ABOUT A BOY

I had to get out of the house, so against my own gut instinct (I know, humans don’t have instinct, just intuition) I went and saw About A Boy.
What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment.

Hugh Grant stars as Will, a self admittedly shallow man, with no real purpose in life. He does a great job here, and is very likable, which come to think of it, is nothing new. He tends to play rather similar roles, but he’s very natural and draws viewers in.

His life style is suddenly compromised by a boy and his mother, as played by Nicholas Hoult and Toni Colette.
As usual, Colette is great. She is a very talented actress, and she does a really wonderful job with this character, a troubled, quirky "hippie" type.
Nicholas Hoult is a revelation. His performance is really perfect and I hope he gets a lot of recognition. It’s funny because at one point his character actually references Haley Joel Osment, which is ironic because Hoult gives a performance worthy of that great young actor. My only issue with Hoult isn’t really an issue at all…he looks a lot like a young Ethan Hawke. If Hawke has a younger, British brother, it has to be Nicholas Hoult!

About A Boy is directed by brothers Chris and Paul Weitz, who together have brought us as either writers, directors, or producers, American Pie, AMERICAN PIE 2, and Antz, among others. I didn’t know what to expect because a cross of a Notting Hill and the American Pie films was hard to imagine. But the end result is a nice, poignant film that occasionally is very funny.

Oh, and Rachel Weisz plays, well, Rachel, and she’s quite lovely.

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