Rating: 
Summary: Entertaining but not memorable
Review: If you find Hugh Grant funny (which I do), you will enjoy this at a matinee price. If you don't like Hugh Grant, don't bother going. It has some very funny moments and a good message but nothing that will leave a lasting impression nor will I be telling everyone at work to go see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hugh Grant's best yet
Review: I am a huge fan of Hugh Grant to begin with, but this the best performance I've seen from him. He makes Will a three dimensional character and he's able to carry the film until Marcus comes into his life. The relationship between Marcus and Will was fascinating and realistic -- I bought the changes in Will. Marcus was an equally intersting character. I thought the young actor playing him was quite good. I was impressed how well he held his own in scenes with Grant and, in particular, a few intense scenes with Toni Collette. I could totally undertand why Marcus behaved the way he did. The portrayal of the bullying he received at school was really realistic, as well. On a non-acting note, the cinematography and direction was good. And the soundtrack was fabulous. I was a tad disappointed that Five For Fighting's Superman isn't on the soundtrack, because I heard it in the commercial. Although I understand why they weren't in the movie more (the film really is about Will and Marcus and how each impacts the growth and development of the other) I wanted to see a bit more of Toni Collette and Rachel Weitz. It was hard to understand why Will was so in love with Weitz's character. Those flaws didn't detract from the overall impact of the movie. It was very well done, and I highly reccommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: About a Good Movie
Review: The British really know how to pull-off light romantic comedy. Hugh Grant is most certainly their best current representative in that capacity. This movie works because of him. Of the canon of work he has amassed thus far. Of the sincerity in his performance. It works because of the wonderful child actor who plays opposite him. The female leads lift it up tremendously. The movie has a story which could have been told in standard fashion, or even worse, reduced to sappy extremes. Thanks to the directors, actors, and all involved, it rises to the level of the highly enjoyable. "About a Boy" stars Grant as Will Freeman, a rather spoiled cad. He doesn't work, thanks to his late father's Christmas song royalties. He likes to date women, but not commit to them. He considers himself "an island" - alone unto himself. Through a mishap which occurs because he wants to try and date single mothers (for selfish reasons, of course), he meets Fiona (the great Toni Collette) and her somewhat odd son Marcus. Marcus quickly takes to Will and strikes up a somewhat uncomfortable friendship. Will is used to his carefree, bachelor life, and doesn't really desire to have Marcus as a friend/younger brother/son, nor does he wish to date his mother. What transpires in "About a Boy" is the overt change that occurs to Hugh Grant's Will character, and the somewhat subtler changes that happen to Fiona, Marcus, and the other characters involved. Grant is excellent in the role. He brings a thoughtfulness and depth to the blithe Will that not every actor could have pulled-off quite as easily. Relative newcomer Nicholas Hoult is simply great as the oddball Marcus. He makes the character a deep, lovable person, fully interesting for the audience. And when Rachel Weisz appears on the scene as Rachel, Will's love interest, I was convinced that, yes, this character was worth all the attention Will gave her. The film is directed by Paul & Chris Weitz (who helmed the American Pie movies), and with "About a Boy" they simply shine. The subject matter could have led to an overly sappy interpretation, but here they have managed to strike a fine balance between humor and earnestness. "About a Boy" is a well-done movie by all involved. I am partial to British productions, and this one satisfied that partiality quite well. It's cute. It's funny. It's serious. And, most importantly, it feels sincere.
Rating: 
Summary: Very good
Review: Just saw this movie after reading the book, and was very favorably impressed. Won't rehearse the plot (again) here, but just say: The movie was more 'economical' if you will, but every bit as good. The characters thought processes (and their changes) that are central to the book are perfectly handled by voice-overs, casting is just right, and direction/editing move at a suitably brisk pace. See it, and if you want more, read the book too. 5 stars for doing everything it tries to do.
Rating:
Summary: very touching
Review: After seeing the trailer for this film i hurried up and read the book it is based on. It was a terrific book, so i was afraid the film wouldn't live up to my expectaitions, but i was pleasantly surprised. The acting was wonderful all around, especially by newcomer Nicholas Hoult as Marcus. I left the theater with a warm, fuzzy feeling and am eagerly looking forward to seeing it again. I highly reccomend it to anyone who is sick of the plotless. special effects showcases you usually find this time of year. I hope it does well at the box office and picks up some highly deserved awards later on.
Rating:
Summary: Movie Made Me Appreciate Hugh Grant
Review: I was never much of a Hugh Grant fan--until I saw About a Boy, which showcases Grant's nuanced acting skills in a tale about redemption that is never sappy. The script is witty and hard-edged, never descending into "after school special" sentimentality, a fear I had going into the theater. The film deals with real issues, selfishness, loyalty, self-pity, the quest for belonging. Its main character, Willy, played by Hugh Grant, is a self-absorbed navel-gazer, rich on his father's hit song, who doesn't have to work for a living. His life consists of shopping and sharpening his skills as a predatory fop, hitting on women as a misguided way to fill his emptiness. The moral choices he must make are hard-fought and convincing. Also a great soundtrack by Badly Drawn Boy.
Rating:
Summary: Cad meets kid
Review: Hugh Grant has a special talent for playing the mild-mannered, affable, charming, self-effacing, nice guy. His role as Will in ABOUT A BOY is all that plus the added element of being the shallowest cad imaginable. At one point he begs off being the godfather for his best friends' infant daughter with the excuse that he would ignore her for eighteen years, and then try to take her to bed. He lives off the royalties from a megahit Christmas song written by his father years before. His idea of a relationship is a one-night stand. He's never had a job. He spends his days watching the telly and buying men's toys. He's 38 years old. By his own admission, he's a total "blank". Will's latest strategy is to date single mothers - he figures they're sexually vulnerable and available. To make a long story short, he meets young Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) on the day his severely depressed mother Fiona (Toni Collette) attempts suicide. A lonely boy - taunted at school and burdened with an imbalanced mom - Marcus senses a basic decency in Will. Soon, Marcus is forcing himself on his unenthusiastic friend, appearing on his doorstep every afternoon to watch TV. Through reluctant contact with Fiona and her son, Will begins to understand that thinking of others instead of only himself has its rewards. I give ABOUT A BOY four stars primarily on the performance of Grant. It's probably his finest role to date. He makes positively likeable the sort of character any intelligent, single woman should avoid like the plague and any father protective of his daughter shoot on sight. However, I was less taken with the rest of the cast. Film audiences have been exposed to numerous cute American kids in the past few years. Nicholas Hoult is apparently the casting department's answer to a cute English kid, but I think it tried too hard. With his over-the-forehead bangs and eyebrows turned up at the lateral ends, he looked like nothing more than a child version of Star Trek's Spock. (He may have had pointed ears, but they were covered by hair.) I also didn't buy into the Fiona character whose over-the-top dysfunctionality seemed created only to invite Will's sympathy. I mean, if that's what it takes to kick-start the man on the road to redemption, why bother? However, my reservations aside, this comedy will likely prove to be one of the more clever and humorous films of the year. The price of admission is a sound investment.
Rating:
Summary: This is how a movie should make you feel!
Review: I figured I would write a review, seeing as how most of the reviews posted so far are from people in England and surrounding areas. I must say that I am very far removed from British culture (although I do have a fondness for Pulp and the Manic Street Preachers...) but I still related to this film. It deals with the workings of namely two characters, Will (Hugh Grant) and Marcus. Marcus is typically picked on because of his reputation of a "momma's boy," not a good thing to be when you are in adolescence, I think we've all been there. I'm not going to summarize the entire plot, but I do wish to say that the humor is amazing, reaching the funnybone on people from both sides of the Atlantic. Whereas some Brits see Jim Carrey movies as utterly stupid (which they are), Americans tend to generalize British humour as dry. However, the dryness turns to sarcasm in this movie which features hilarious commentary from the characters, as if we can "see inside their heads." This technizque is utilized to the fullest and makes for a very funny watch. Surprisingly, this is the best movie I have seen this year. For a movie that will make you just feel plain good, check out 'About a Boy.' Lest I forget, the soundtrack is pretty good too...
Rating:
Summary: Let's hear it for Toni Collette
Review: Yeah, yeah...the movie's great, the book is as great...read 'High Fidelity,' too, etc. etc. Okay, now that we've got that usual stuff out of the way, I want to make sure to mention Toni Collette. She seems to get short shrift in all the reviews I read in the paper. Someone needs to mention that this is one of the most fearless actresses appearing in movies today. She's a woman who's not afraid to get onscreen looking like total crap if the role calls for it. As Fiona, Marcus' suicidal Mom, you buy into her depression 100%. It really seals the deal in the movie in terms of setting Marcus and Will on a believable collison course.
Rating:
Summary: Nick Hornby's work done cinematic justice at last
Review: If you liked the movie "Bridget Jones's Diary"; if you liked the Nick Hornby novel on which this movie is based; or if you liked Hornby's novel "High Fidelity" but were disappointed by the lame Americanized film, this movie is for you. The adaptation is about as good as one can hope for, the script (like the novel) is hilarious, and the performances are great. Hugh Grant as Will, in particular, is the most likeable cad I've ever seen on film, Toni Collette is quite believable, and the boy who plays Marcus is excellent and endearing (and I usually hate kids in movies, so that's saying something!). My only complaint is that Rachel, the woman Will eventually falls for, is completely blah. If she's supposed to be so fabulous, so much more special than anyone Will has dated before, why didn't the filmmakers give her an actual personality? Instead she just coasts by on her looks, which happens often enough with women in movies as it is. Still, this is a great movie. I recommend it to everyone with a sense of humor.
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