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Grade: B+

Verdict: As Hugh Grant says repeatedly throughout the movie, “Lovely! Brilliant!”

Details: Starring Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette. Directed by Paul and Chris Weitz. Rated PG-13 for language and sexual situations. One hour, 42 minutes.

Rate it: Write your own review

DVD Review

"About a Boy," which debuts Tuesday on video and DVD, is about a boy — a 38-year-old boy named Will Freeman (Hugh Grant). Freeman, a womanizer, invents his own toddler as a way to meet single mothers. But a chain of events hooks him up with Marcus, a 12-year-old misfit.

Yes, it's that treasured cliché: The two reluctantly bond and learn something from each other, and you fill in the rest. But the way it happens here is anything but a cliché. The movie is based on the book by Nick Hornby (he wrote "High Fidelity"), and it's full of sharp observations and killer wit.

The DVD includes deleted scenes, outtakes, a "making of" documentary and music videos associated with songs in the film.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, (none)

Theatrical Review

"About a Boy" is about a boy. A 38-year-old boy named Will Freeman (Hugh Grant).

Will is a wealthy bachelor who's never worked a day in his life thanks to the lavish royalties from an inane Christmas song written years ago by his late father. Will's day consists of watching TV, shopping and going out to lunch. “How do people have time to fit in a job?” he wonders.

Will is also something of a womanizer. He's just discovered that dating single moms is the easiest way to go because they're so gratified by the attention. He gets sex, they get ego-massaging and the breakup — usually because they blame themselves — is guilt-free. So, Will invents a 2-year-old son and joins S.P.A.T. (Single Parents Alone Together). He actually finds someone to ask out among the rather hilarious (and mean-spirited) assortment of losers in the group. The date is the first step in a chain of events that will hook him up with Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a 12-year-old misfit who's stuck with a hippie-leftover mom (Toni Collette), who's seriously depressed, and a school full of bullies, who like to beat up on oddballs.

Yes, it's that treasured cliché: The two reluctantly bond and learn something from each other and you fill in the rest.

However, the way it happens here is anything but clichéd. The movie is based on the book by Nick Hornby (he also wrote “High Fidelity”) and it's full of sharp observations and killer wit — even when things get gooey. For instance, Will protects his single-father charade by buying a car seat and then sprinkling it with child debris such as lost Cheerios and crumpled potato chips.

Grant is terrific. He's the essence of a slacker/cad who's never had an unselfish thought in his life. His solipsism is stunning — and stunningly funny. When some concerned married friends worry “You'll end up childless and alone,” he chirps back with that devilish Grant grin, “Fingers crossed!”

Grant gets good support from Holt, Collette and Rachel Weisz as the woman he could fall for for good. But Grant is the movie's life-support system. He's become a rarity these days given a movie mind-set that divides male actors into cerebral Edward Nortons or action-ready (kind of) Ben Afflecks. He really is like that other legendary Grant. You could easily see “About a Boy” being made in the '40s starring the Cary version.

The directors are the Weitz brothers, Paul and Chris, of “American Pie” infamy. They do a perfectly acceptable job; you have to figure they loved the material. After all, these guys could probably buy Ireland if they made “American Pies” 3 through 78. “About a Boy” is lively and funny and charming and smart. Sounds like a good time at the movies to me.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, (none)

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