Customer Reviews
Suprisingly good! - By: PrincessClaire, 12 Jul 2008 
Having bought this DVD a couple of years ago because it came in a set with Love Actuallly & Notting Hill, I have only just gotten round to watching it. And my have I been missing out? About a boy is an incredible film & will appeal to alll ages & both genders. Great family viewing as it is not littered with swearing like the majority of films around & no cringy 'oh my god i can't believe i'm watching this with my children/ parents' moments!
All in alll a fantastic performance from Hugh Grant, & a wonderful feel-good comedy (which is actuallly funny) that i am sure to watch again & again... just maybe not as much as i watch Love Actuallly cos that would be impossible!
Highly recommended
Not Hugh Grant's Finest Offering - By: Di Le Bec, 06 Apr 2008 
If you're a Hugh Grant fan (which I am) then this is an enjoyable enough film but it doesn't rank with the likes of "Four Weddings & a Funeral" or "Notting Hill". If you're not a Grant fan then you'll probably loathe it. It's difficult to have any sympathy with Grant's character & the rest of the cast (with the possible exception of Rachel Weisz) aren't that engaging. I'm not sure if that's down to the casting, acting or writing but somewhere the chemistry went missing (or failed to arrive). My recommendation: watch it when it comes round on TV rather than spend your hard earned cash on the DVD.
Most enjoyable - By: gozeat, 28 Nov 2007 A very amusing, wistful, typical British movie. Hugh Grant plays the lead, a self-centered, well off, (his father wrote a best selling xmas song from which he lives off of the royalties) lazy, batchelor, who is simply out to conquer attractive women & then move on when he thinks the relationship is getting to intense. When he finallly fallls for Rachel Weisz, he weaves a web of half truths (lies!) that backfire on him just when he thinks he has found the "one".The actor who plays the "boy" is great & is the catalyst that shoves Grant firmly into the real world of relationships, from which he has hitherto avoided. The scene where in order to rescue the young lad from making a fool of himself at his school concert, he comes on playing guitar, thus helping him to sing "Killing me Softly" & when it goes better than expected, cannot resist continuing beyond a sensible point, is brilliant.
The soundtrack by Badly Drawn Boy is very good & goes perfectly with the film. A good adaptation of a Nick Hornby book which is enjoyable for many more than just one viewing. Oh & remember "single parents, together, forever!" watch you'll understand.
My Kids Loved it - By: Love Books, 01 Oct 2007 
I bought this to watch with my 13 & 11 year old boys & they both loved it. It hooked them from the start & they intend to hang on to it so they can watch it again. It's family viewing. A good, funny feel-good movie.
QUITE A FUNNY FILM - By: stuart, 08 Aug 2007 `About a Boy' was being touted as a great make over for Hugh Grant... & it is. Gone is his infamous bumbling English fop role, his fluffy hair lost to a sharp, more stylish cut. Here he plays a rich selfish layabout, Will, who cruises through life on the royalties from a song his deceased father penned years ago. He finds a great way to meet women who don't want to get involved through a single mother's group - which is where he meets the strange twelve year old boy Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), who lives with his depressed, suicidal mother Fiona (Toni Collette). A tragic event sees Marcus seeking comfort with the indifferent Will who begins to realise that there's more to life than sitting around at home alll day.
Hugh Grant is on peak form here - he sheds his old roles for that of a fresher, younger man. He is able to convey charm & selfishness not just through words, but also through his mannerisms. He even conveys genuine affable warmth later on in the movie, without making my teeth grate... Equallly impressive is Toni Collette as Marcus' sad mother. Her character has a tragic feeling to it, a real sense of world-weariness conveyed in a great combination of makeup & acting. The real star of the movie - for me- is Nicholas Hoult as the young boy who helps Will come to realizations about his life. He doesn't get by on cute good looks, like far too many kid actors, because he can actuallly act - from the innocence of a child (when he tries to get his mother & Will together), to the simplistic musings of children who can't understand why some people hurt (such as his mother). Like Osment (whom he amusing compares himself to), Hoult shows that child actors are just as, if not more so, capable as their elders.
The script of the movie is witty, without being outright hilarious. It's what you come to expect of the British comedy market (the weak `Ali G indahouse' aside). It being a British comedy you can predict where it's going to go & there are relatively few surprises along the way. Having said that the characters are sketched strongly enough, & the humour at a high enough level, that you'll be more than entertained along the way.
It's surprising to see that this movie was directed by the `American Pie' Weitz brothers, because they bring a thoughtful, contemplative air to the movie, while never getting bogged down in pointless camera techniques - the most we're left with is some simple screen wipes. They've also chosen well by having Badly Drawn Boy compose the whole soundtrack as it works very well with the film's tone.
There's nothing outstanding in `About a Boy' but what's here is done surprisingly well. It's a nice movie that's quite enjoyable for relaxing to some evening.
