About a Boy

Heartwarming studio chickflick about Hugh Grant bonding with a little boy...this description didn't send me rushing to the cinema, despite the Nick Hornsby brand. But shockingly, About a Boy isn't a standard Hollywood prefab romcom or sentimental twaddle -it's an actual film, sharply written, evocatively directed, beautifully acted.

The caustic British wit immediately sets the film apart from its studio comedy brethren -its actually, frequently funny. The characters feel real, lived in. The superb dual voiceover is potent rebuke to those still peddling the convential wisdom that vo's are "uncinematic" (if this includes you you're immediately assigned "Election" and "Adaptation"), working comfortably inside our protagonists' heads without any dreaded 'literary' staining, bringing their vibrant inner lives to comic life.

So instead of the false life lessons and maudlin sentimentality films of this sort so often trade in, we get a moving, witty story about...okay, yeah...Hugh Grant bonding with a little boy. But that's no reason not to rent it.

The widescreen picture is gorgeous (another nice departure from drearily filmed studio comedies) and the disc comes with numerous, lengthy deleted scenes that are virtually all terrific, and well worth viewing.

It frightened me, at first, to hear that directors Chris and Paul Weitz, the guys who made "American Pie," were behind the film adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel. Though Hugh Grant was born to play the self-centered, shallow, immature man urged to grow through his relationship with a young boy in need, I forgot about the occasional moments of warmth in "American Pie" and doubted the Weitzes were capable of conveying the heart and seriousness necessary to make this film. I was wrong.

Matching moments of true horror involving attempted suicide at the film's beginning with Grant's continuing snarky, sarcastic voiceover showed that the directors had found the precise balance necessary to make the film work. It's a heartwarming, occasionally edgy film about the human need for others and about how a family whether one we're born into or one that we create for ourselves can help us grow.

Nicholas Hoult, as Marcus, gives a great performance, and Toni Collette, as his hippie, depressive mother, is Oscar-caliber, but the film belongs to Grant. It's the best work he's ever done.

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I was hesitant on seeing this, partly because I had never heard of it or seen reviews of it on TV before, but my mom reluctantly dragged me to the show to see it. Was I surprised.

Hugh Grant plays an amazing character, the male version of Bridget Jones, or so I think. His commentary throughout the movie at random points made me laugh, and I love the "SPAT" meeting. The boy in the film did an amazing job, and the bond that forms between him and Will is great. After I saw the movie, I bought the book, and both were equally impressive. No one could have played this role better than Grant, he's perfect for it. This is probably one of his best films, if not the best.

When it comes out on DVD, I strongly suggest getting it, or rent it first, and I guarentee you will love it. I was hesitant on seeing it, and I was extremely surprised and pleased!!!

The soundtrack is also amazing, done by "Badly Drawn Boy". I suggest getting it if you're a fan of the film, because every song in the film is on the soundtrack.

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A beautifully told tale of an immature man and a too-mature boy.

Hugh Grant takes his "shtick", such that it is, and uses it to fill out a fairly detailed character. It's completely three-dimensional. By the end of the movie, you feel you yourself could answer totally unrelated questions about this character...like what would be his political views? Beatles or Presley? Big Mac or McChicken?

The boy never once seems to be acting, and is laugh-out-loud funny. He tosses them off almost like afterthoughts, yet you'll pause-and-"rewind" just to hear his delivery over and over again.

The superlative screenplay, and the surprising zippy direction from the Weitz brothers ("American Pie" to this? Wow.) will have non-cineastes noticing.

One last thing. The soundtrack is sheer perfection, by a guy named Badly Drawn Boy. It's evocative but not intrusive, classic/retro-sounding yet totally modern and contemporary, and hummable beyond belief.

From top to bottom, this is one of the best films of 2002.

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Excellent comedy from the directors of " American Pie " and " " Down to Earth ". Starring Hugh Grant . By it's speed and meaning reminds me " Four Weddings and a Funeral ". If you did like that one , you definitely going to love " About a Boy ".

Hugh Grant playing Will , some guy who is doing absolutely nothing . Just watching TV all day , picking up CDs in the store , eating lunch and picking up girls later at night . Will living on his fathers "one hit wonder " song's money and his principle in life is very simple one man is an island . He needs nothing , he wants nothing and he cares about nothing . But one day Marcus ( Nicholas Hoult ) walks in his life and things beginning to change . Marcus is a 6-7 grade kid , growing up with his single and depressed "hippie" mom . He is bullied at school and has no friends . He just started stopping by at Will's place and " hang around ", anyway Will doing nothing all day .

This relationship changed both their lives for better . And finally Will realized the real life he was missing . One man is never an island after all you change other people lives , same as they change yours .

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