Two Boys Grow Up

UK/ USA/ France, 2002

About a Boy

Directed by Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Written by Peter Hedges, Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
★ Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz

            

I have the feeling it's not only me who is tired of seeing all these absolutely current-treasure-y super positive reviews on my blog, and that's why today, I'm going to write about a film that I liked.

A film that made me smile almost all the time, but never made me feel, "God, this is awesome!". Perhaps the reason for my reaction is that I had already read the ingenious book by one of my favourite authors, Nick Hornby, and there was no way to top that. Or perhaps it was just... well "just" a good film.

But this is not a bad thing, and actually there's almost nothing bad I can say about About a Boy. It had humour, an interesting narration, a good story (obviously) and a good soundtrack. It was good.

Sometimes I wonder what it is, that makes some movies great, and others good. I thought it might be predictability that would "spoil" a movie, as I already knew most of the plot of this movie (it felt as if only one scene had been changed from the book). But then again, why would people - including me - re-watch films then?

Today I've come to the conclusion that it's sheerly impossible to put a finger on that particular, I don't want to say "x-factor"... let's say, "factor of awesomeness". You can't explain why and how the strawberry explodes, and why it doesn't - all you know is that it does, in some films.

I had been wanting to watch this movie for a long time, as a good friend who knows my movie taste very well, recommended it to quite a while ago. No matter how many great reviews and lists and whatever I read online or in magazines, a friend's recommendation will always count most when it comes to my imaginary watch list (I do have a real IMDB one too though).
What my friend and I have in common (aside from many other things) is that we've seen a whole lot of Hugh Grant films some time, coincidentally. They are on TV quite often around these parts. While our opinions on Four Weddings and a Funeral differ - I like it, she doesn't - we otherwise agree that Hugh Grant has been in some pretty bad films. So that's why she recommended About a Boy to me, stating that it was the best of Grant's performances she has ever seen.
To be honest, my expectations were fully satisfied. Hugh Grant was the perfect actor to fit this particular character, and actually I already had him in mind reading the book. Of course, a great actor isn't one who fits a character perfect, but one that would fit almost any character and make it his. However, I think we can say that Hugh Grant is after all at least a decent actor. He might  be doing the same thing now for years, but he isn't exactly doing it badly.

What's more, I really like the character Will. I can really relate to him. Who knows, if I'd been in his place, maybe I'd have turned out just the way he turned out - never working, just watching movies and listening to music. Surely, at some point I would have realized that there was no meaning in my life, just like Will does at some point in the movie. But then again, what is meaning?
Is meaning work? Relationships, friends, I guess we could agree on that. And that's what both Will and Marcus find out in the film. But there's still a kind of ambiguity in the film's ending - just like the two main characters and narrators are very different from each other, both in the beginning and in the end.
While Will's motto in a way remains "Every man is an island", Marcus sticks to his believing that "No man is an island". Which is true? Both?
Whatever the answer might be, I think it's a wonderful ending. It points back at the beginning, and at the same time to a new direction, a change, or at least another way of thinking.

This example already shows the film's biggest strength, namely containing the book's split narrative, which works as both a factor of entertainment and a factor of insight. Also, you might have noticed the different musical themes that change when the other narrator takes over. I really like those small details, which make the film a good one instead of a decent one.
Another thing that makes the film stand out from typical comedies of the kind, are the supporting actors, whereby I'm especially talking about Toni Collette. Her appearance is just so convincing, and I know because I grew up among people like her. Not that my mom is as extreme as her (she's neither a vegetarian nor depressive), but the overall ideology or whatever resembles the one I grew up with.
However, my personal experiences were never as crass as Marcus', who is literally forced to wear wooly sweaters and ugly brown shoes. I really felt with him though.
And while we're talking about Marcus; Nicholas Hoult is wonderful. A wonderful child actor. Every time I saw a great child actor I think they must be so talented, because most children are so bad at acting - although most love it. And I also feel pity for them, because it must be hard to grow up being famous and working all the time. It's not as hard when you're from British film as when you're from Hollywood I think, nevertheless I'm happy and relieved that Hoult has turned out to be a good actor indeed, and although (or maybe because) he hasn't been in many movies since About a Boy, he proves that he's got it for good. Admittedly, I've only seen him in A Single Man apart from this one, but I thought he was good in that.

So, next time you need some light but junk-less entertainment, you should opt for About a Boy. It works as a good comedy, but also gives some food for thought, which in my opinion makes it the perfect filler in between classics and more demanding films.

The final word