About a Boy (2002)

Directors:

Chris Weitz
Paul Weitz

Writers (WGA):

Nick Hornby (novel)
Peter Hedges (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Growing up has nothing to do with age.

Plot:

Based on Nick Hornby's best-selling novel, About A Boy is the story of a cynical, immature young man who is taught how to act like a grown-up by a little boy

Plot Keywords:

Single Parent | Mother Son Relationship | Life Lesson | Slice Of Life | Playboy

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Hugh Grant	...	Will
Nicholas Hoult	...	Marcus
Sharon Small	...	Christine
Madison Cook	...	Imogen
Jordan Cook	...	Imogen
Nicholas Hutchison	...	John
Ryan Speechley	...	Barney
Joseph Speechley	...	Barney
Toni Collette	...	Fiona
Natalia Tena	...	Ellie (as Nat Gastiain Tena)
Laura Kennington	...	Ellie's Friend
Tanika Swaby	...	Ellie's Friend
Peter McNicholl	...	Ellie's Friend
Christopher Webster	...	Ellie's Friend
Ben Ridgeway	...	Lee, the Bully

Also Known As:

About a Boy oder: Der Tag der toten Ente (Germany)
Pour un garçon (France)
Om en pojke (Finland: Swedish title) (Sweden) [sv]
Un gran chico (Argentina) (Mexico) [es]
About a Boy (Finland) [fi]
About a Boy oder: Der Tag der toten Ente (Austria) [de]
About a boy - Un ragazzo (Italy) [it]
Bir erkek hakkinda (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Byl sobie chlopiec (Poland) [pl]
Comme un garçon (Canada: French title) [fr]
Egy fiúról (Hungary) [hu]
Era Uma Vez Um Rapaz (Portugal) [pt]
Gia ena agori (Greece) [el]
Gutter er gutter (Norway) [no]
Poika (Finland) [fi]
Sve zbog jednog djecaka (Croatia) [hr]
Totul despre baieti (Romania) [ro]
Um Grande Garoto (Brazil) [pt]
Un niño grande (Spain) [es]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK | USA | France | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:10 | Canada:PG | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38482)

Filming Locations:

BFI IMAX Cinema, Charlie Chaplin Walk, South Bank, London, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Brad Pitt turned down the lead role of Will Freeman on the grounds that it was implausible that someone so attractive would need to pretend to be a single father to meet women. He nevertheless appears in the film (sort of) - he is on the cover of an issue of "Esquire" magazine that Will is reading in his flat.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Will is at the single parent meeting, his hair changes repeatedly between shots.

Quotes:

Marcus: [Opening a Christmas present] Oh brilliant! What is it?...
Will: It's a CD Marcus...

Movie Connections:

Features "Countdown" (1982)

Soundtrack:

Feliz Navidad

Hugh Grant in non-annoying role shock! And he's quite funny too

`About a Boy' was being touted as a great make over for Hugh Grant… and it is. Gone is his infamous bumbling English fop role, his fluffy hair lost to a sharp, more stylish cut. Here he plays a rich selfish layabout, Will, who cruises through life on the royalties from a song his deceased father penned years ago. He finds a great way to meet women who don't want to get involved through a single mother's group – which is where he meets the strange twelve year old boy Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), who lives with his depressed, suicidal mother Fiona (Toni Collette). A tragic event sees Marcus seeking comfort with the indifferent Will who begins to realise that there's more to life than sitting around at home all day.

Hugh Grant is on peak form here – he sheds his old roles for that of a fresher, younger man. He is able to convey charm and selfishness not just through words, but also through his mannerisms. He even conveys genuine affable warmth later on in the movie, without making my teeth grate… Equally impressive is Toni Collette as Marcus' sad mother. Her character has a tragic feeling to it, a real sense of world-weariness conveyed in a great combination of makeup and acting. The real star of the movie – for me- is Nicholas Hoult as the young boy who helps Will come to realizations about his life. He doesn't get by on cute good looks, like far too many kid actors, because he can actually act – from the innocence of a child (when he tries to get his mother and Will together), to the simplistic musings of children who can't understand why some people hurt (such as his mother). Like Osment (whom he amusing compares himself to), Hoult shows that child actors are just as, if not more so, capable as their elders.

The script of the movie is witty, without being outright hilarious. It's what you come to expect of the British comedy market (the weak `Ali G indahouse' aside). It being a British comedy you can predict where it's going to go and there are relatively few surprises along the way. Having said that the characters are sketched strongly enough, and the humour at a high enough level, that you'll be more than entertained along the way.

It's surprising to see that this movie was directed by the `American Pie' Weitz brothers, because they bring a thoughtful, contemplative air to the movie, while never getting bogged down in pointless camera techniques – the most we're left with is some simple screen wipes. They've also chosen well by having Badly Drawn Boy compose the whole soundtrack as it works very well with the film's tone.

There's nothing outstanding in `About a Boy' but what's here is done surprisingly well. It's a nice movie that's quite enjoyable for relaxing to some evening. A 7/10 seems just.