MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

London's most frequently eligible bachelor gets some lessons in growing up from a maladroit 12-year-old boy in this third big-screen adaptation of a Nick Hornby novel, directed and co-written by siblings Chris and Paul Weitz of American Pie fame. About a Boy concerns the parallel coming-of-age stories of the thirtysomething Will (Hugh Grant), a layabout "serial nice guy" living a posh, carefree lifestyle off his deceased father's fortune; and the preteen Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a bright but awkward youth who's tired of his mom Fiona's (Toni Collette) depressed, boyfriend-less state. Their paths collide when Will, deciding that single mothers are the easiest romantic conquests on the dating scene, fabricates a two-year-old son and joins a group called S.P.A.T. (Single Parents Alone Together). Marcus is wise to Will's scheme, however, and through some incessant pestering and blackmail, he contrives for Will to date Fiona. Though Will doesn't hit it off immediately with either Marcus or his mother, he gradually begins to open up to the people around him -- so much so that he attracts the attention of another attractive single mom (Rachel Weisz). A U.S./U.K. co-production of Robert DeNiro's Tribeca Films and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner's Working Title (the company responsible for the Grant-related Four Weddings and a Funeral and Bridget Jones's Diary), About a Boy was co-written by What's Eating Gilbert Grape creator Peter Hedges. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Subtitle: Spanish
• Features:
  • cc
  • Hilarious deleted scenes
  • Feature commentary with directors Chris Weitz and Paul Weitz
  • Exciting music videos by Badly Drawn Boy
  • "Santa's Super Sleigh"
  • lyrics to the entire song
  • Spotlight on location:
  • The Making of About A Boy
  • English to English dictionary
  • DVD-ROM features

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 2002 (Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Peter Hedges)

• American Film Institute

•     Won Top Ten Movie of the Year - 2002

• Broadcast Film Critics Association

•     Nominated Best Young Actor/Actress - 2003 (Nicholas Hoult)
•     Nominated Best Young Performer - 2002 (Nicholas Hoult)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comed - 2002 (Hugh Grant)
•     Nominated Best Picture - Musical or Comedy - 2002

• Toronto Film Critics Association

•     Won Best Supporting Actress [Runner-up] - 2002 (Toni Collette)

• Writers Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 2002 (Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Peter Hedges)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz

• Producer:

  Robert De Niro, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Jane Rosenthal

• Screenwriter:

  Peter Hedges

• Book Author:

  Nick Hornby

• Screenwriter:

  Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz

• Cinematographer:

  Remi Adefarasin

• Musical Arrangement:

  Patrick Seymour

• Editor:

  Nick Moore

• Production Designer:

  Jim Clay

• Art Director:

  Garry Freeman

• Executive Producer:

  Nick Hornby, Lynn Harris

• Costume Designer:

  Joanna Johnston

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Tony Dawe, Bill Meadows

• First Assistant Director:

  Christopher Newman

• Casting:

  Priscilla John

• ADR Editor:

  Norval D. Crutcher III

• Dialogue Editor:

  Norval D. Crutcher III

REVIEW:

• A thoroughly pleasant but decidedly un-romantic comedy boasting another witty star turn from Hugh Grant, this Nick Hornby adaptation belongs to the increasingly common subgenre of hybrid British-American comedy-dramas that are easy enough going down, but may leave viewers with a few naggingly unresolved character arcs and motivations. As a funny, involving tale of redemption for a lazy, spoiled lad edging toward middle age, About a Boy succeeds. Hugh Grant is one of the few actors since Cary Grant who can remain likeable even as he's committing near-despicable acts of dishonesty, and directors Chris and Paul Weitz have found a perfect foil for him in the disarmingly guileless Nicholas Hoult. They've also managed to make their first genuinely stylish film, shot with grainy aplomb by Remi Adefarasin (less successful are editor Nick Moore's showy jump cuts and wipe transitions). But their script, written with Peter Hedges, leaves something to be desired in its romantic half. By the time About a Boy reveals the charming but ineffectual love interest Rachel Weisz, audiences may be long past the point of caring if, when, or with whom its cad of a protagonist is going to settle down. It doesn't help that the luminous Toni Collette, though saddled with a frump of a role, walks off with every scene she's in, and has unlimited depth and chemistry with Grant. Though the Weitz brothers have proven that they have heart to spare when it comes to their lovelorn heroes -- American Pie proved as much -- ultimately, they're not as democratic when it comes to some of their supporting characters, and engaging as it is, About a Boy can't help but suffer as a result. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi