About a Boy

4.00
    About a Boy
    2002

    Synopsis

    Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.

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    Cast

    • Hugh GrantWill Freeman
    • Nicholas HoultMarcus Brewer
    • Toni ColletteFiona Brewer
    • Rachel WeiszRachel
    • Natalia TenaEllie
    • Victoria SmurfitSuzie
    • Augustus PrewAli
    • Sharon SmallChristine
    • Madison CookImogen
    • Jordan CookImogen

    Recommendations

    • 90

      Slate

      It's irresistible, damn it. Mainstream comedies should all be this funny and tender and deftly performed.
    • 90

      Washington Post

      Hilarious, touching and wonderfully dyspeptic.
    • 89

      Austin Chronicle

      About a Boy knows exactly what it wants to do: It wants to make you smile, and grin, and then laugh with recognition, and it manages all three, again and again.
    • 88

      USA Today

      About a Boy is a rarity in many ways. It's a well-written, witty film whose memorable characters grapple with the nature of family, love, friendship and despair. Even its soundtrack, by Badly Drawn Boy, is perfectly pitched.
    • 88

      Chicago Sun-Times

      We have all the action heroes and Method script-chewers we need right now, but the Cary Grant department is understaffed, and Hugh Grant shows here that he is more than a star, he is a resource.
    • 83

      Entertainment Weekly

      Hugh Grant has grown up, holding on to his lightness and witty cynicism but losing the stuttering sherry-club mannerisms that were once his signature. In doing so, he has blossomed into the rare actor who can play a silver-tongued sleaze with a hidden inner decency.
    • 80

      Chicago Reader

      Illuminating with their energy and wit.
    • 80

      New Times (L.A.)

      Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of About a Boy is how substantial it plays -- as a feel-good film with weight, a knowing comedy with dramatic depth.

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