About A Boy (2002)

Copyright by the Doomster 2003

Rating (1 to 10) : 6

Summary: This movie challenges the assumption that “no man is an island.”.

Another Nick Hornby novel has been made into a movie, following the acclaimed “High Fidelity.” This time, the lead actor is Hugh Grant (William Thacker in “Notting Hill”), playing the role of Will, a single, mid-30s bachelor living off his father’s inheritance (his father received royalties from a Christmas jingle he wrote). The role suits Hugh well because Will is somewhat of a cad who seduce women by putting on airs and deceiving them, a perfect role for Hugh Grant since he has a knack for playing scoundrels with authenticity - his role as Daniel Cleaver in “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, for example. Thus you see humorous scenes like the one where Will feigns commitment to human rights by volunteering at a fund-raising telethon for an Amnesty International-like organization only to end up flirting with and seducing a caller. Even Hugh’s narrative voice in the movie sounds scoundrelly.

The story line is somewhat unoriginal – a boy helps Will open his heart to others, to end his self-imposed emotional hermitism and thus, to love and be loved. That boy is Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a somewhat odd, ostracized lad with a bad “bowl” haircut who thinks it’s his destiny to be unhappy. It doesn’t help Marcus that his mother, Fiona, is also strange and a bit loony; Will calls her a “daft hippy”. I have to hand it to Toni Collette, who plays Fiona; she made herself look so homely and unattractive in this movie, after coming off as the pretty mother in “The Sixth Sense.” What actors and actresses will do to stretch their roles.

The directors, the Weitz brothers, definitely did something different than their usual work – there was no intercourse with a pie nor did someone get urinated on accidentally. This comedy is light and funny, without the gross humor we usually see from the directors. They really did widen their directing horizon with this one. The story might be trite but the Weitz’s cinematic adaptation of Hornby’s novel is worth watching.

Why you should or should not see this movie:

You should see this movie because it is an above-average comedy with a touch of British humor – underexpressed and witty.

Memorable quotes

Will: “I like to think I’m Ibiza”

Chris: “How would you like to be Imogen’s godfather?”

Will: “Seriously?”

Chris: “Seriously.”

John: “Mm-hmm.”

Will: “Well listen, I’m really really touched…but um…you must be joking. I couldn’t possibly think of a worse godfather for Imogen. You know what I’m like. I’ll drop her on her head at her christening. I’ll forget all her birthdays until her eighteenth when I’ll take her out and get her drunk, and possibly, let’s face it, you know, and try and shag her.”

Chris: “You will end up childless and alone.”

Will: “Well, fingers-crossed, yes.”

Marcus: “I’ve tried just making myself happy. She’s tried making herself happy. But it doesn’t work. You need other people to make you happy.”

Will: ”That’s just it. If other people could make you happy, then they could also make you unhappy.”