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A DVD Review of...
  
Images (C) UIP |
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Cast: Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Rachel Weisz, Nicholas Hoult, Nat Gastiain Tena
Synopsis: Will Freeman is a 36-year-old North Londoner who lives off the royalties from an old novelty song his father had written. Will is overly concerned with his coolness quotient and starts to notice that his friends are getting married and starting families, leaving him alone in the cold. He hatches a scheme that enables him to meet beautiful women who he can date briefly but will dump him before things get too serious - he’ll date single mothers who will enjoy a brief sexual interlude but will realize her child isn’t ready to have this man in their life. Will’s plans meet with an unexpected interference - Marcus, a 12-year-old boy who is decidedly uncool, has trouble with other kids at school and worries about his mother, who seems to need therapy. Will becomes reluctantly attached to the boy, which leads to a number of awkward, funny and touching situations..
Film Review: Every year the English, like many countries (incl. Australia), keep churning out quirky comedies in an effort to try and capture the international success received a decade ago when the superb "Four Weddings and a Funeral" launched the genre and Hugh Grant into money making stardom. Only two films since then have really succeeded - the wonderfully emotional "Notting Hill" and last year's biting yet charming "Bridget Jones' Diary". Now comes "About a Boy" which is firmly up there with the level of 'Bridget' and will open author Nick Hornby's works to a wider audience than ever before.
The story of "About a Boy" is interesting in that there was a big chance that if not laid out carefully, it would easily fall into a mess. After all our hero is a very selfish 38-year-old layabout not doing much with his life except some rather naughty things like picking up single mothers at self help groups and talking dirty to women during an Amnesty telethon to help kids in Burma (one of the funniest gags in the film). Maybe its the sheer Britishness of the tale, but more likely its the well penned script by the Weitz brothers (and of course Hornby's well-constructed story) which has helped avoid the moralistic statements or overt sentimentality which a direct US studio film version would unfortunately have become plagued in. Sure one or two elements are predictable at times and the ending, whilst not too cheesy still makes a bit too much of a moral judgement call, nevertheless these are practically the only faults one can find with the film.
The acting is superb, Hugh Grant gives us another variation on his style - the performance here more resembles his work in 'Bridget' than previous films, but the character is a bit less of a cad - he realises he's a flawed and unambitious bit of a sleaze and yet has accepted it and taken comfort in it. He's depressed but has no self-pity and a decent level of confidence which makes his character quite frankly the most complex he's ever played and yet he's very easy to sympathise with. Newcomer Nicholas Hoult makes an impressive debut as the rather mature for his age kid forced to look after his troubled and very controlling mother, and is getting regularly picked on at school - its one of the few child performances you'll actually really like (I hate kids on screen normally, this guy however I could watch for hours). Collette really gets to show off some work in her role - the character could easily have been played as a mean bitch or a complete waste, but the performance and actors give an unexpected take by giving the disheveled looking woman her own quirks and complexities which are touching and work the drama angle well. Its never in any doubt this is a woman who loves her son deeply and is struggling with all her might to keep her head above water yet can't help sinking back down into depression despite everything she tries. Weisz appears in a charming but forgettable part as Grant's love interest in the second half and watch out for a hilarious sereis of gags related to her son whose overprotective to the point of insanity.
The script and laughs are at a new level for the Weitz Brothers, not only is there a deftly mixed amount of drama and comedy which easily changes mood without a blink, but the story itself almost never panders to the audience and has a ring of truth to it that's getting harder and harder to find in comedies these days. 'About' easily sits above the quality of BOTH their "American Pie" movies - the humour is just as accessible but cleverer, the drama is a lot less "Dawson's Creek" painful and more real life touching, and the actors/setting are far more interesting and engaging. Badly Drawn Boy's music gets a little repetitive at times but its nice and offbeat without being too 'Top 40 chart' style predictable. 'About' is a relationship comedy which is far more rewarding and enjoyable than many other films out now, so far its easily one of the best films of the year. - Garth Franklin
"About a Boy"
DVD Details In Brief (Region 4)
Rating: M
Runtime: 97mins
Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed
Aspect Ratio: 1.85: 1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Language & Sub-Titles: English, Arabic, Romanian, Czech, Hungarian, Turkish, Greek, Hebrew
Commentary: Eddie Griffin & Director Malcolm D. Lee.
Documentaries: Making of Featurette
Clips: Deleted Scenes, Alternate Ending, Blooper Reel,
Internet Short Films, Music Video
DVD-Rom: Interactive Games
R1 vs. R4: Standard NTSC/PAL Differences. R4 misses out on Pan & Scan version, English to English Dictionary, Production Notes & Filmographies. |
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DVD Review: One of the year's best flicks comes to DVD in a nifty little package from Universal.
Presented in widescreen, the video transfer is yet another solid transfer from the studio with
a high level of detail, solid colours and a somewhat soft but not too bad level of brightness & contrast. The audio
doesn't use much of a surround track although the score is pretty omnient whilst dialogue is nice and clear.
The commentary track by the Weitz Brothers is fun with the duo going into great detail on some sequences and
talking about some interesting plot changes.
The extras start off with the standard "Spotlight: On-Location" special with film clips, interview sound bites,
on-set video, and plot/story talk with Nick Hornby, the Weitz brothers, Grant, Collette and the kid (who visibly grows up
in the different interview clips). There's fourteen minutes of deleted scenes including the group's attempts at personality assassination, buying kids toys, a quite long restaurant scene with the kid & Fiona, and an extended bit of plotting about the kid posing as his son. They're fun, not hilarious but still worth a few giggles. "Santa's Super Sleigh" has the complete lyrics and song for the tune which Grant's father wrote which is a major point in the film. "Badly Drawn Boy" is a 22-minute piece which follows the musician's career history with a combination of an interview and music video clips, whilst two music videos ("Silent Sigh" and "Something to Talk About") shot are also accessible and whilst the song music is catchy, the songs themselves are forgettable (though the clips are quirkly enjoyable). Finally comes the trailer for this and other Universal films. An excellent set for an excellent film. - Garth Franklin
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