About a Boy (26-Apr-2002)
Directors: Paul Weitz; Chris Weitz Writers: Peter Hedges; Chris Weitz; Paul Weitz From novel: About a Boy by Nick Hornby Music: Badly Drawn Boy Producers: Jane Rosenthal; Robert De Niro; Brad Epstein; Tim Bevan; Eric Fellner Keywords: Drama, Comedy Film adaptation of the 1998 Nick Hornby novel of the same name follows an uptight British man's transformational encounter with a troubled boy.
ABSTRACT Soundtrack composed by Badly Drawn Boy. Thirty-eight year old British man Will Freeman is a privileged individual living a life of luxury off of royalties for a Christmas musical staple penned by his late father, encumbered only by mild obsessive-compulsive disorder manifesting itself as a preoccupation with dividing his free time into "units" and a languid social life. A desire to date single mothers leads to his posing as a single father and taking part in a single parents' support group, ultimately forming a connection with depressed mother Fiona leading to a curious friendship with bullied young son Marcus. An outstanding performance by Grant in his trademark snobbish role alongside a capable supporting cast and soundtrack make this tale of middle-aged self-discovery and redemption a winner.
Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
Toni Collette |
Actor |
1-Nov-1972 |
|
United States of Tara |
Hugh Grant |
Actor |
9-Sep-1960 |
|
Four Weddings and a Funeral |
Nicholas Hoult |
Actor |
7-Dec-1989 |
|
About A Boy |
Natalia Tena |
Actor |
12-Nov-1984 |
|
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix |
Rachel Weisz |
Actor |
7-Mar-1971 |
|
The Constant Gardener |
CAST In order of appearance | Hugh Grant | ... Will | Nicholas Hoult | ... Marcus | Sharon Small | ... Christine | Madison Cook | ... Imogen | Jordan Cook | ... Imogen | Nicholas Hutchison | ... John | Ryan Speechley | ... Barney | Joseph Speechley | ... Barney | Toni Collette | ... Fiona | Natalia Tena | ... Ellie | Laura Kennington | ... Ellie's Friend | Tanika Swaby | ... Ellie's Friend | Peter McNicholl | ... Ellie's Friend | Christopher Webster | ... Ellie's Friend | Ben Ridgeway | ... Lee, the Bully | Jack Warren | ... Lee's Sidekick | Russell Barr | ... Maitre D' | Isabel Brook | ... Angie | Orlando Thor Newman | ... Angie's Kid | Paulette Williams | ... Bitter Ex-Girlfriend | Fritha Goodey | ... Bitter Ex-Girlfriend | Susannah Doyle | ... Bitter Ex-Girlfriend | Delma Walsh | ... Bitter Ex-Girlfriend | Jonathan Franklin | ... Mark | John Kamal | ... Nicky | Tessa Vale | ... Class Teacher | Lorna Dallison | ... Woman in Supermarket | Bethany Muir | ... Child in Supermarket | Bruce Alexander | ... Husband in Supermarket | Joyce Henderson | ... Moira / SPAT | Jenny Galloway | ... Frances / SPAT | Janine Duvitski | ... Caroline / SPAT | | Additional SPAT Women | Sue Hyams | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Maggie Kahal | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Lynn Askew | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Beverly Milward | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Danielle Harvey | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Anna Maria Credenzone Philip | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Sarah King | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Susan Ghamsary | ... Additional SPAT Woman | Edna Johnson | ... Additional SPAT Woman | | Victoria Smurfit | ... Suzie | Frog Stone | ... Mothercare Shop Assistant | | Family in Mothercare Care Park | Buddy Hunter | ... Family Member | Kristine Perrin | ... Family Member | Nathan Perrin-Hunter | ... Family Member | Rachael Perrin-Hunter | ... Family Member | | Amy Craven | ... Suzie's Baby Megan | Rebecca Craven | ... Suzie's Baby Megan | Sidney Livingstone | ... Park Keeper | Cathy Murphy | ... Nurse | Joanne Petitt | ... Hairdresser | Jason Salkey | ... Tom / Amnesty International Worker | Annabelle Apsion | ... Amnesty International Worker | Matt Wilkinson | ... Amnesty International Worker | Peter Roy | ... Will's Dad | Matthew Thomas | ... Candy Thrower | Aaron Keeling | ... Candy Thrower | Scott Charles | ... Candy Thrower | Claire Harman | ... Skechers Shopgirl | Sian Martin | ... Cute Waitress | Mark Drewry | ... Clive | Denise Stephenson | ... Lindsey | Rosalind Knight | ... Lindsey's Mum | Rachel Weisz | ... Rachel | Murray Lachlan Young | ... New Year's Eve Party Guest | Augustus Prew | ... Ali | Alex Kew | ... Simon Cosgrove | Mark Heap | ... Math Teacher | Sunanda Biswas | ... Def Penalty Kru | James Marshall-Gunn | ... Def Penalty Kru | Jamie Mayer | ... Def Penalty Kru | Korede Obashju | ... Def Penalty Kru | Roger Brierley | ... Mr. Chalmers, the MC | Stefan Pejic | ... Apple Thrower |
REVIEWS Review by anonymous (posted on 16-Jul-2006) I wasn't going to see this movie
until I wound up in Portland, Oregon for a few days and it was playing
at a classic old theatre (the "Bagdad" - check it out if you're ever in
Portland) for three bucks. And you can even enjoy pizza and beer
freshly made on the premises. It was enough to coax me into seeing the
film, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would. Besides, I must
confess to having a soft spot for Hugh Grant. I remember his earlier,
less cutesy performances in such films as <b>Lair of the White
Worm</b> and <b>Remains of the Day</b> and longed to
see him doing something more interesting than the stuttering, lovable
token Brit he usually plays. In <b>About a Boy,</b> he
loses his cowlick, sharpens up his cynicism and self-loathing, and thus
becomes a new and intriguing character - before, by story's end,
rediscovering his own inner Hugh Grant and going all cutesy on us
again. <p> <b>About a Boy</b> is another adaptation
of a Nick Hornby novel - the first was the literally Americanized
version of <b>High Fidelity</b> - and like its predecessor,
it captures the soul of Hornby's contemporary urban bachelor pretty
well while glossing over the more audience-limiting details of his
stories. (In this case, the entire subplot of one of the characters
being obsessed with Kurt Cobain - hence the story's title, a riff off
of the Nirvana song "About a Girl" - is completely dropped, either
because the filmmakers didn't want to set the story in 1993 or Courtney
Love refused to give them the rights to Nirvana's music.) The Weitz
brothers, who seem to be doing everything from writing
(<b>American Pie</b>) to directing (the regrettable
<b>Down to Earth</b>) to acting (the creepy indie
<b>Chuck & Buck</b>) may not seem the right choice to
helm this film, Yanks as they are, and their self-conscious visual
style (spin that camera!) is a bit overblown for the quiet little story
they're tackling, but they've chosen a great cast, and as it's said,
half of a director's job is in finding the right actors. For those new
to the story, Hugh Grant plays a shallow slacker who, living off the
royalties of his late father's schlocky Christmas song, has led a life
of leisure with no responsibilities. Proud of his womanizing, he
infiltrates a single parents group in order to chat up horny single
moms, and through a string of complications that I don't have the
energy to relate, he ends up befriending a lonely 12-year-old boy
(newcomer Nicholas Hoult, a natural) whose own single mom (the always
interesting Toni Collette) is constantly on the verge of suicide.
Slowly, reluctantly, man and boy bond. And amazingly, it's nowhere near
as cloying as it sounds. Of course everything winds up mindlessly happy
at the end, but in the meantime you will at least be treated to some
perceptive wit, a London closer to the real thing than we usually see
in movies, and performances that are genuinely fresh and
thought-through. And the story is clear-eyed enough to even make you
forgive its predictable denouement.
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