Rating: 
Summary: Fun and original comedy
Review: This was in my opinion a fun and original comedy.
I am not a Hugh Grant fan, but he has done a good job in this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Emotional and touching... bits of humor
Review: What a splendid and enjoyable movie! Hugh Grant did not stray far from his bumbly self-absorbed character that he so often plays, but it was completely perfect in this movie. Will is a slacker who lives off of the royalties of a Christmas carol that his father wrote in 1958, he does not work, sits at home all day and watches game shows and "Xena, Warrior Princess". He devises a plan to meet women by going to SPAT meetings (Single Parents Alone Together) and pretending he has a 2 year old son. He does get a date, and seredipitously meets Marcus, an awkward teen whose mother is severely depressed, and has attempted suicide. Will and Marcus' exchanges are very touching, because you realize that they need each other. Will's irresponsible selfishness begins to melt away, and Marcus makes a friend. I loved the "Killing Me Softly" duet, it was great! Both actors were great in this movie--perfect team.
Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: This film is the charming, funny, and heartwarming story about Will, an almost-40 man who's never really done anything serious with his life. Will meets a hopelessly nerdy boy through whom he gains a slightly differed perspective on life and love. Will is brilliantly played by Hugh Grant in the best performance he's given to date. Toni Colette also sparkles as the mother of Marcus. (Marcus is said hopelessly nerdy boy) I loved About A Boy. The whole cast was great and the rich, humorous screenplay deservingly recieved an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay and a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Picture (Musical or Comedy).
I suggest you see About A Boy. Contrary to popular belief, it's not a sappy movie or a chick-flick; just one of the best comedies of 2002!
Rating: 
Summary: It's Really About Friendship
Review: I didn't know anything about this movie before watching, except that it starred Hugh Grant. I found it a very pleasant story.
Hugh Grant, who was perfectly cast for the role, plays Will....a 38 year old man who lives off a trust fund and has no ambition in life except finding women. One day he comes up with a scheme to find them. He attends a meeting of SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together) and pretends to have a son. He meets a woman and arranges a date, but things don't work out exactly as he had planned. The woman he arranges a date with brings along Marcus, the son of another friend. When they arrive home, they find that Marcus's mother had tried to commit suicide. Marcus comes up with a plan of his own, thinking that Will would be the perfect man to make his mother happy again. But things don't go exactly as Marcus plans either.
While not hugely dramatic, it's not a comedy either....though it is lighthearted for the most part. It's a fairly simple story.....one that shows you how true friends can bring out the best in you and how important they are in life. Don't try to read too much it and take it simply for what it is. You'll enjoy it. I did.
Rating:
Summary: Touching but emotional.
Review: This movie is surprisingly good as long as you realize that it is not comedy or up-beat. Yes, there is humor but it isn't the focus of the film. It's the story of a self-absorbed man who finds himself "adopted" by the son of a troubled single mom. The man & boy are using each other to further their own plans but come to find a true bond. Hugh Grant does an excellent job of capturing the charming selfishness of his character. Nicholas Hoult is fantastic as the boy trying to save his mother from herself.
Rating: 
Summary: Time from my life I will never get back!
Review: If you enjoy watching a tormented little boy watch his weird mother suffer with depression, get made fun of at school and only have some adult guy as his friend, this movie is for you. If you want an up beat feel good kind of movie.. keep searching. It was just sad and very very very very very long.
Rating:
Summary: Funny but sweet movie on how we all need back-up
Review: While there is a certain modicum of truth that Hugh Grant seems to play the same personality over and over, i.e. being the Cary Grant of this generation, in this particular movie, he shines out in what's possibly his best role to date since Four Weddings And A Funeral. This isn't solely to his performance of being a self-sufficient selfish loner who can't relate to people who have jobs or families, but the way in which his onscreen narration describes his point-of-view, his philosophy, makes Will an interesting character: "Me, I didn't mean anything about anything to anyone, and I knew that guaranteed me a long, depression-free life." Will is proud to be an island, particularly the holiday resort Ibiza. He describes his life as a TV show. As head of the Will Show, which isn't an ensemble drama, "people come and go, but it comes down to [him] alone." Will tries picking up women at a single parents support group, SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together), and falls for Suzie. After his mother suffers a depressive spell, Marcus later realizes he needs a backup, and turns to Will, with whom he spends time with after school, thus drastically changing the format of the Will Show. Without going into too much detail, something drastic happens to the star of the Will Show as well--he becomes more human, more connected, gains a soul, etc. The one good thing I'm noticing about certain movies is that they bring out the pains of being a kid who doesn't fit in, gets picked on, and tries to but due to external forces, can't. In Marcus's case, his mother stands out as a "granola basket case" as Will describes her, she is vegetarian, and is unaware of the need for kids to fit into their peer group via pop culture. Even his sudden singing out in class might've been "cool" among his peers if it had been something like the Mystikal CD Will gives him for Christmas. Instead, he is jeered at for singing the Carpenters' "Rainy Days And Mondays" in class. Much of the other supporting actors really bring this movie to life, especially Nicholas Hoult as Marcus and Rachel Weisz as Rachel, a women Will falls for later on. And Badly Drawn Boy's soft alternative sounds enhance this movie. In the end, the point is regardless of the kind of life one leads, be it living off royalties, being a single parent, etc., it's whether one has the appropriate backup. One doesn't have to join the mainland (mainstream) per se, but as a compromise, be part of an archipelago (distinct lifestyles). There's another subtle message that I might be reading too much into. Will says he's proud he's an island, but it's a "sad fact from time to time, I had to visit the mainland." I wonder if this is a hidden punch at the UK's isolated geographic position as opposed to the continent, Europe, or even its position over the Euro. And what about the title? While About A Boy could well refer to Marcus, who becomes the catalyst in Will's life, it could also be about Will himself, who in his sense of being a blank, might as well be one as well.
Rating:
Summary: A comedy, but much more, too!
Review: While agreeing with a previous commentator's thumbs-up, I respectfully object to describing Marcus as "a little boy". In my book, an 8-year-old might be "a little boy." Marcus, however, is a strapping twelve on the cusp of adolescence. He even acquires a girl friend before the credits roll. This insulting dismissal denies Marcus the sober wisdom and coping skills that he demonstrates, and teaches, in the story. Life has placed him in rather enenviable circumstances, but in many ways he "has it together" better than any other character in the film. Furthermore, while life inside a wall of estrogen might be tolerable for "a little boy," Marcus is decidedly too old for such imprisonment and needs to break out. If a habit of condescension towards kids, or whatever else, prevents a viewer from grasping either of these points, it is unfortunate. This admiration shows even more clearly in the book. I love this film, but now that I have read the novel, I like it even more and would urge everyone who rated this movie high that they owe it to the source of the whole concept to read what he produced. You won't regret it. Although Marcus is somewhat more assertive and occasionally hard-edged in the original, it is by and large a sustained paean to this young man's ethics, good sense and unerring Menschenkeit. I am generally chary of criticizing films based on novels for not representing them more literally, and far be it from me to downgrade the film from five stars-- but in retrospect, one can see that the events leading up to the ending constitute the weakest section. They are rather manipulative and incredible and (in the case of Marcus's flouncing out of Will's apartment in a huff) false to his character. (In the book, he does no such thing, although the dialogue provoking it is in place. He and Will know each other too well by then.) This plot development is entirely the film-maker's idea, and it replaces a denouement in the book that is much richer, tying up loose ends and involving a few characters that had been left with merely ornamental roles in the film (especially Marcus's father and his very eccentric girl friend). One has to wonder why the movie didn't go with it. Its complexities might have required a few more minutes of screen time, but I for one would not have minded at all, because the rest of it is so great, and so is the novel.
Rating:
Summary: It kept my attention....
Review: I loved the movie..even bought it! I didn't like Hugh Grant as an actor but changed my opinion when I saw this picture. He is a shallow lonely man who wakes up and realizes he needs people around him. I especially loved the part on stage when Hugh belted out "Killing me Softly" and took an apple in the head to keep Marcus from getting laughed at later...you won't ever find a guy who would do that for a kid...the choices of music were really good...I plan to get the soundtrack...also...
Rating:
Summary: Best thought-out humor I have seen in a while!
Review: This movie, for all its humor, manages to remain intelligent. Most comedies coming out these days are full of humor based on injuries or sex or something else requiring little though. About a Boy breaks away from the cliche comedies and has more advanced comedy to it. Hugh Grant is a superb part for the role of Will. The music is great too! Don't forget to check out the music videos on the DVD.
| 
