by Yazmin Ghonaim

ABOUT A BOY Chris and Paul Weitz (2002) About a Boy offers a story about two boys. One: a good-looking, wealthy, single, unemployed Londoner conveniently named "Will Freeman" (Hugh Grant: Bridget Jones's Diary). And the other: a neglected, confused, twelve-year-old loner called Marcus (Nicholas Hoult: Intimate Relations). An unlikely relationship slowly evolves between the two "boys" as a result of Marcus' pseudo-hippie suicidal mother Fiona (Toni Collete: The Sixth Sense), who indirectly pushes her son out of their depressing home and into the casual life of Will. What results is a film that observes the sometimes endearing and often comical consequences of the coupling of two stubborn and very dissimilar male characters. Date after date, Will discovers that single mothers are the best the "market" has to offer. Consumed by their children and afraid of a second failed relationship, they seem to be the most willing to have uncompromising sex and short-lasting, casual affairs. Thus, Will decides to join a support group for single parents, eager to increase his chances of meeting the right kinds of women and satisfy his shallow nature. He is soon attracted to Suzie (Victoria Smurfit), who on their fateful second date invites her friend Fiona's son Marcus. Meanwhile, as Marcus tries to detach himself from the unhealthy environment of his home and the pressures at school, the boy begins seeking Will on a daily basis, until the annoyed bachelor succumbs, letting the boy into his trendy home and his guilt-free life. Directed by Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz (the two brothers who also co-directed the popular American Pie), About a Boy questions its main character's ability and will to love (or to "let love in"), after establishing its comfortable shallowness and conscious rejection of love and responsibility. The plot explains that Will has inherited an income that allows him to work full-time at doing nothing other than seeking fun with women, buying CD's and watching television. Although often amusing, the character is also problematic as it fails to convince the viewer that he does enjoy his life. Emphasizing his enjoyment and/or satisfaction --that is, showing he is truly having fun-- would have allowed the viewer to understand why the character is so attached to his lifestyle and priorities. Never quite able to fully lure the viewer into envying the bachelor's life, the film loses the opportunity of transforming the viewer along with the character's own moral and emotional transformation after learning valuable lessons from his "unwanted son". Still, About a Boy builds its comedy successfully by observing Will's initial inability to handle Marcus, and by emphasizing the innocence with which Marcus judges Will's extreme idleness. In spite of the film's ability to exploit Grant's magnetism, About a Boy is most winning not when it plays with Will's disinterest in love, but when it examines Marcus' need for it.		DVD Music Books Search by keywords:
Outstanding Features: Story, Music About a Boy Movie Review © 2002 Cinephiles - All rights reserved Photo © 2002 Universal Pictures This film is rated PG-13 for brief strong language and some thematic elements.