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How do you make a
movie that is at any point, biting, sharp witted, cynical, yet
heartfelt, touching and worthy of emotional reflection? Easy, you
combine the comic talents behind the crude, but relatable American
Pie, with the new crier for the romantic plight of the
everyman, and add in a role tailor made for the best actor at
playing smarmy, yet charming.
About A Boy is a conglomeration of all these and
establishes author Nick Hornby as a new icon in the desperate
plight of the single man, while giving Hugh Grant his best film
role to date. Mixed
with the emotional brutality and no shame honesty of the Weitz’s,
this film is one that will repulse women, yet help them to
understand why men do the things we do. It won’t justify them, but may aid in some way to bringing
the sexes closer together. Call
it, a chick flick for guys.
Will Freeman has
a life that most males would envy, yet he doesn’t seem to be
completely happy with it. He
lives a life divided into 30 minute units (haircut, 2 units, bath,
3 units, etc) while searching for his next female conquest. He
lives out of a trust fund comprised of royalties from his father,
who wrote one famous song. One
day, he discovers the joy of dating single mothers, and sets out
to make that his next mission.
In the midst of this, he creates a son, and meets Marcus,
a 12-year old with a troubled mother.
What results from the meeting comprises the rest of the
movie. Will and
Marcus bond, and each helps the other discover something about
themselves. The joy
of the movie is in this journey that the Weitz’s, with their not
so subtle, but definitely sensitive touch, take us on, using the
insightful, honest observances of Hornby.
The film becomes not as much about the actions, as the
revelations and developments that the characters make. It
doesn’t always take the conventional path, but the heart and
emotions definitely shine through and help those who’ve been
through similar things to relate.
Mostly men, who may have silently thought and felt the
things that Will does, but been afraid to say them.
In Grant, and Will, we have found our new icon, the
internally sensitive, externally insensitive, conflicted beacon
for a new generation.
Never has a role
been more tailor made for Grant than this one was.
With his playful, disarming good looks, and his smug
attitude, this was a role he was born to play and he revels in it.
Paired with Hoult as Marcus, they make a perfect team.
Each helps the other discover a side that they never knew
existed, but always sought to find. Collette,
as Marcus’s mother, and Weisz, as a love interest, provide soul
and character to their roles as well.
They give their characters a strength, yet vulnerability,
that embodies everything this movie is about.
Ultimately,
About A Boy is a multidimensional emotional trek through what
it’s like to be a member of the male species.
On the surface, it comes across like its main character,
shallow, insensitive yet desperate. But the film plays on these feelings and explores them deeper
by delving into the soul searching that men go through when their
emotions begin to conflict or interfere with their lifestyle.
It reflects both the crude masculine pleasures, and the
deeper conflicts that occur with in our soul.
By balancing these things, the film creates a charm and
appeal rarely seen in films these days.
The delicate words, and acerbic delivery give this movie an
unexpectedly realistic insight that in the end helps the film
work. Life can be
filled with moments of happiness, sadness, ironic turns, humorous
times, and unexpected smiles.
About A Boy is just one slice of this search, and thanks to
Grant, Hornby and The Weitz’s, we get a chance to revel in their
visions.
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