He Said, She Said: About a Boy

Posted by: J.S. Lee  •  May 17, 2002 @ 11:59am

Filed under: Reviews

When we last saw our two "heroes" â€" J.S. Lee and the lovely Kiery Drysdale â€" the dynamic duo had just finished doing battle with the atrocious "feminist" (ha ha), buddy gross-out comedy, and probably one of the worst movies of 2002 thus far, The Sweetest Thing. Having barely made it out of the theatre alive, both J.S. and Kiery have spent the past few weeks recuperating after their traumatizing journey to the center of bad taste, and working on various movie-related solo projects (which also can be found right here on ShowbizMonkeys.com). But as the monumental movie release date of May 16 dawns upon us, and as one of the most highly anticipated movies of the year (do I even have to say Star Wars: Episode II?) finally arrives in our galaxy, J.S. Lee and Kiery Drysdale have once again been called together to take on the perilous task of spouting their own idiosyncratic views and opinions in the name of the all holy movie review. However, going against the sway of popular culture, our two valiant film critics have decided to forgo George Lucas's intergalactic fable of good versus evil (at least for this week anyway), and have set their critical sights on a story of a different, more earthly kind...

Opening this weekend alongside the massive Star Wars: Episode II â€" Attack of the Clones, is the romantic comedy/drama, and undeniable box-office underdog of the week, About a Boy. From the directors of American Pie (Chris and Paul Weitz), and the screenwriter who brought us What's Eating Gilbert Grape? (Peter Hedges), About a Boy (based on the book by Nick Hornby) tells the tale of Will Freeman â€" a handsome, rich, and arrogant Londoner â€" and his ongoing quest to continually live the high life, while also sexually conquering the opposite sex. However, through circumstances which involve posing as a single dad in an attempt to pick up unsuspecting mothers at single-parents support groups, Will soon finds himself involved in a rather strange, yet sincere relationship with a twelve-year-old boy named Marcus (Nicholas Hoult) â€" a child who must deal with his suicidal mother (Toni Collete) and his harassing schoolmates at the same time. With this new found "family" relationship and with his responsibilities suddenly changing from the excessively superficial to the unexpectedly inspirational, Will now faces a whole set of new life challenges which he has never faced before. Add to this the beautiful single mother â€" Rachel (Rachel Weisz), who may be Will's one chance at true love, but who also thinks that Marcus is Will's son, and you have the set up for a dramatic-comedy which hopes to offer substance over action this blockbuster weekend.

KIERY SAYS:

About a Boy is a wonderfully inspirational movie. But the difference between About a Boy and a Vangelis album is the fact that the film embraces the reality of life, and therefore inspires subtly; its characters making small efforts to change their lives for the better. There are no grand gestures or huge steps that anyone decides to make, but the small ones mean so much to us because they are real. The story is recognizable, perhaps even clichéd - two people meet and through hardship and adversity inspire each other and teach each other about life. This happens all the time on and off the silver screen. So what makes About a Boy so special? It's not the plot but the execution of said plot that makes it a beautiful film.

The character of Will is played almost to perfection by Hugh Grant. In him, we see a selfish, lazy cad who seems unable to care about; never mind love, anyone. What we also see is a reluctant hero, a man who deep inside realizes that he has done nothing with his life, but is suddenly forced to do so much more â€" to save a child, and perhaps a family from collapsing. It is a rare talent to play a character that will be loved no matter what he does â€" even something as abhorrent as inventing a fake child to meet women. Grant shows us the goodness beneath Will, a goodness that we know will be brought out by the young boy, Marcus - a child who is tortured by many things, and really needs and deserves someone to come through for him. Marcus practically breaks the heart, and we see in Will the responsibility to take care of him.

The screenplay for About a Boy was written by Peter Hedges, based on the book by Nick Hornby. The film's soundtrack was entirely written and performed by musician, Badly Drawn Boy. The marriage of these three is fitting because they all have subtle and different ways of revealing human behavior. And that is what About a Boy is â€" the revealing of human behavior in a beautiful, perhaps slightly optimistic, but nevertheless relatable way. It is both a lesson in life, and a celebration of it. In other words, it is no Star Wars.

J.S. LEE SAYS:

Oh, that Kiery. It sure sounded like she enjoyed About a Boy, didn't it? But how could she not? As noted by Ms. Drysdale herself, Hugh Grant's performance as the lovable, yet contemptible ladies man, was quite brilliant indeed. But let us not forget Nicholas Hoult's breakthrough performance as the troubled Marcus. A couple of decades may separate the two male leads in age, but young Hoult's screen presence is equal, if not greater than Grant's own magnetic charm. Although the film's title may imply that the film's focus rests solely on the shoulders of the young boy (Marcus) in the story, it does not take long to see that the character of Will Freeman is in fact just as much of a boy as twelve-year-old Marcus. Having no real adult responsibilities to worry about, Will is basically just as much of a kid as Marcus is. With no job, no money concerns, and hence no worries, Will is free to live the carefree life of an adolescent; spending his days watching TV, buying CD's, and chasing after girls. Directors Chris and Paul Weitz are quick to establish the narrative equality of the two male protagonists within the story by seamlessly switching back and forth from voice over narration provided by the two leads. Fortunately, this back and forth style of storytelling works, and does not leave the audience feeling as if they are completely leaving one main character when the narrative suddenly shifts its focus to another main character.

But with About a Boy spending so much time with the characters of Will and Marcus, one could make the claim that the filmmakers have perhaps underplayed the narrative importance of some of the female characters, such as Fiona and Rachel. Especially with a character like Fiona, whose importance in the life of Marcus is obviously quite significant (she is the boy's suicidal mother after all), one might wonder if more time could have been spent investigating her life, and the obvious darkness behind her depression and ultimate suicidal tendencies. Then again, as my co-reviewer, Kiery was quick to tell me, About a Boy is not Fiona's story, or Rachel's story, but rather the dual story of Will and Marcus. Therefore, perhaps my attempt to criticize the apparent inequality of character examination in About a Boy is a rather empty one at that.

So is there anything else for me to say? Fortunately for me (and perhaps for some of readers out there), I would have to say, "No". As Kiery so eloquently stated in her portion of this review, About a Boy is indeed a beautiful movie. And for the most part, I would have to agree. Despite a somewhat clichéd thematic structure, and perhaps an unrealistically optimistic outlook on life and relationships, About a Boy is a movie that is both sad yet sweet, serious yet funny. In a way, kind of like the way life really is sometimes. Hence, despite the countless disagreements which often take place between Kiery and myself in other areas of life, it would appear that we once again have come to agree on something within the realm of film. Essentially, About a Boy is a pretty damn good movie. So this weekend, if you are one of the few individuals out there who doesn't want to see a movie about a galaxy far, far, away, then go see a movie about a boy.