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Movies / On DVD / About a Boy
About a Boy

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About a Boy (2002)

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93 %
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Reviews Counted: 156

Fresh: 145

Rotten:11

Average Rating: 7.7/10

Consensus: A winning comedy that benefits from Hugh Grant's boyish charms.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] for brief strong language and some thematic elements

Runtime: 1 hr 42 mins

Genre: Comedies

Theatrical Release:May 17, 2002 Wide

Box Office: $40,566,655

Synopsis: ABOUT A BOY, directed by Chris and Paul Weitz, stars Hugh Grant as Will Freeman, a proudly self-absorbed 38-year-old Londoner. Living lavishly off the royalties from a hit Christmas song penned by... ABOUT A BOY, directed by Chris and Paul Weitz, stars Hugh Grant as Will Freeman, a proudly self-absorbed 38-year-old Londoner. Living lavishly off the royalties from a hit Christmas song penned by his father, Will excels at nothing except doing nothing, which, in his case, includes shopping for CDs and having his hair "professionally disheveled." When Will makes a guilt-free exit from a brief fling with a single mom, he decides to crash a meeting of S.P.A.T. (Single Parents, Alone Together) in pursuit of more single mothers. This scheme leads to meeting Suzie (Victoria Smurfit) and Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), the socially awkward 12-year-old son of her flaky best friend, Fiona (Toni Collette). A series of odd situations leads to Will and Marcus becoming unlikely friends, and gradually both of their lives start to change for the better. However, when Will falls for the lovely Rachel (Rachel Weisz) and attempts to pass Marcus off as his son, things go awry. In order to win the heart of Rachel and make amends with Marcus, Will must finally grow up--and completely embarrass himself in front of hundreds of people. Reveling in its characters' quirks and flaws, ABOUT A BOY is a smart, funny, and fast-paced comedy, meticulously crafted by the Weitz brothers. Grant, in possibly the best performance of his career, wisely covers his patented charm with a shallow facade, and Hoult avoids being too cute or precocious; instead, the two actors develop believable characters that grudgingly warm up to each other. Collette is suitably bizarre as a depressed hippie mother, and Weisz provides excellent support in her relatively small role. However, it's clear from the title that this film is about the boys. And that includes Badly Drawn Boy (aka Damon Gough) who contributes an outstanding soundtrack that recalls Simon and Garfunkel's work on THE GRADUATE. Given Nick Hornby's excellent source material, ABOUT A BOY could have easily been an enjoyable movie, but in the hands of its talented collaborators, it's a truly exceptional tale. [More]

Starring: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz

Starring: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Victoria Smurfit, Scott Charles

Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz

Director: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Screenwriter: Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Producer: Jane Rosenthal, Robert DeNiro, Brad Epstein, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner
Composer: Badly Drawn Boy
Screenwriter: Peter Hedges
Studio: Universal Pictures

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Release:

Mar 23, 2004

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Reviews for About a Boy

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Cinema Crazed | comment Comment
04/29/09
Felix Vasquez Jr.
Cinema Crazed

Pleasant and engaging, rather than laugh-out-loud funny or emotionally involving.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
02/03/09
Derek Elley
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Few 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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
02/03/09
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Predictable but entertaining.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
08/07/08
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

The first big studio movie of 2002 I didn't want to end.

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

More successful as a Hugh Grant vehicle than as a Nick Hornby adaptation.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/23/07
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

For a while the movie has lots of laughs, and a fun Christmas theme besides.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
02/17/07
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Admirably lacking in sentiment, this is a comedy-drama with a steady supply of laughs.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
12/30/06
Colin Kennedy
Empire Magazine

Hornby's crises and characters can be so facile, schematic and smugly moralistic that emotional substance can get overshadowed by fluff.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

touching, sweet, and sentimental without ever being sappy or cloying

Full Review Source: Three Movie Buffs | comment Comment
02/09/05
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Zap2it.com | comment Comment
02/25/04
Greg Baerg
Zap2it.com

This movie is about people talking, making decisions, and growing from their experiences.

Full Review Source: Zertinet Movies | comment Comment
03/05/03
Steven Snyder
Zertinet Movies

that it'll probably be the best and most mature comedy of the 2002 summer season speaks more of the season than the picture

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
02/12/03
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Hugh Grant can act! Who knew?

Full Review Source: Needcoffee.com | comment Comment
02/09/03
Widgett Walls
Needcoffee.com
N/R

I confess. This is one of my favorite kinds of stories. Flawed hero meets someone who changes his life. Comedy and romance ensue.

Full Review Source: Chico Enterprise-Record | comment Comment
01/26/03
Luanne Brown
Chico Enterprise-Record

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.

Full Review Source: Window to the Movies | comment Comment
01/26/03
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies

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.

Full Review Source: Reno Gazette-Journal | comment Comment
01/24/03
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal

It's well-timed, it'll never bore you and the film's close is comic humiliation par excellence.

Full Review Source: RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland) | comment Comment
01/22/03
Harry Guerin
RTE Interactive (Dublin, Ireland)

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.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
12/17/02
Rebecca Murray
About.com

A thoroughly engaging, surprisingly touching British comedy.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Rich Cline
Film Threat
 
 
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