About a Boy

Theatrical Release Date: 2002 05 17 (USA)

UPC: 025192245220

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Adult Situations, Adult Language, Watch With Your Teen]

Summary: 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

Category: Comedy Drama

Awards: Top Ten Movie of the Year – American Film Institute Best Young Performer – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – null Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Writers Guild of America Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress [Runner-up] – Toronto Film Critics Association Best Young Actor/Actress – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Picture - Musical or Comedy – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccHilarious 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

About a Boy

Format: DVD

Release Date: 01/14/2003

Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Pre-1954 Standard

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 102 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,French

Subtitles: Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Two Boys (Main Titles) [6:49]
2. Fabulous Single Mums [4:08]
3. Bad Times [2:25]
4. S.P.A.T. [4:27]
5. The Weird Kid [3:10]
6. Duck Killer [2:18]
7. Emergency [6:27]
8. Cool Uncle Will [5:21]
9. Will's New Friend [8:52]
10. Cool New Shoes [3:29]
11. Marcus in the Middle [4:49]
12. Christmas [5:49]
13. Rachel [4:26]
14. My Son Marcus [6:33]
15. Truth & Consequences [4:39]
16. Something For Mum [4:21]
17. Worried About Marcus [1:22]
18. The School Concert [6:11]
19. No Man Is An Island [8:03]
20. End Titles [2:22]

Michael Hastings

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

Cast and Crew: Robert De Niro  Producer 
Peter Hedges  Screenwriter 
Tim Bevan  Producer 
Eric Fellner  Producer 
Jane Rosenthal  Producer 
Nick Hornby  Executive Producer 
Chris Weitz  Director 
Chris Weitz  Screenwriter 
Paul Weitz  Director 
Paul Weitz  Screenwriter 
Lynn Harris  Executive Producer 
Hugh Grant  Actor 
Nicholas Hoult  Actor 
Toni Collette  Actor 
Rachel Weisz  Actor 
Isabel Brooke  Actor 
Victoria Smurfit  Actor 
Sharon Small  Actor 

Country: UK,USA