ABOUT A BOY (Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, 2002) R

Reviewed: May 31st, 2002

Everyone who's spent more than ten years on this Earth knows life and especially romance is as often sour as sweet; it's no surprise then that the best romantic comedies have a streak of cynicism coursing through their veins. Titles like When Harry Met Sally..., Some Like It Hot, Groundhog Day, Say Anything... and Annie Hall are all marked by a refusal on their respective filmmakers' parts to cave into over-sentimentality and shovel gooey slop into the audience's face. For the sake of verisimilitude, RomComs should, at times, be bitter pills to swallow and the lovely new gem About a Boy -- adapted from Nick Hornby's book of the same name -- is such a bit of medicine. Scored entirely to the winsome strains of British musician Badly Drawn Boy, here's a romantic comedy about finding meaning in your life.

Fans of High Fidelity -- also based on Hornby's book of the same name -- will recognize his distinctly cool, fresh tone and his keen sense of characterization which permeate every fiber of About a Boy's being. Here is finally a Hollywood romantic comedy about an unapologetic asshole, a shallow, superficial, immature, conniving, spoiled, unemployed (he lives off royalty checks), materialistic bachelor who's never been in a lasting romantic relationship, appears to have no close friends and gleefully admits to having no hidden depths. The success of About a Boy relies heavily on its casting of Hugh Grant as Will, then. Grant does his best work ever here; it's not that he's never played an asshole before (he played one in Bridget Jones' Diary and Small Time Crooks), but never has he played an asshole with an arc or a chance at redemption. Will has an essentially good heart -- he knows deep down that his life is lacking, even if most hours of the day he refuses to admit that to himself -- it just needs to be thawed out. Grant is so essential here because he's such an effortlessly charming actor. Critics are now comparing him to that other Grant (first name: Cary) for his work in About a Boy, a good metering of just how much sheer star power Hugh oozes in this film.

What's particularly refreshing About a Boy is that it's not a traditional love story. Bucking the trend of boy pursues girl, single-minded romantic comedy, what starts as Will's attempts to court a pretty single mother, then turns into Marcus (Nicholas Hoult, doing wonderfully textured and funny work in only his second film) trying to hook his mother up with Will (in an effort to rouse her outta her clinical depression), and then turns into Will's involvement with another single mother (Rachel Weisz, a wonderful actress with not much to do here) ultimately reveals itself as all-the-while having been a moving, platonic love story between a young boy and an older man.

Obviously one of the most difficult aspects of converting a book into a film is condensation. Directors Chris and Paul Weitz (the brotherly duo behind American Pie, though the infantile nature of that comedy gives no indication of just how much more smart, mature, substantive and markedly assured About a Boy is) are up to the task, and About a Boy is jam-packed with delights (many of which are visual; the brothers have a vigilant eye), without ever playing overstuffed. The Weitz brothers split the necessary voice-over chores between Will and Marcus and the often ironic juxtaposition of the two characters delivering their divergent narration in quick succession provides big laughs. This is an all around hilarious film; Grant is an extraordinarily gifted comedian, and Hornby (and the Weitz brothers) have a wicked sense of humor.

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