Review of About a Boy (2002) by Jayne W — 16 May 2014

One of the most pleasing kind of surprises the movies throw up is seeing an established superstar surprise you by playing a role against type, and succeed marvelously at it. Hugh Grant is just a revelation in 'About a Boy'. Cast in almost every film he's ever done as the diffident but charming Englishman, he goes down a different road here, playing a decadent but charming Englishman instead. Playing a philandering wastrel who lives off the royalties of a song his father sang forty years ago, Grant's always perfect comic timing is in full flow, but here it is edged with a cynicism and selfish cunning that make for his most interesting role yet.

But of course, this film is not just about Hugh Grant, it is also about a Boy. This boy, played by Nicholas Hoult, is a withdrawn and slightly weird child who lives with his depressed mother. The film follows the development of an unlikely bond between the self-absorbed womanizer played by Grant and the sensitive schoolboy played by Hoult, after the two are thrown together in an unexpected manner. Hoult is also superb in this film, managing to gain the audience's sympathy and affection without resorting to the Cute Movie Child act. It's almost enough to make me forgive him for growing up to date Jennifer Lawrence.

All in all, this is a sharp and sweet film, and you can't say that about too many mainstream comedies. The script is hilarious and touching in all the right places, and does not contain an ounce of insincerity. If only Hugh Grant's career had followed the intriguing direction it promised to take here.