About a Boy (2002)

Directors:

Chris Weitz
Paul Weitz

Writers (WGA):

Nick Hornby (novel)
Peter Hedges (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

17 May 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Growing up has nothing to do with age.

Plot:

Based on Nick Hornby's best-selling novel, About A Boy is the story of a cynical, immature young man who is taught how to act like a grown-up by a little boy

Plot Keywords:

Single Parent | Man As Island | Depression | Thirty Something | Immaturity

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 8 wins & 19 nominations

Cast

Hugh Grant	...	Will
Nicholas Hoult	...	Marcus
Sharon Small	...	Christine
Madison Cook	...	Imogen
Jordan Cook	...	Imogen
Nicholas Hutchison	...	John
Ryan Speechley	...	Barney
Joseph Speechley	...	Barney
Toni Collette	...	Fiona
Natalia Tena	...	Ellie (as Nat Gastiain Tena)
Laura Kennington	...	Ellie's Friend
Tanika Swaby	...	Ellie's Friend
Peter McNicholl	...	Ellie's Friend
Christopher Webster	...	Ellie's Friend
Ben Ridgeway	...	Lee, the Bully

Also Known As:

About a Boy oder: Der Tag der toten Ente (Germany)
Pour un garçon (France)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some thematic elements.

Runtime:

101 min

Country:

UK | USA | France | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:U | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Austria:10 | Canada:PG | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:6 | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | Norway:A | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #38482)

Filming Locations:

BFI IMAX Cinema, Charlie Chaplin Walk, South Bank, London, England, UK

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In Ali's room you can see a flag for the football (soccer) team Arsenal. Nick Hornby, author of the book on which the movie is based, is a die-hard Arsenal supporter.

Goofs:

Continuity: The vase of flowers that Marcus places on the table (just when his finds his mother's suicide note) moves repeatedly between shots.

Quotes:

Will: It's a CD, Marcus, by Mystikal. They're cool. You'll like them
Fiona: What kind of music is Mystikal?
Will: It's sort of, um, world music...
Marcus: [reads a song title] "Shake Ya Ass."
Will: ...Slash rap-type thing.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Best! Movies! Ever!: Restaurants (#1.2)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Avoidance Learning

Isle Of Hugh

Sometimes a rut can feel like a hammock when we get stuck in one.

"About A Boy" is about a Londoner who was apparently born into one, imprisoned as it were by his father's legacy as author of one of the world's most popular and annoying Christmas songs. After years of feckless unemployed upper-middle-class living, Will views himself as an island, and sees his lack of long-term relationships as a plus. Even offered the simple honor of being an infant's godfather, Will begs off, saying he'd be "crap" at it and probably just "try and shag" the girl the moment she turned 18.

"I always thought you had hidden depths," the mother says.

"No, you've always had that wrong," Will cheerfully replies. "I really am this shallow."

But of course Will does have depths, and as played by Hugh Grant in a role that gives this smooth comedic actor a chance to showcase some previously-unguessed-at depths of his own, we find ourselves rooting for Will to find them as he finds himself attached unwillingly to a 12-year-old named Marcus, played with welcome non-cuteness by Nicholas Hoult. Marcus, an abuse magnet at school, is alternately worried for his unstable mother and searching for a pal. Will, a 12-year-old at heart, is a perfect if unknowing candidate.

Based on the great Nick Hornby novel, "About A Boy" walks a fine line, doling out easy laughs and real pathos with deceptive ease. Like Hornby's book, the movie depicts Will's perverse detachment from the world as both delightful and pathetic. Life is a full plate of pain for those who participate, but the benefits, as Marcus tries to tell Will, beat all else.

Of course, most of us don't have the luxury for "island living," and the potential of resenting Will, especially as played by that handsome devil Grant, might have been the film's biggest danger. But Grant defuses things with a subtle characterization that downshifts on the smugness and draws on the lost boy within.

For example, when Will tries to infiltrate a single-mothers' club as a way of bagging some commitment-free sex, we watch him tell the mothers about his own non-existent two-year-old boy Ned telling him "you hang in there, Dad," then reacting with uncertain fear when the mothers enthuse about how remarkable that is for such a young child.

But we also see the pain Will pretends isn't there, in brief flashes as he reflects on the hard-drinking failure his father became after his one-hit wonder, and especially in one great scene where Will finds himself with a woman he really cares about, unable to break out of his artifice at a critical moment. During that scene, and a later, angry one with Marcus, Grant's acting really demands consideration from those who dismiss him as a dandy glamor boy.

The directors, Chris and Paul Weitz of "American Pie"-fame, prove they can make a film that delivers intelligence as well as laughter, and with writer Peter Hedges, fashion a script that takes some clever and daring liberties with Hornby's solid story. I especially liked the one near the end of the movie, but if I revealed anything I'd probably get some Flack for it, so say no more.

The very last scene of the movie is a mistake, though, the kind of tidy resolution Hornby's novel and life itself rightly rejects. It's the one bum note in this film, but enough of one to dock it a point with me. Otherwise, I'd have to rate this above even the other cinematic Hornby adaptation, the classic "High Fidelity." But this is a very entertaining film, with great set design, a terrific "Rubber Soul"-style Britpop title song by Badly Drawn Boy, tight editing, and subtle, crafty camera work. Also some great supporting performances, especially Toni Collette as Marcus' mother, who has the film's toughest role (she must be funny and suicidal) and manages to not only pull it off but gives "About A Boy" a wonderfully unstable center. As "About A Boy" makes clear, instability is a good thing when it shakes us from our ruts.