Finding Forrester (2000)

With Finding Forrester, director Gus Van Sant adheres to the old adage: stick to what you're good at. In 1997, Van Sant rode an unlikely horse by the name of Good Will Hunting straight into the winner's circle known as box-office and critical success. In 2000, he tried to recreate that success with Finding Forrester, a heart-warming tale of an inner-city smarty-pants who doesn't want to own up to his intellectual prowess because his basketball buddies will slag him for being a wuss. Or something like that.

Mr. Smarty McSmart Guy quickly meets up with a somewhat aged author William Forrester (played by Connery). Forrester agrees to help the young chap improve his writing skills in order to succeed in his new private school -- on one condition: the boy can't reveal the relationship or the fact that he knows Forrester at all.

Of course, like in any feel-good movie, troubles ensue -- at least in the middle of the movie. Smart-Guy faces cheating accusations, Forrester faces a crippling fear of leaving the musty confines or his apartment, etc. Rest assured, however, that through Forrester's gritty Scottish wits and Smarty's street-wise irreverance, trouble has met its match.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a bad movie. In fact, on its own merits, it's not too bad at all. However, I know I would have liked it a lot more had I not seen (and enjoyed) Good Will Hunting. Stylistically, however, the two are just too similar. And, no, going into it I didn't know the director was Van Sant. Two minutes in, I figured it out.

So, if you enjoyed Good Will Hunting, go rent Finding Forrester. If you've never seen GWH, go rent Finding Forrester and enjoy it without having your experience pre-tainted by association.