The thing about good British comedies is that they are both smart and witty - coincidently, two of many words that also describe me. "About a Boy" fits these requirements while also being both dry and sarcastic. The very well written screenplay by Peter Hedges is adapted from Nick Hornby's best selling novel. In and of themselves, the words are not enough. Hugh Grant (Will Freeman) brilliantly portrays the the lead role, an immature cad living on the royalties of his one-hit-wonder father. To summarize Will's own words, he is the star of "The Will Show," but it is not an ensemble cast. In other words, he hasn't formed any strong, lasting bonds with anyone-a solitary man living a solitary life.
While being characteristically Will, he discovers a new source of female companionship of which to prey - single mothers - because he appears to be much better than their exes. His life takes a turn when he stumbles across Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) and his mother (Toni Collette). He slowly learns how emotionally empty his life has been. I'm not going to reveal how things play out from here, but tender moments do lie ahead. |
