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Well the title can suggest this Hugh Grant (Bridget Jones’s Diary) movie is about the middle age, self-absorbed man/child Will Freeman that Grant portrays or the precocious boy Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) that befriends him. My guess is it is really about the boy, but since Grant is the star of this film, About a Boy (directed by Chris and Paul Weitz whom also directed American Pie) it must be about Grant, the boy that never grew up. His favorite phrases to describe himself, he is the star of the Will Freeman show and every man is an island. This alone tells you he watched entirely too much television and listens to more music than most. Well, why not? As he would put it, he does, well nothing. Yes, he doesn’t work, have any hobbies and pretty much is about as interesting as a turnip. So why would anyone pay money to see the star of the Will show sit around and do nothing is, because it is about a boy. We see both boys grow and develop into interesting lots. This movie begins with the Will explaining what makes him tick. He doesn’t work, he just lives off the royalties of his father’s one hit wonder (a terribly bad Christmas song). He buys CDs, video games, and other toys and spends the remainder of his time watching TV. Then there is the occasional girlfriend. How he actually gets anyone interested in him baffles me, but hey it is a movie. What could he possibly talk about? No job, no family so to speak, no interests, no hobbies, no life. Then he recently discovered single mums. All he has to do is feign interest in their child, date them awhile, get some nookie and hey they dump him, no guilt. They just are not ready for a relationship blah blah blah. So how does he meet these women, where are they? Will decides to join a single parents group, so he invents a toddler. The kid conveniently goes with his surgeon mother when he is supposed to produce the ankle biter. While on a date with a single mum she brings along Marcus, the strange child of her friend. Marcus’s mum could not make it to the picnic today. Fiona (Toni Collette of The Sixth Sense) the off beat, vegetarian single mum was not feeling well, actually she was depressed and planned on killing herself while they were off in the park. So when Will and his date dropped him off at home they discovered Fiona unconscious on the sofa. As if Marcus, this odd & clumsy kid didn’t have enough problems fitting in, now his mum adds to his dysfunction. Marcus decides two people are not enough, he needs backup in case something happens to his mother again, so he is on a quest to fix his mother up with Will. Marcus shows up at his door to bring them together. Although neither is the least bit interested in each other, that doesn’t stop Marcus and the result is a friendship between Will & Marcus. Then Will meets a woman named Rachel (Rachel Weisz of The Mummy Returns) and because he can’t even maintain a conversation with her, she passes him by, so he interjects by bringing Marcus into the topic. She is now interested because get this, she also has a twelve year old son too. So now he has another fictional kid, but one he can produce. Unlike the disappearing toddler that goes with his surgeon mum last minute. This film is by far, the funniest work yet for Grant. He is totally convincing as the self absorbed, cynical womanizing immature man/child. The kid Marcus is brilliant too. Grant has a knack for humor and it is best served in British comedies like Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral and About a Boy. The British terms and slang is refreshing from the tired overused dialogue that is commonly used in Hollywood movies. The same slang that went over so well in Bridget Jones’s Diary only kicked it up a notch. Nick Hornby wrote the novel to About a Boy and Peter Hedges developed the screenplay. Hornby’s other writing credits include the novel to High Fidelity that starred John Cusak in the movie adaptation. I give this brilliant comedy a 10 on the About Movies.com scale so if you can’t tell, I fancied this movie. Bu Bye.
Last updated: Thursday, March 20, 2008 02:48:13 AM Click Here to get back into frames.
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