Pour un garçon

Selfish, self-centered rich `kid' Will Freeman lives alone as an island in London, living off royalties from his father's record. When a new dating trick sees him targeting single mothers because they are easier to dump he unwittingly gets mixed up with Marcus. Marcus is a 12 year old who is bullied at school because of his hippy life style (forced on him by his mother) and struggles at home with his depressed, suicidal mother. At first he sees himself helping his mum by getting Will to like her but gradually Marcus and Will get used to each other and have lessons that both can learn.

Following the steaming success of High Fidelity, another Hornby book makes the transition. However credit should be given for setting the movie in England and not moving it somewhere else (cooler). This however is probably due to the lead being English and very bankable!

The story is of course about blokes….and blokes problems – this is Hornby after all. The plot is simple but the fact that it done with a great deal of wit makes it come across very easily. Occasionally the mix of heavy subjects (Marcus's home life) with the comedy of Will's life is a little uneasy, but after a while it mixes better. The story is pretty revealing – I can see a lot of myself in Will, as many men will, and it is involving then to see Marcus teach him things about life. However, saying that, the best thing about this is the comedy – when Will is involved it is nearly always laugh out loud funny – and that's most of the time.

The directors deal with this film really well – they focus on Grants strengths and also use several really cool visual things to add to the comedy – like quick cuts and freeze frame – but not to the point of annoyance. Surprising that these guys did American Pie! Not the most subtle or clever of comedies…

Grant is excellent here – he easily handles the emotional side of the film and the comedy, but it's in the comedy he excels. His face plays out as many jokes as his words and he is indeed a master at playing this character. However here he has to work harder than when he does his usual `English-fop' stuff, because Will is selfish and not immediately likeable…..I must admit that at the start I struggled to get into the film because I hate these people who spend their time in Notting Hill cafes living off inheritances etc – so it's a credit to Grant that he carries it off. Hoult is not as good – he has too much weight to carry. Hoult has to manage the whole emotional side of the film and at times he can't convince. Collette is good as Fiona but again suffers from not having any of the comedy side of the film. Rachel Weisz was good in a small role but as far as I'm concerned – if she was making this, then she wasn't making another rubbish Mummy film!

Overall this is a successful adaptation of the book. The emotional side and the comedy at times don't sit well together and at times it all feels very lightweight, but ultimately it all comes together. Grant is excellent and excels himself here – when he's on screen the film is hilarious and moves fluidly. Unfortunately it slightly highlights the weaknesses of those around him.

just finished watching this fine fine movie and am still trying to digest it. well...i must say this coming of age ( Hugh's character too )movie made me feel so content after i finished viewing it. i've forgotten how good Hugh grant is in melodramatic comedies and all in all i think the British are the best at these types of comedies. the movie has a decent rating of 7.1 and i would personally give it a 7.5. this is possibly one of Hugh's best efforts and he seemed to have a lot of fun doing it.

as an American i can't understand how our shallow idiotic unintelligent comedies fare so much better then a gem like this. i guess most audiences were like the ones in the school audience during the music talent show. Marcus did the song " killing me softly " because it was one of his mums favorites and even though the audience was banal and cruel he still had the gumption and heart to get up there an perform for his mom. life isn't about trying to fit in and be with the cool crowd, there's so much more important things in life then that and Marcus was mature enough to understand that, with help from Will of course.

well, i won't give anything else away about this movie, but if you're looking for a intelligent, heartwarming, tender, sad and funny movie, this is it. i would recommend this movie to just about anybody over the age of 10. this is one of those hidden little gems that has also a very strong positive message about what is right and what is wrong. there was not one dull moment in this movie and i think i must've chuckle or guffawed about 50 times during the duration of this movie and it's not a long movie.

if you like intelligent tender heartwarming comedic movies where all the actors and actresses were in top form...then you have to watch this movie. one of my favorite comedies all-time.

`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.

About a Boy is a 2002 comedy-drama film co-written and directed by brothers Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz. It is an adaptation of the 1998 novel of the same name by Nick Hornby. The film stars Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, and Rachel Weisz. The film at times uses double voice-over narration, when the audience hears both Will's and Marcus's thoughts. Will is a 36-year-old underachiever with a fear of commitment that leads him to seek out relationships with single mothers, on the assumption that they are more desperate. However, plans go awry when he befriends with Marcus, the weird 12-year-old son of his latest target. Soon, Will and Marcus become friends, and as Will teaches Marcus how to be a cool kid, Marcus helps Will finally to grow up.

This movie really came as a surprise to me. I had read the book shortly before I saw it and when I heard Hugh Grant was going to star and the Weitz brothers were chosen to direct I didn't exactly have high hopes. I thought "American Pie" was funny and all but this kind of story demanded someone more mature, someone clever. This movie, however, turned out to be all that: mature, clever, witty, sensible, honest and, most of all, really funny in such a natural way. Hugh Grant has never been better in any role before or since and the soundtrack by Badly Drawn Boy is just perfect for the movie. The only thing they overdid a little was Toni Collette's character. I've never seen a person like that in real life. What I did like was the way they changed the ending for the movie. Usually that's not a good idea but it totally worked here. After all, I still liked "High Fidelity" a tiny bit better (the movie, not the book), but "About A Boy" comes very close. If you are just as much a fan of this book/movie as I am, get the DVD. There are wonderful deleted scenes on it, which are as funny as the rest of the movie.