Tomtainment

TomalysisAbout A BoyABOUT A BOY (2002)

PLOT

Hugh Grant is this bachelor dude who believes 'every man is an island' and he's doing his whole smarmy british bumbler blinky shtick. He lives a pretty rich, but scummy life lying to women to get them in the sack. He'll even go as far as going to a single parent support meeting and lying how he has a kid just to score with some single mom chicks. Nice. Anyway he gets all caught up with this one situation. A nerdy kid comes onto the scene who is having a hard time at school and at home. You also got your side characters. Blah blah... Hugh Grant is the big nice guy who helps the kid and he finds himself and begins to have some respect for his own life.

It was written by the dude who wrote High Fidelity which I read and liked and I also read About A Boy, which was even better, but this movie was pretty much a chick flick. I mean for frigs sake it stars Hugh Grant! What the hell else is it gonna be?

I really don't know what else to say about this flick. It might of hit home a little extra for me as I'm a single guy. And I do some 'island living' often so whatever.

PROS

Some very funny things that made me laugh out loud. The dialogue works for the most part. The kid actor didn't bug me that much as kid actors usually do. Mainly because he looks like someone who really might be the target of bullies and not in the usual cute Hollywood preteen way. Toni Colette does a great job as Marcus' shaky, manic depressive mother. The characters are well developed and likeable, no matter how bad they really are. Hugh Grant is a lot more convincing as a smug, vain, self-centered asshole than he ever was as a floppy haired romantic hero.

CONS

Dragged at times and was overlong. Too much use of a soundtrack. It thought it was more sentimental than it really was.

RECAP

It was a good movie. All in all I have to recommend this as a rental. There's no reason to own it cause it's the type of movie that you don't really think about again. But it may put you in a better mood, which is the least you can ask for.

The Weitz brothers have also come a long way as directors. Their direction in their 1999 debut, "American Pie" was rather bland and conventional. Here, they take some chances with their choice of shots and the editing.

I'd go ***1/2.