here regurgitating Gordon Wood about          the Pre-revolutionary utopia and the          capital-forming effects of military          mobilization.

                       CLARK                (taken aback)          Well, as a matter of fact, I won't,          because Wood drastically underestimates          the impact of--

                       WILL          --"Wood drastically underestimates the          impact of social distinctions predicated          upon wealth, especially inheriated          wealth..." You got that from "Work in          Essex County," Page 421, right? Do          you have any thoughts of your own on          the subject or were you just gonna          plagerize the whole book for me?

Clark is stunned.

                       WILL(cont'd)          Look, don't try to pass yourself off          as some kind of an intellect at the          expense of my friend just to impress          these girls.

Clark is lost now, searching for a graceful exit, any exit.

                       WILL (cont'd)          The sad thing is, in about 50 years          you might start doin' some thinkin' on          your own and by then you'll realize          there are only two certainties in life.

                       CLARK          Yeah? What're those?

                       WILL          One, don't do that. Two-- you dropped          a hundred and fifty grand on an          education you coulda' picked up for a          dollar fifty in late charges at the          Public Library.

Will catches Skylar's eye.

                       CLARK          But I will have a degree, and you'll          be serving my kids fries at a drive          through on our way to a skiing trip.

                       WILL                (smiles)          Maybe. But at least I won't be a prick.                (beat)          And if you got a problem with that, I          guess we can step outside and deal          with it that way.

While Will is substantially smaller than Clark, he [Clark] decides notto take Will up on his [Will's] offer.

                       WILL (cont'd)          If you change your mind, I'll be          over by the bar.

He turns and walks away. Chuckie follows, throwing Clark alook. Morgan turns to a nearby girl.

                       MORGAN          My boy's wicked smart.

And the scene in the movie:

One amazing thing about the project is the screenplay didn’t start off as a drama. Per Wikipedia:

Affleck and Damon originally wrote the screenplay as a thriller: Young man in the rough-and-tumble streets of South Boston, who possesses a superior intelligence, is targeted by the FBI to become a G-Man. Castle Rock Entertainment president Rob Reiner later urged them to drop the thriller aspect of the story and to focus the relationship between Will Hunting (Damon) and his psychologist (Williams).

The scene is not only hugely entertaining, it also – like all great scenes – services the plot: (A) It indicates for the first time just how smart Will is. (B) It intersects he and Skylar (Minnie Driver), Will’s love interest / Attractor character.

How about you? What are your favorite scenes from Good Will Hunting?