Movie: About a Boy
Year: 2002
Genre: Comedy/Drama/Romance
Directors: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Stars: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette

Snapshot of Story:
An unlikely boy enters the life of a single man (Hugh Grant) derailing his normal lifestyle and changes all that he knew about living.

Storyline:
This is a heart-warming story that hones the acting skills of Hugh Grant and equally good performances by the other cast members to make it a very entertaining movie to watch. Will Freeman (Hugh Grant) is living the life of a single man that others can only dream of. He has income coming in the way of royalties from a one-hit Christmas song that his father produced and recorded. The money is sufficient for him not to work and to pursue his carnal desires for women and other frivolous day to day activities.

There are amusing moments where he signs up to a single mums evening class where he is able to pursue women in the guise of being a father of a single child. Things take a different and interesting turn when Will meets the boy Marcus Brewer who becomes his ‘virtual’ son. However, not everything is easy as it seems and Will and Marcus start developing a complicated relationship with Marcus’s mother Christine residing on the side.

Marcus’s often immature demands soon leads to Will pursuing the life that he had not intended and becomes more embroiled in the family affairs including Christine’s suicidal tendencies. The charming part of the story is when Will begins to almost enjoy the daily ritual of having Marcus coming to his house and having him around for company. Both Marcus and Will start to form a strong bond with each other and Will now finds himself almost impossible to hold on to the life he previously had. At one point he almost throws in the towel but Christine tries to kill herself and Will is again drawn to the family that he cannot shake.

Towards the end, Will, Marcus and other friends find a comfortable fit together and the movie ends with all of them sharing the Christmas day together.

Final Thoughts:
Hugh Grant always appears to have one persona in his representation of the movies he appears in but this is not a bad thing. His boyish British charm and innocence are well deployed in the movies he appears in and make it very entertaining to watch. In the same manner that Bruce Willis has a distinct persona in whatever films that he makes the end result is usually positive. About a boy is a funny and entertaining movie to watch especially around the Christmas and New Year’s festivities with your date or loved one.

Ratings:
7/10