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: 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: (GASP!) Britishness saves the day...
Review: ...if this movie had fallen into the hands of a lesser director, particularly a cloying and schmaltzy American one (read: Steven Spielberg, Joel Schumacher, etc.) this movie could've easily turned into your standard full-blown Hollywood blockbuster of a catastrophe.
Amazingly enough, it fell into the hands of the directors of "American Pie," who were wise enough to keep the film's location in London rather than transplanting it to say New York or LA as was done to Nick Hornsby's other book, "High Fidelity," which was also London-based and barely survived its transplantation to Chicago. Most importantly, they were also wise enough to preserve most of the original book's characteristically British flavor.
You know the kind of vintage Hollywood cheesefest I'm talking about: one of those kitschy, brain-dead, focus-group-spawned, tear-jerking, cheesy-feel-good plotlines affirming "family values" and other assorted crockery with the painfully melodramatic UPLIFTING HAPPY ENDING you could see coming about ten miles away.
Well, this movie comes close to the edge of that abyss but thankfully gets pulled back every time by a very potent antidote: British humor! Otherwise known as sarcasm, irony, wit, and other terms seldom understood in this Bushian age of "reality" shows and semi-retarded presidents. This film is full of that, with a very strong snappy script that could only have been written on that little island off the western coast of Europe...and no, I don't mean Ireland.
There are sprinklings of cheese here and there but plenty of merciful restraint, so all the parts that had me cringing in anticipation of a full-frontal CHEESE ASSAULT actually turned out to fairly well, it was done in the most admirably tasteful moderation.
The special features on this DVD are also noteworthy. I've never seen a film with so many deleted scenes that made me wish they had NOT been deleted! (With most films it's easy to see why the "Deleted Scenes" were deleted.) There's also some music videos and artist info about the British pop band whose music dominates the pleasantly catchy pop soundtrack, and an "English to English" dictionary feature which I'm sure Americans who've never been exposed to British English idioms will find extremely useful.
I'm not sure I could sit and watch this movie more than once, but it was nonetheless an VERY fun 2 hours!
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: About a Boy
Review: After viewing the film, About a Boy, the song "Killing Me Softly" is bound to take on new meaning. Hugh Grant's character, Chase, is a low life heir who has nothing better to do with his time than shop and watch television. In the beginning of the film, Chase goes on a number of dates, which all end in a comical matter. However, all of his relationships are meaningless until he meets a single mother and her son. Being the self-centered man that he is, he is drawn to her motherly qualities. When this woman breaks up with him, he decides to go to a meeting for single parents, while pretending he is a single father. While there, he meets a woman who has a single daughter and makes a date with her. When he arrives at her house there is another young boy there whom she is babysitting.
The boy soon discovers that Chase has no children and threatens to tell the woman if Chase doesn't spend time with him. Not knowing what to do, Chase agrees. Meanwhile, Chase and the other woman break up, Chase tries to let the boy go, but the boy is persistent in arriving at his house everyday after school. As their relationship develops, Chase helps the boy get through all his teenage problems, from girls, to his suicidal mother. The outcome of their relationship leads to a hilarious ending, which would make anyone laugh, whether having seen the movie before or not. At first I was thrown, although amused, by his character's ignorance but by the end of film you couldn't help but love his character.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining and refreshingly plausible comedy
Review: Co- produced by Robert De Niro, and executive produced by Nick Hornby, who wrote the novel on which the movie is based; ABOUT A BOY is a comedy drama which manages to avoid falling into the sentimentality tar pit.
Will Freeman (Hugh Grant- delivering another good performance after his acting stretch in BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY) is a man in his late 30s with no adult responsibilities at all. His life is all work and no play, an enviable barrage of fast cars and casual sex; but when Will is befriended by a geeky 12 year old boy named Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) after Will saves him from being beaten to a pulp by school bullies, the pair gradually form a special bond. For the first time, Will learns the importance of thinking of other people's feelings and needs; and as a result of this new friendship Will who lives with his strictly vegan mother (Toni Collette), another one of those left-wing "Meat is murder" clowns; gets to eat meat as well as being exposed to other delights he has been sheltered from like profanity laden music; as well as earning a healthy dose of self-esteem; which in the end nearly proves to be his undoing...
Hoult and Collette both give excellent performances as well. ABOUT A BOY is by turns sad and funny. My only complaint is the typical Hollywood quick fix ending, which is totally unrealistic. But that's just Hollywood, isn't it? Well worth a gander.
Rating:
Summary: grant in another movie about being confused
Review: Even though one can quickly notice the simularity in the type of movies Grant is in, you can't help but like this movie. Got this for christmas and it has been one of my favorites ever since.
Rating:
Summary: It is never just about a boy .
Review: Excellent comedy from the directors of " American Pie " and " " Down to Earth ". Starring Hugh Grant . By it's speed and meaning reminds me " Four Weddings and a Funeral ". If you did like that one , you definitely going to love " About a Boy ".
Hugh Grant playing Will , some guy who is doing absolutely nothing . Just watching TV all day , picking up CDs in the store , eating lunch and picking up girls later at night . Will living on his fathers "one hit wonder " song's money and his principle in life is very simple - one man is an island . He needs nothing , he wants nothing and he cares about nothing . But one day Marcus ( Nicholas Hoult ) walks in his life and things beginning to change . Marcus is a 6-7 grade kid , growing up with his single and depressed "hippie" mom . He is bullied at school and has no friends . He just started stopping by at Will's place and " hang around ", anyway Will doing nothing all day .
This relationship changed both their lives for better . And finally Will realized the real life he was missing . One man is never an island after all - you change other people lives , same as they change yours .
Rating:
Summary: A contemporary classic...
Review: First and foremost, I want to state that Hugh Grant, as an actor and screen presence, deserves to be respected more. Some of the abuse this guy has endured, at the hands of the media and general public has been unwarranted and cumulative to the point where one of this generations most unappreciated talents is considering retirement at an early age. The root of Grant's success and criticism is his championing of the romantic comedy. Once a well respected genre (think It Happened One Night - which swept all major Oscar awards in 1934) the "romcom" is only now reemerging as a force to be reckoned with, due in part by the success of When Harry Met Sally('84), Pretty Woman('90), Sleepless in Seattle('93), Groundhog Day('93), but more in part to the work of Hugh Grant. The man has almost single-handedly restored the genre to its rightful place as audiences are beginning to appreciate the depth, quality and cathartic power that movies like About a Boy are capable of achieving. But his success has come at a price. Grant is in a unique predicament, not unlike most pop star idols, of being lionized by romcom audiences (largely female) and lambasted by the media and the average Joe six-pack for being too feminine and foppish and (pick your own). When I hear someone make an easy joke about Grant, I have made them myself, it is usually a cheap shot - he is an easy target- but more often than not, everyone who makes them sees a side of themselves in his charming smile and self-depracating humour that we all want to be a part of-this is the appeal of Hugh Grant and the romcom in genral. So now we have Mr. Grant deliberately seeking out roles with more weight and "steel". Not only is this a step in the right direction for the continued health and success of Grant, but also the logical evolution of the romantic comedy with the drama. This shift is represented by Grant's character Will in About, who at first glance is a carefree, hip thirty-something bachelor with no real worries but finding a nice lay. In reality, however, Hugh, I mean, Will, is vulnerable and afraid and fast approaching a crisis. We watch as he must break his cocoon of complacency or break down and die under its weight. The risks are really quite high: a life is at stake. And we watch this man break his shackles and gain a life of happiness, social connection and ultimately, love. The story is a timeless one of personal transformation and freedom from mental barriers that we as vulnerable creatures erect to cope with the pressures and anxieties of modern living. About a Boy remembers that at the heart of every good story is a character flawed in some capacity that must engage in battle with his own personal demons before balance and harmony are attained. Through Will's transformation, we as witnesses to his story must embrace his struggle as our own - this is the power of movies - thereby challenging ourselves to grow and improve. About a Boy is a landmark in cinematic history and is in my personal top-20 list of all-time movie classics. Thank you Mr. Grant (and team) for your excellent work, and continued success.
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?
|
