Rating: 
Summary: Hornby's best book as a movie
Review: In yet another year where comedies have been painfully dominated by the sort of sophomoric gross-out humor revitalized by "American Pie," "About a Boy" was a real standout. (Ironically, it's directed by the Weitz brothers, who also directed "American Pie." Go figure.) Based on the novel by Nick Hornby ("High Fidelity"), Hugh Grant ("Four Weddings and a Funeral") plays a confirmed bachelor with no real human connections, no job, and no need for one (he's independently wealthy, and it's a humorous twist when you find out why). His world changes when he meets a single mother (Toni Collette, "The Sixth Sense") and her young son (standout newcomer Nicholas Hoult) that start to put a little perspective to his world.In any other writer's hands this would have turned into a sappy romance between Grant and Collette, but that never happens here. The movie is, instead, about Grant and Hoult and how their unlikely friendship shapes them both. Plus it's just really funny, and never what you'd expect.
Rating:
Summary: Hugh Grant's Best Role; Award Winning Acting Job
Review: If it were easy to win the Oscar with a comedic role, the next one might well be Hugh Grant's for his performance in "About A Boy." Actually, it is both a comedic and dramatic role so it gives us the full range of his talent, which is much more considerable that I initially thought it was. I first saw him in the drama "Maurice" and I thought he was good but little did I foresee that some day people would be calling him a comic genius. I've seen 3 films now based on Nick Hornby's novels, with Grant, Colin Firth and John Cusack as the leads in each film. Grant and his directors, the Weitz brothers, are the ones who do Hornby best. I also must give Grant credit for taking roles lately that play against his charming, bumbling Englishman routine, which he did to perfection in "Notting Hill" and other films. Most actors don't take risks with that kind of success but he has. I believe it started when he took the part of an English cad to Traci Ullman in a Woody Allen movie and then went on to play a super but adorable rat in "Bridget Jones." The film itself contains an inventive plot. Grant plays a man who has had to do nothing his entire life but lay around and chase women because he inherited money from his father's one tune mega hit. He finds that single women with children are easier prey than their childless counterpart. This leads to his using a boy he meets as a pretend son to help him score with women. The boy has his own problems, with a suicidal mother and not fitting in at school. The film turns on what occurs between these two characters and the other characters who intersect with them. It is rare to find an actor who can do comedy, drama and romance who is also great looking but Grant is indeed that actor. I thought the boy actor was also very good.
Rating:
Summary: Hugh's Best Movie
Review: "About a Boy" is the best movie I have seen Hugh Grant in. He plays a single man whose seen his friends get married and have children. He tries to find a way to meet women by going to a group for single mothers. He pretends to be a single father to win their affection. Which he does. However, he comes across an awkward boy. The boy is out of place and out of touch because his mother is out of place and out of touch. He befriends the child who is a target for bullies showing him that it's okay to be cool and good.
The boy who doesn't seem to fit in with anyone, meets a punk rock girl that he fancies. She at first, doesn't care for him but grows to like him. Both man and boy learn that no one person is an island. People need people.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Just About a Boy
Review: After the sucessful "High Fidelity", another Nick Hornby novel was adapted to the big screen. This time the Weitz Bros (of "American Pie" fame) are the chosen directors, and they manage to deliver an entertaining, honest and meaningful comedy that`s above many laugh-a-minute flicks out there.
Like most Nick Hornby`s oeuvres, "About a Boy" presents a funny, intelligent story that deals with the subject of isolation, loneliness, personal growth and contact with those who surround us, approaching this themes in a simple, natural and engaging way.
Will (played by a convincing Hugh Grant) is the typical late twenties slacker who lives in his own world and doesn`t bother much with what goes on beyond his reduced circle, living a shallow, selfish and uninteresting everyday routine. Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) is a smart though lonely kid that has no friends or motivations, and whose only companion is his single, neurotic and depressed mother (Toni Collette). As the movie develops, Will and Marcus become friends and forge a personal bond, providing some hilarious, clever moments and a couple of touching ones, too.
This, like "High Fidelity", is a guy flick, since men are the ones who can find some situations here more relatable, though it still is a worthwile movie for everyone anyway. Personally, I could identify with both Marcus and Will, discovering parallels between my life and theirs.
Despite its somewhat predictable plot, "About a Boy" is nonetheless a witty, poignant picture, with an intriguing storytelling and a couple of well-observed details about mundane life (Will`s cynical description of time passing through). And it even has an interesting and appealing soundtrack by offbeat indie star Badly Drawn Boy.
Worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: whatch this movie
Review: "About a boy" is the latest adaption of one of Nick Hornby's novels. Hugh Grant plays the lead character called Will, a 36-years-old man who has never worked a solid day's work in his life, living instead on the royalties from a sappy Christmas carol written by his dad many years ago.
His days consist of units of time - watching TV, taking a bath etc. making a very full day and with absolutely no possibility of fitting work in there at all. He is happy, or so he has convinced himself, but his married friends worry about his lack of responsibility and his failure to appreciate just how wonderful life with a screaming two year old, 40 hours and more a week of working, mother-in-laws, no guilt-free casual sex and suchlike really is... A blind date set up by a meddling friend lands Will in a relationship with a single mum - but it changes his life.
No, he does not suddenly get broody, find kids a joy etc. but it does start off a chain of events wich will change his life. Furthermore the story tells, in which clever way Will tries to meet more single mums and it is described the development of the relationship between a 12-years-old outsider called Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) and Will. The camera effects are often rather bizarre. Some of them do enhance the scene, but others just seem plain irritating. Several are quite dizzying and the use of the "paused" still annoyed me somewhat.
The movie warrants its 12 certificate, as there are lots of swear words in it and one rather disturbing scene.
Overall, "About a boy" plays with your emotions. You will laugh a lot then be left gawping for a while, before the pace changes and you are back piggling. Finally I can say: watch this movie
Rating:
Summary: Great movie
Review: Somehow Hugh Grant and the film-makers turned this extremely shallow and emotionally clueless person into someone I really cared about. The young man, the Marcus character, was so sad and funny. He reminded me a little too much of grade school (shudder). Toni Collette as the mum was both pitiful and hopeful, all at once. If you want to watch a movie about how people really can change for the better sometimes, here it is. There is romance, and there is comedy, but I think this movie kind of rises above those (rather played-out) genres. I loved it.
Rating:
Summary: Great Light Entertainment!
Review: This is a really entertaining if slightly lightweight film. Good story line, wonderful characters, witty dialogue and excellent acting throughout. In fact all the main characters give wonderful performances-none more then Hugh Grant who was an actor I really didn't care much for until recently. He is superb as the spoilt likeable rogue who is the centrepiece of the movie. He's inherited mountains of money from his father who happened to have a fluke Christmas hit in the 50's. The substantial royalty acts as both a blessing and a curse as this journey of discovery takes him from being someone who has brief romances, never has to work, has all the latest gadgets and fashion accessories and of course lives a complete live of leisure. Yet he soon comes to realise that his life is pretty shallow-there's nothing interesting about him, he may as well be a handsome cardboard caracuture. He discovers that single mothers are a great source of romance and it is here he eventually discovers the other lead-the boy Marcus. This boy lives with his closetted, veggie, depressed hippy Mom played by the amazing Toni Colette. Grant pretends to have a son but Marcus discovers his secret and sort of inflicts himself on Grant. You see both characters need each other but obviously in very different ways.
This is a great piece of light entertainment-some of the scenes are hilarious and the dialogue is generally sharp, witty and yet cringe-inducing at the same time. Like another film based on Nick Hornby's writing High Fidelity-some of About A Boy's funniest moments come through the characters expressing their thoughts in a monologue. This film kept me entertained throughout-and even the duller moments you still have the stupendous soundtrack composed by Badly Drawn Boy to enjoy.
Rating:
Summary: Great example of good adaptation, good ex. of bad directing
Review: It rarely occurs that the movie is better than the novel, this, of course, is not the case here. Nick Hornby's "About a Boy" is one of my favorite novels to come out of the nineties, a cynical look at single life and an awakening to something greater. And the film gets this across wonderfully. Nick Hornby is a great writer and it seems that his books make great movies, much like 2000's adaptation of "High Fidelity". (I can't wait to see what becomes of his newest novel, "How to be Good", it's really good by the way.) Yet, between the novel and the film there is always something that gets lost...
Hugh Grant stars as Will, a self-absorbed thirty-eight year old well-to-do English bum, living off the royalties of his fathers one hit wonder from 1958, a now traditional Christmas tune. Nicholas Hoult stars as Marcus, a twelve-year old who deals with his suicidal mother and the common teasings in the school yard. Both of these roles were played to perfection. I have never been one to praise Hugh Grant, for his ability in acting has forever been tainted as "The Charming Brit." Yet, by the end of this film I was fully convinced and I loved him and his character. Toni Collette, who I have loved since I saw "Cosi!"(a small 1997 Australian film), stars as Marcus' mother who begins and ends each day with an almost ritual crying. Once again, I wasn't surprised at her outstanding performance. Rachel Weisz, as Will's genuine love interest, was beautiful and played with the perfect amount of charm and subtlety.
There is an element at play here within the film that could make one cringe if it were to bother them enough as it did me. The two directors, Chris and Paul Weitz, whose endeavors include "American Pie" and "Down to Earth", were perhaps not qualfied for the job of directing such a film. The film is a simple one with simple dialogue, simple acting, and simple humor. Yet, the Weitz Brothers try to add an element which should not exist. The camera angling seemed odd and very awkward at moments. Such shots as reflections in door knobs and TV screens that just didn't fit. The Weitz Brothers problem may be in the fact that through trying to redeem themselves, they have dug a deeper hole. This is a great example of bad filmmaking. Trying to complicate a simple scene with supposed artsy camera angling. I didn't buy it, and it came off cliched and unaffectual...which doesn't help when the film is supposed to be redeeming.
The adaptation was wonderful, there were some things from the book I would've like to see in the film, but for film you must make sacrifices. The thing about adapting a book to film that was hardly written over five years ago is that people will forever remember the film before the book. If you adapt a classic like "Huckleberry Finn" to film, everyone still remembers the book. I say, wait a little longer, let the book take its place and let it be remembered for a book, not a film. Personal opinion here folks.
Overall, great acting, great adaptation, but some really shotty decisions made by the two directors. If you can overlook that, this is very refreshing film that will literally leave you with a large smile upon your face.
Rating:
Summary: It¿s Hugh Grant¿s best work to date.
Review: I first saw this movie while on a business trip to Chattanooga. I needed to finish up some work on a presentation I was making the next day and there was nothing on TV, so I decided to splurge and rent an On-Demand movie. Most of the movies I had either seen, or had no interest in seeing and just as I was about to turn it off, I came across About A Boy. I hadn't heard much buzz about the movie and I'm not a fan of Hugh Grant, but for reasons unknown to me, I rented it. I was expecting another one of Hugh Grant's saccharine romantic comedies where he plays a charming befuddling fop as he's done ad nauseam since Four Weddings And A Funereal. Granted, I liked Four Weddings immensely, but by Notting Hill I'd had my fill. Much to my surprise, Grant was playing a completely different character and was clearly attempting to break his mold. He'd done that once before in Bridget Jones' Diary, where he played a jerk, but now he was taking it in another direction entirely. It's a refreshing and more importantly interesting change. But this movie isn't all about Hugh Grant's character Will. His co-star is new comer Nicholas Hoult, who plays the boy Marcus and he carries his own. Ultimately, the movie is about both of them, and so Hoult has the responsibility of carrying half the weight of the movie and he does a splendid job. Rounding out the cast is Toni Collette and Rachel Weisz, each do an excellent job as well. Suffice to say that the casting for this movie is brilliant. Each character is fully developed and rich with complexity and emotion. I bought each and every one of them. Not once did I feel that there was a weak link in the bunch. That's also surprising because this type of movie is hard to pull off. So what kind of movie is this? At it's heart, this movie is a comedy. That being said, with subject matter such as suicide, it is most definitely a drama as well. That's a fine line to walk in a film but Weitz Brothers deftly manage to pull it off. Granted their movie is based on the Hornby book by the same name, so they had a rich palette to begin with, but the brothers clearly rose to the challenge and created a fantastic movie. There have been plenty of good books that have been butchered at the box office and Boy is a rare exception. There's no cliche' choices made by the characters and the director's did a great job at staying true to the tone of the book. Chris and Paul also stretched themselves with their camera work and it pays off. If you're into "film" there's a lot to chew on between the use of jump cuts, depth of focus and swing shots. None of this gets in the way of the movie. If anything these camera techniques add to the performances and help tell the story. Interweaving it's way throughout the movie and in some cases almost playing a role in the film, is the music and it is spot on. All the music was written by Badly Drawn Boy specifically for this movie. I was not familiar with the artist prior to seeing the film, but the director's couldn't have made a better choice. Although each song stands on it's own on the soundtrack, each song also easily blends into the scene and lends a hand in creating just the right tone for the movie. After listening to the soundtrack, I could imagine it as simply a regular artist release, so it stands on it's own. Yet when it's worked into the movie it's pure gold. So why do I like it so much? I'd like to think that I'm not alone in this, but it's because I can relate to the movie on so many levels. There are so many scenes that I could describe, but in the end I would be retelling the entire movie. Every scene has something in it that is worth watching again and again. I can relate to Marcus as he's picked on in school, tries to cope with his mother's depression and ultimately knowingly faces complete and utter embarrassment as a last ditch effort to make his mother happy. The names and places have been changed to protect the innocent, but I've been there. Then there's Will who has to finally face his demons and his father's legacy in order to join the human race and be a part of other peoples lives. Although not an exact context, I've been there in one way shape or form. Surprisingly, I caught myself watching it again the other day on DVD and it struck me that this movie is now in my Top 10, or dare I say Top 5 movie list. I maybe be borrowing from another fantastic Hornby book/movie High Fidelity, but it's true. It's not Citizen Kane, but it is one of the best movies that takes a funny look at becoming a man through two different people. In trying to describe this movies to others, I've called it "A guy's romantic comedy." That doesn't really nail it on the head, but I'd like to think that About A Boy, IS a guy's movie. The subject matter may not have Rambo's, or Rocky's, but any guy who can think about something other than sports, or monster trucks should get something from this movie. It's Hugh Grant's best work to date. It's based on a hugely successful book and it's funny as hell. What's not to like?
Rating:
Summary: At least a comedy that is not only to laugh
Review: The fifth star of this movie is awarded to the DVD itself. It's really enjoyable not only the making off, but the cut scenes and the off-commentaries of the directors. It is interesting to see the real job of editing and making off this excellent film. I like it very much the way Hugh Grant (Will) and the boy Nicholas Hoult (Marcus) tell the story as it goes for both of them. It seems that complicity of both characters is totally represented by both actors. I have seen Hugh Grant in a huge number of romantic comedies and I didn't expect much of him but THIS IS DIFFERENT. As he says in the extra material he represents 100% a British, rich, handsome, useless bachelor. He is even more irresistible for children than for women. Some acting parts are beautifully absurd: when Will plays guitar helping Marcus to sing "Killing Me Softly", when he goes to the SPAT to meet all divorced women into therapy, when Marcus tries to conquer the older girl by singing his brand-new rap CD... And taking in mind the work of the directors, I think now I am even able to go and watch "American Pie".
|
