Adapted from Nick Hornby's bestseller by the directors of American Pie, About A Boy is a surprisingly engaging drama that greatly benefits from Hugh Grant's most accomplished performance to date. The notorious fop cuts his hair and cuts out the bumbling twit routine to play William, a 38-year-old man who has never held down a steady job - thanks to a massive inheritance from his father. A ladies man, William stumbles upon the idea that single mothers are perfect dating material, and in order to get closer to them, invents an imaginary son. This deception leads him to meet Marcus (Hoult) a troubled 12-year-old whose mother, Fiona (Collette) has some problems of her own. Eschewing the gross out antics that characterized their debut offering, the Weisz brothers have fashioned a witty, if undemanding, comedy drama. Grant is in exquisite form and is given the funniest lines, but Hoult's performance is superb, supplying the emotional bones of the piece. On the downside, there's no chances taken with either the characters or the material, and About A Boy adheres to the formula of mainstream British comedies. Nonetheless, this is very enjoyable stuff. Great score, too.
