Rating: 
Summary: Feel-good movie.
Review: Look! Hugh Grant can play a character with some depth! Who knew? Finally there's a movie that portrays people who are single-and-looking in a way that doesn't patronise either sex or otherwise glory in the pitfalls of commitment. Hugh Grant plays a shallow commitment-phobe who discovers that his worldly trappings and super-cool image aren't as important as love. Corny I know, and yet the acting and script are crisp and refreshing, bringing a life to this movie that truly makes it stand out from the tepid fare this genré propagates. Toni Collette (The Sixth Sense, etc) shows us once again how well she can act. She plays an eccentric, depressed single mother in a way that makes us empathise with her and feel genuinely sorry for her, rather than dismiss her as a loser. Nicholas Hoult plays the child of Collette, and shows a great deal of maturity in his acting. His character is an outcast, but he gives such a convincing performance that, coupled with the script, he rises miles above the stereotypical "nerd/loser" that is so liberally scattered amongst Hollywood movies for cheap laughs. This movie is directed by Paul and Chris Weitz of American Pie fame, but I'd never had known this had I not read the back cover. This is a brilliant, feel-good movie with a positive message and plenty of hugely funny scenes.
Rating: 
Summary: my opinion
Review: i'm just making my experiment with the movie i've rented i.e. just watch and turn off the sound and i find this movie's pretty boring people sit down talk talk stand up walk and talk it seems nothing's really happened and all of the roles look not so interesting so i don't have patience to watch it again...i mean formally. but all the things in it like Will's car and house and his friends' apartments, shops and the goods in them and the scenery of the city(which one is it? London?) are great.
Rating:
Summary: Hugh Grant Does It Again
Review: Romantic comedies may be the most over-populated cinematic genre. Still, there is always room for one more if it is as good as About a Boy. Hugh Grant gives yet another effortless performance as Will, the yuppie playboy. He shuns commitment and lasting relationships until he crosses paths with a quirky 11-year-old named Marcus. About a Boy is as warm as it is funny. It manages to be entertaining and thought-provoking at the same time. In addition to Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult (Marcus), the supporting cast of Toni Collette and Rachel Weisz give a fine performance. It is definitely a DVD to buy and watch over and over.
Rating:
Summary: HUGH GRANT and an Oscar-nominated script...it's GREAT!
Review: Hugh Grant is one of my favorite film performers. Notice I don't say "actor." He doesn't really act, per se, since he's always riffing on basically the same character...usually with varying degrees of charming, slightly goofy befuddlement (NOTTING HILL, 9 MONTHS) or charm barely concealing nastiness (BRIDGET JONES). In a film such as EXTREME MEASURES, where he played a doctor turned amateur sleuth, he just wasn't convincing. So much of his success lies with his ability to pick roles tailor made for him, such as in 4 WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. He's an intelligent leading man with impeccable comedic delivery. When the material written for him is good, he is GREAT. When it's mediocre, he's only OK to watch. ABOUT A BOY is the best script he's had to date (well, maybe 4 WEDDINGS is...hard to say). He plays a rich, single lout who lives only to indulge himself and score with women. He truly only thinks of his own pleasures...most of which are remarkably humdrum. He's not a creep or pervert or hedonist, really, he's just monumentally self-indulgent. He didn't even earn his fortune, he inherited it. One day, he gets the bright idea of meeting women by joining a single-parent's support group. He'll just pretend to be a single father, and all the single women who will greatly outnumber him will fall all over themselves over him. AND HE'S RIGHT!!! But this is just where the movie gets started. Through a series of events involving trying to keep his secret just that, he ends up being stuck with a teenaged boy who is awkward and fatherless and extremely nerdy who also takes a liking for Grant and starts showing up at his apartment door every afternoon to watch TV. Grant can't get rid of him...it's a kind of mild blackmail situation. But slowly, slowly, slowly, the two begin to bond. Grant, through sheer annoyance, begins to bully the kid into being less of a schlep. And this tiny kernel of interest in another human being slowly begins to gnaw away at Grant's insular world. He's upset by the changes he sees in himself, but he also becomes enchanted with the unique feeling of actually making an impression on others. The movie is very funny and has lots of near farcical situations. The laughs are never cheap, though, and most of the humor is character driven. It's not an action packed film, but I laughed outloud at LOTS of it...Grant's delivery has never been better. But it was also moving, but in a very non-Hollywood, tear-jerking way. The viewer is nearly as startled as Grant's character to see that we've grown to really care about the main characters. This is a terrific, moving comedy. Every character is fully realized, even if only on screen for a scene or two. It's beautifully filmed in London and there's not one moment where you feel you're watching an American movie. It feels British through and through (how weird for a film directed and produced by the brothers who brought us AMERICAN PIE...another movie that had surprising touches of drama that actually worked). It's a sophisticated movie, sure to be hated by most kids...not that kids ever go to Hugh Grant movies anyway. But for intelligent adults looking for a great two hours, with a story unlike any seen before, CHECK IT OUT!! Highly, highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Hugh Grant Does It Again
Review: I must admit that when I first watched this movie in the theatre I didn't even care for it much. After a second (and third, and fourth) viewing however, I look back and don't understand why I couldn't recognize it for the truly great movie that it is. There is a ton of dry, "high-brow" humor here. Hugh Grant remains the cinema king of light-hearted humor... But let's hope he goes back to playing more likeable characters, which is what we know him best for.
Rating:
Summary: About more than a boy
Review: This movie has been pegged as a romantic comedy, but it's actually more of a comedy/drama. While there is romance, that does not come until later in the film and there's so much more to this film than that. After seeing as much as I could stand of Bridget Jones' Diary, and hearing that the same writer wrote the story that this film was based on, I was skeptical even though Hugh Grant was in it. I like Hugh Grant. I think his comedic timing is fantastic, he rates very high on the charm scale, he's not bad to look at, and that accent is to die for. HOWEVER, Bridget Jones' Diary appeared to be a mistake for Mr. Grant in my eyes. Alas, curiosity won over, I couldn't resist, and I watched About A Boy anyway. I was pleasantly surprised! This movie was full of humor, intelligent humor as well as below the belt humor. Hugh was a pleasure to watch in this film that seemed to be tailored to him, for what we know of the real life Grant. Grant plays a shallow, womanizing, self-proclaimed forever bachelor who has no interest in children. Enter a boy. Enter a troubled boy from a troubled home who has a bit of social trouble at school. Grant, being nothing if not rich and suave, winds up helping this boy that he initially wanted nothing to do with. Along the way, he does find romance and he finds himself -- a new and improved self. He also manages to make a difference in the lives of the other lead characters. All in all, this one is definitely worth a watch if not an own. If you're a fan of Grant's charm and humor in movies like Nine Months and Notting Hill, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: Perfect
Review: The success of this unquestionably charming film lies in its casting. Hugh Grant, Toni Collett and Nicholas Hoult are each obscenely talented in their own right and posess a spot-on grasp of their characters. Hoult's portrayal of the awkward and introspective Marcus is particularly sharp: a shy and authentic misfit whose only real human connection is with his emotionally unbalanced mother. That is of course until he meets Will (Hugh Grant) an emotionally unavailable thirty something that has no time in his life for the troubles of a young boy. Grant's character is an entertaining cross between the devilishly sly character he played in Bridget Jones and the adorable geek he played in Notting Hill. What's wonderfully rare about this film is that it's touching without being the least bit overdone or precious. Through dealing with issues brought up by Marcus' mothers attempted suicide and Grant's relationship with his deceased father and issues of emotional isolation the film holds on to its sense of humor and charm. 'About a Boy' never tries to be what its not and as a result turns out to be a paradoxically heartbreaking and hilarious film that you'll want to watch over and over. Badly Drawn Boy's terrific soundtrack and the direction of Paul and Chris Weitz (perhaps most famous for the 'American Pie' Trilogy) are also part of the film's strong points.
Rating:
Summary: Charm o' Plenty in this Feel-Great Movie
Review: This is a warm and funny movie that is safe viewing for the entire family. Moreso than many big-time comedies these days, this movie gives you something to "sink your teeth into," so to speak. Hugh Grant drops much of the annoying mannerisms that ruin most of his performances. The boy that shares so much of the screentime practically walks away with the picture. Special note must be made of the great soundtrack, done by Badly Drawn Boy. The music compliments the movie perfectly. The "special features" on the disc, well, there are a few to be found but I ignore all supplementary material. Why would I want to hear the filmmakers rambling on and on while I'm trying to watch an otherwise stupendous movie.
Rating:
Summary: Best Comedy of 2002
Review: About a Boy was the best comedy of 2002 if you want to call such a thoughtful movie a comedy. Hugh Grant is very winning playing this less than winning character developing character contrary to his best instincts. Grant has no life and yet the perfect life doing what ever he pleases at any moment of the day. He dates whomever and wastes time watching game shows. Living on an inheritance, Grant doesn't much care for anything but spending money and being a bum. Through circumstances that were supposed to get him eager women with no strings attached, he becomes attached to a 12 year-old kid who needs his help. At first, Grant ignores the kid, but the kid persists and Grant becomes more involved than he ever intended to. Eventually his real devotion of the kid makes him the human being he was trying not to become. It's a great movie because it is both funny and it has an important lesson. The characters are stereotypes. They do things that you wouldn't predict. Where the movie is supposed to be warm and fuzzy it is actually realistic and not so neat. The DVD has the usual making of documentary and no commentary much to my dismay. The movie is good enough alone that I would recommend buying it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I loved this movie... You couldn't help but laugh when Marcus kept harrassing Will (Hugh Grant) and kept trying to hook up his mother with him. And whenever that Christmas song came on at every store/radio station you couldn't help but laugh out loud. Hugh Grant's performance is stellar. A funny, cute, feel good movie with good lessons.
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