About a Boy Review
Directors Chris and Paul Weitz are known for co-directing American Pie with each director directing their own films. Chris directed Twilight: New Moon and Paul directed Little Fockers. But before they split up, they directed About a Boy. The film is an adaptation of Nick Hornby's novel of the same name. The film stars Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult (in his first film) as the two main characters and Rachel Weisz and Toni Collette in supporting roles.
Will (Grant) is a man-child who is rich because his father wrote a very famous Christmas song. He lives off of the royalties and spends his money on shoes, CDs, and more uselesss things. Marcus (Hoult) is a 12 year old who lives with his depressed mother (Collette). Will spends his days hitting on women, and his new venture is hitting on single mothers at group meetings. He even goes so far as to invent an imaginary kid who's mother is an abuser. He gets a lot of sympathy from the mothers which is exactly what he wants. When Marcus's mom attempts to commit suicide while Marcus is hanging out with Will and one of the other mothers, he grows attached to Will and even goes to his house after school. As the film progresses, the two grow close and learn things about life from each other, especially when Will falls in love with another woman (Weisz).
About a Boy is adapted from the Nick Hornby novel and if it wasn't for the perfect performances from the cast, the film could have failed. All of the cast members are funny when they need to be and serious when they need to. They convey their emotions perfectly and the characters come to life. They also have fantastic chemistry. The writing is done so well that you don't feel the film is full of different storylines. Will growing out of his womanizer ways. Marcus going through life with a depressed mother and dealing with school bullies. Will trying to find a way to keep his new girlfriend while still keeping her convinced that Marcus is his child. It seems like it is a lot to have in a film but, as stated above, the writing is done so well that it all flows well together. This film is not as well known in America as it is in the United Kingdom but it is a charming film that deserves a watch for the performances and the screenplay itself.
