Matt Damon and Ben Affleck share a legendary Hollywood bromance, and the duo rose to fame after writing the critically acclaimed Good Will Hunting together. Their quick success is seemingly too good to be true, and Matt & Ben hilariously capitalizes on this premise.
Matt & Ben, written by Mindy Kaling, exposes the truth about Damon and Affleck: the script for Good Will Hunting mysteriously dropped from the heavens. Of course, that is not true, but audiences who allow themselves to buy into such a silly fantasy are able to enjoy some stellar comedy.
Matt & Ben is an hour-long, full-length comedy play presented by the Boston College Dramatics Society, the school’s oldest student organization. Performances were held on Dec. 7 and Dec. 9 in the Bonn Studio Theater.
The play was a continuous, hectic, and hilarious dialogue between Damon (Grace Cutler, MCAS ’24) and Affleck (Abigail Wickman, MCAS ’24). To accentuate the satirical nature of the piece, the play calls for female actors to play Damon and Affleck.
Director Molly Caballero, LSEHD ’24, noted the challenges that come with having two women play two male roles.
“The fact that women are playing men is a joke in itself, but having two women play two men was a challenge,” Caballero said. “We had to work on physicality, voices, and how male friendships function.”
Wickman added to Caballero’s sentiment and explained how gender-bending can help reveal deeper meanings in a performance.
“I always love a gender-bend,” Wickman said. “I think with this script in particular, it’s so needed because the women’s take on a male bromance says a lot about the differences between male friendships and female friendships.”
The play opens with Damon and Affleck struggling to write an adapted screenplay of The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Suddenly, a physical script magically appears on the floor of Affleck’s apartment: Good Will Hunting.
Though Damon and Affleck are equally excited about the screenplay, conversation around what to do next with the script uncovers a bundle of unspoken tension between the duo. The piece required a clever direction to ensure precise comedic timing, well-paced line delivery, and shifty expressions added a comedic effect.
Damon thinks Affleck is a bad actor, while Affleck thinks Damon is a know-it-all. Damon finds Affleck to be embarrassing, and Affleck thinks Damon doesn’t respect his talents.
The back and forth continues to tell the story of two best friends reconciling their pent-up frustrations and complaints. Damon and Affleck learn to love each other for who they truly are.
The comedic nature of the play and the intimacy of the group seemed to make the rehearsal process delightful. Stage manager Emily Osborne, LSEHD ’24, emphasized that the set’s dynamic made everyone’s work easier.
“It’s been so fun to come into the room and see Abigail and Grace have fun,” Osborne said. “It’s been an escape from everything else I have going on.”
The audiences undoubtedly had a lot of fun as well. The show’s final product was full of life and hilarity, and audiences continuously erupted into uncontrollable laughter. The show’s sitcom nature especially humored the audience, and members cheered at the climactic fight scene involving random objects thrown wildly.
With Matt & Ben, live theater succeeds at bringing people together. Audience members experience the pleasure of viewing quality comedic entertainment with friends, and belly laughed their finals-week worries away.
