About a Boy (2002) - This dramedy stars Hugh Grant, who has more than his far share of charm going for him in this film. However it would seem that this charm is about the only thing Grant’s character has going for him. Grant’s character is pretty much doing nothing positive with his life, in terms of either helping himself or others. To say he is extremely self centered might be something of an understatement. The one active thing that he does in is life is look for new ways to meet and date women, who fairly quickly break up with him once they realize that this charm is the only thing this guy has going for him, and that he is pretty much a blank slate once you get beyond the charm. At any rate, in his pursuit of meeting and dating women, he has decided that pursuing single parent women is something he is going to try, so he starts attending meetings of a single parent support group, even though he doesn’t have a child. In a date with a woman from this group, he meets an 11 year old boy whose mother is friends with the woman Grant is taking out. The kid has problems of his own, as he is a misfit at school who the other kids pick on, and his mother is is in a deep depression that also has its affect on the boy. At any rate, the boy takes a liking to Grant’s character, and seeks to insinuate himself into Grant’s life. This comes to something of a shock to Grant, but over time an interesting relationship develops between the two, and it does affect the lives of both of them. I quite enjoyed this movie. Grant is very good, and the boy, who is played by Nicholas Hoult, is terrific. While the supporting cast includes Toni Collette and Rachel Weisz, the combo of Grant and Hoult pretty much carry this film on their shoulders.
