 |
|
|
|
About a Boy (2002)
 email this review to a friend
Movie Review by Zara 
March 12th, 2007
|  |
About a Hugh
I should point out that I give this movie more credit than some might argue that it deserves based on the fact that I normally detest Hugh Grant. I've never found his smarmy charm to be in the least bit appealing and was usually forced to watch movies that he was in due to the insistence of others. Even when people would thrust a DVD case in my face and demand that I think a movie was good, if Grant was in it, I just couldn't bring myself to admit it. ABOUT A BOY is the only time that I have.
There is nothing special that happens in this movie that should have changed my mind. Grant plays another self-absorbed playboy type who refuses to grow up or commit to a healthy relationship. When he discovers that he can date single mothers with little guilt, he latches onto a group of single parents and ends up learning more about himself than he imagined. That realization comes from interaction with a weird kid of a depressed neo-hippy mother, played by Toni Collette with the same perfection that she attacks all of her roles with.
I can't discount Nicholas Hoult's performance as the oddball Marcus, a true mama's boy who wants nothing more than to cheer up his mama. When her behavior gets out of hand for even him to handle, he begins stalking Grant. Reluctantly Grant grows to value the kid's existence in his life. The quote used in the movie is that no man is an island, the validity of which is found suspect by Grant's character. The better statement is that two isn't enough. You need back-up. The movie is a calm little beacon floating in cold waters. In our world today, we've fooled people into believing that they can't do it alone but that they also shouldn't be co-dependent. ABOUT A BOY demonstrates that there is no shame in reaching out as long as that hand is looking for another hand to hold and not just to pull the other person down.
email this review to a friend
Comment on this Review:
Sorry, you must be a member to add comments to reviews.
Join or Login. |
 Subscribe to MatchFlick Movie Reviews through RSS
|
