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ABOUT A BOY - DVD MovieA box-office smash in England,
About a Boy went on to charm the world as another fine adaptation (following
High Fidelity) of a popular Nick Hornby novel. While
High Fidelity transplanted its London charm to Chicago, this irresistible comedy was directed by Americans Chris and Paul Weitz (
American Pie) with its British pedigree intact. Better yet, Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Will, a self-absorbed trust-fund slacker who tries to improve his romantic odds by preying on desperate single mothers. His cynical strategy backfires when he recruits the misfit son (Nicholas Hoult) of a suicidal mother (Toni Collette) to pose as his own son, thus proving his parental prowess to his latest single-mom target (Rachel Weisz). The kid has a warming effect on this ultimate cad, and what could have been a sappy! tearjerker turns into a subtle, frequently hilarious portrait of familial quirks and elevated self-esteem. From start to finish, it's a genuine treat.
--Jeff ShannonWill lightman is a good-looking smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named marcus. Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (mca) Release Date: 08/01/2006 Starring: Hugh Grant Toni Collette Run time: 102 minutes Rating: Pg13 Director: Chris Weitz/paul WeitzA box-office smash in England,
About a Boy went on to charm the world as another fine adaptation (following
High Fidelity) of a popular Nick Hornby novel. While
High Fidelity transplanted its London charm to Chicago, this irresistible comedy was directed by Americans Chris and Paul Weitz (
American Pie) with its British ped! igree intact. Better yet, Hugh Grant is perfectly cast as Will! , a self -absorbed trust-fund slacker who tries to improve his romantic odds by preying on desperate single mothers. His cynical strategy backfires when he recruits the misfit son (Nicholas Hoult) of a suicidal mother (Toni Collette) to pose as his own son, thus proving his parental prowess to his latest single-mom target (Rachel Weisz). The kid has a warming effect on this ultimate cad, and what could have been a sappy tearjerker turns into a subtle, frequently hilarious portrait of familial quirks and elevated self-esteem. From start to finish, it's a genuine treat.
--Jeff ShannonWill Behr lives on his own and does not want children, but he does see the point of single mothers, especially if they look like Julie Christie. Then he meets Marcus, whose parents have split up and who is being persecuted by bullies. Marcus discovers that Will has a lot to teach him about life.Will Lightman is a Peter Pan for the 1990s. At 36, the terminally hip North Londoner is unmarried, hyper! -concerned with his coolness quotient, and blithely living off his father's novelty-song royalties. Will sees himself as entirely lacking in hidden depths--and he's proud of it! The only trouble is, his friends are succumbing to responsibilities and children, and he's increasingly left out in the cold. How can someone brilliantly equipped for meaningless relationships ensure that he'll continue to meet beautiful Julie Christie-like women
and ensure that they'll throw him over before things get too profound? A brief encounter with a single mother sets Will off on his new career, that of "serial nice guy." As far as he's concerned--and remember, concern isn't his strong suit--he's the perfect catch for the young mother on the go. After an interlude of sexual bliss, she'll realize that her child isn't ready for a man in their life and Will can ride off into the Highgate sunset, where more damsels apparently await. The only catch is that the best ! way to meet these women is at single-parent get-togethers. In ! one of N ick Hornby's many hilarious (and embarrassing) scenes, Will falls into some serious misrepresentation at SPAT ("Single Parents--Alone Together"), passing himself off as a bereft single dad: "There was, he thought, an emotional truth here somewhere, and he could see now that his role-playing had a previously unsuspected artistic element to it. He was acting, yes, but in the noblest, most profound sense of the word."
What interferes with Will's career arc, of course, is reality--in the shape of a 12-year-old boy who is in many ways his polar opposite. For Marcus, cool isn't even a possibility, let alone an issue. For starters, he's a victim at his new school. Things at home are pretty awful, too, since his musical therapist mother seems increasingly in need of therapy herself. All Marcus can do is cobble together information with a mixture of incomprehension, innocence, self-blame, and unfettered clear sight. As fans of Fever Pitch and Hig! h Fidelity already know, Hornby's insight into laddishness magically combines the serious and the hilarious. About a Boy continues his singular examination of masculine wish-fulfillment and fear. This time, though, the author lets women and children onto the playing field, forcing his feckless hero to leap over an entirely new--and entirely welcome--set of emotional hurdles.What's a budding musical genius to do in the pent-up lull between albums? Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter Badly Drawn Boy (nee Damon Gough), in his spare time between heralded debut THE HOUR OF BEWILDERBEEST, and a follow-up to be released later in 2002, approached the filmmakers adapting Nick Hornby's acclaimed novel ABOUT A BOY about the soundtrack for the film starring Hugh Grant. There's no question to the logic of the combination as Gough's sublimely literate, disaffected yet still charmingly breezy pop music fits the story of life's apparent losers at two stages of life! , one an apathetic womanizer approaching his 40s, the other a ! bullied misfit boy passing into his teens, between whom an unlikely friendship ensues. A folky singer/songwriter scoring songs to help set the tone of a movie about unlikely friendship could stir up memories of Cat Stevens's unreleased soundtrack for "Harold & Maude," a fair enough assessment. In a similar fashion (but in its own way), Badly Drawn Boy's take on ABOUT A BOY weaves a mournful, yet upbeat tapestry drawing from its source material while managing to enrich the story itself. There are even some pop megahit hooks such as in the rolling "Silent Sigh" and in the head-bobbing, ostensible theme song "Something To Talk About."Will Freeman, a shallow thirty-something bachelor, lives a carefree life courtesy of his deceased father's fortune. Will is terrified of commitment and so decides that single mothers will make the easiest romantic targets... His world is turned around when he meets Marcus, a twelve year old boy. Marcus teaches Will that there is much more to life than loaf! ing around in his London flat and worrying about the latest trends and fashions... Based on the best selling novel by Nick Hornby.
