Pour un garçon

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.

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.

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.

I was a bit scared about what kind of treatment Chris and Paul Weitz had given the great novel by Nick Hornby. I have to report they did a great job in bringing it to the screen with the help of the screenwriter, Peter Hedges III. It's amazing what they have accomplished in translating the book to the screen and not lose focus in doing so. A great many Hollywood brains should take note of what was accomplish in this film.

Hugh Grant strikes the right amount of hipness, confusion and complete lack of responsibility in his interpretation of Will. He is an actor that brings the right attitude in playing a man about London looking for women, no matter where. He's a prowler looking for women who will fall prey to his charms. Mr. Grant is just perfect for this role.

The biggest surprise though, was the amazing debut of Nicholas Hoult, who just bowled us over as Marcus, the "boy" of the title. This young actor has a great career ahead of him if the people behind him will steer him into the right vehicles because he is a natural. He gives Mr. Grant a run for his money. The chemistry of their time together on screen is basically what was on the book while we were reading it.

Toni Collette plays another mother. Again, her interpretation of Fiona was on target. Rachel Weisz adds beauty to the film as Rachel. Someone should take a good look at this gorgeous woman and perhaps give her and Hugh Grant another vehicle where they can shine once again.

Described by some as a man's version of Bridget Jones Diary the remarkable thing is that it lives up to the description. Hugh Grant, with an excellent script that could have been written especially for him, plays a young confirmed single yuppie socialite, dividing his day into units in which to pack his meaningless but carefree, philandering lifestyle and disposable income. After initially discovering unmarried mothers as a new supply of grateful sexual objects, he becomes drawn into a meaningful life after making friends with a young boy. Avoiding a cheesy ending is one of the film's many triumphs.