About a Boy (2002)
Average Rating: 7.7/10
Reviews Counted: 164
Fresh: 153 | Rotten: 11
A winning comedy that benefits from Hugh Grant's boyish charms.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 38
Fresh: 34 | Rotten: 4
A winning comedy that benefits from Hugh Grant's boyish charms.
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Average Rating: 2.8/5
User Ratings: 29,749,465
Movie Info
London's most frequently eligible bachelor gets some lessons in growing up from a maladroit 12-year-old boy in this third big-screen adaptation of a Nick Hornby novel, directed and co-written by siblings Chris and Paul Weitz of American Pie fame. About a Boy concerns the parallel coming-of-age stories of the thirtysomething Will (Hugh Grant), a layabout "serial nice guy" living a posh, carefree lifestyle off his deceased father's fortune; and the preteen Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a bright but
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Cast
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Hugh Grant
Will Freeman -
Nicholas Hoult
Marcus -
Toni Collette
Fiona -
Rachel Weisz
Rachel -
Isabel Brook
Angie -
Victoria Smurfit
Susie -
Sharon Small
Christine -
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All Critics (171) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (153) | Rotten (11) | DVD (27)
Pleasant and engaging, rather than laugh-out-loud funny or emotionally involving.
Top CriticFew movies have made better use of Hugh Grant's shallow charm and amused befuddlement than this funny and well-paced adaptation of Nick Hornby's best-selling second novel.
The first big studio movie of 2002 I didn't want to end.
Hornby's crises and characters can be so facile, schematic and smugly moralistic that emotional substance can get overshadowed by fluff.
The movie occasionally strains for crowd-pleasing moments as it pumps up the drama toward the end, but it more than earns our indulgence.
In the end, the film comes over as a messy delight, thanks to the skill, generosity and good-sport, punching-bag panache of Mr. Grant's performance.
This charming coming of age comedy, a tale with heart and social message, offers Hugh Grant his best role to date.
Like Billy Wilder with a British bent, "About a Boy" lithely dances around uneasy comedy - attempted suicide, fragile kids of divorce, childhood bereft of memorable experiences. But it never trivializes them, emphasizing life's quality over its quantity.
Grant grows a heart in Hornby-book pic; teens+.
Predictable but entertaining.
More successful as a Hugh Grant vehicle than as a Nick Hornby adaptation.
For a while the movie has lots of laughs, and a fun Christmas theme besides.
Admirably lacking in sentiment, this is a comedy-drama with a steady supply of laughs.
touching, sweet, and sentimental without ever being sappy or cloying
This movie is about people talking, making decisions, and growing from their experiences.
that it'll probably be the best and most mature comedy of the 2002 summer season speaks more of the season than the picture
Hugh Grant can act! Who knew?
Both Grant and Hoult carry the movie because they are believable as people -- flawed, assured of the wrong things, and scared to admit how much they may really need the company of others.
The movie's message is sweet and charming, but it's presented so cynically it doesn't seem saccharine. Unquestionably, it's a breakthrough for directors Chris and Paul Weitz, whose first feature effort was American Pie.
It's well-timed, it'll never bore you and the film's close is comic humiliation par excellence.
Hugh Grant is best when he sticks with roles that let him be a lovable cad - exactly the sort of character offered to him in About a Boy.
A thoroughly engaging, surprisingly touching British comedy.
Audience Reviews for About a Boy
Super Reviewer
I remember initially enjoying this, but over 10 years later, the message is a bit irritating, and so is Toni Collette here. Still, if you don't dig too deep, it is enjoyable enough. Not a must see, but sugary fluff for the background.
Super Reviewer
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- Will Freeman: Once you open your door to one person, anyone can come in.
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- Marcus: [to Will before going to sing in show] What are you doing here?
- Will Freeman: Well, I heard you were about to commit social suicide so I thought I'd just drop by, you know
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- Will Freeman: Every man is an island.
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- Marcus: You don't give a shit about anyone and no one gives a shit about you!
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- Marcus: A little. It's by black people mostly. And they're pretty angry most of the time. But sometimes they just want to have sex.
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- Fiona: (talking to Marcus) When you sing it brings sunshine and happiness into my heart.
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Movie: ID: 10419 Title: About a Boy Release Date: 2002-05-17 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 3 Status: 1
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Foreign Titles
- Un niño grande (ES)
