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 Director
: Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz
Starring
: Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Sharon Small,
Madison Cook, Nicholas Hoult, Nat Gastiain Tena.
Picture
2.35:1 Anamorphic, DD 5.1, Dual-Layer, Keep Case
Running
Time : 98 mins
The
story:
Growing
up has nothing to do with age.
Will
(Hugh Grant) is a 38-year old Londoner living a bachelor
lifestyle on the back of royalties earned from a Christmas
song penned by his father some years previously. A serial
womaniser, Will comes up with the idea of attending a single
parents group as a new way to pick up women. Inventing a
two-year old son for himself, he meets lonely, bullied schoolboy
Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) and his depressed, music therapist
mother (Toni Collette). The intelligent Marcus soon learns
Will's secret and so blackmails him into letting him hang
out at his place and watch afternoon telly. However, what
starts out as an uneasy quiz show watching alliance turns
into an unlikely friendship.
The summary:
Following
on from the success of High Fidelity, the rights to Nick
Hornby's next book had already been snapped up long before
it had been published. Of course, Hornby's books are considered
far too English to be successful in America, so step up
Chris and Paul Weitz (of American Pie fame) to give it the
American touch. Then add Hugh Grant to the project to remind
us it's supposed to be English and you have a sure-fire
success on your hands.
About
A Boy is a comedy drama in the same vein as Bridget Jones
and is surprisingly
effective. Grant plays the
shallow bachelor superbly and turns even the most serious
scenes into a comical farce. His relationship with Marcus
is the focus of the story and whilst the story highlights
some serious real-life issues (such as single parents kids
lacking a father figure), there's always a light-hearted
moment to raise a smile. The funniest thing about Will is
his shallowness, which I'm sure many men can relate to.
When presented with the offer of being a Godfather Will
replied "I'd be the worst possible Godfather. I'd probably
drop her on her head at her christening. I'd forget all
her birthdays until she was 18. Then I'd take her out and
get her drunk. And, let's face it, quite possibly try and
sleep with her".
This
is a very strong story and the fact it's still a funny comedy
is all the more remarkable.
Grant as I mentioned is fantastic as trendy Will, and has
great on-screen chemistry with the gifted Nicholas Hoult
(Marcus). Both take part in narrating to keep the view up
to date on their feelings and thoughts on situations, which
works well in keeping the story flowing. From beginning
to end this was a joy to watch and one which will become
a firm favourite for years to come. Forget Notting Hill,
this is Grants best movie yet and is a great lads alternative
to Bridget Jones!
This
is a fairly decent package from Universal - a very good
transfer that can't be faulted for image or audio quality
but let down by a lacklustre set of extras. The deleted
scenes are worth watching as is the short 'making-of' featurette
but that's about all. Still, the film more than makes up
for this and About A Boy comes as a definite recommendation.
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