Movie Review: About a Boy
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What Parents Should Know
Parents should know this movie has some strong language (two
uses of f--k, a lot for a PG-13) and some sexual references
(Will is an unabashed love-'em-and-leave-'em guy). A parent is
clinically depressed and attempts suicide and the child feels
responsible. Another child becomes hysterical about the
prospect of his mother dating. Marcus' mother fears that Will
has an improper interest in Marcus. Characters drink and
smoke.
Families who see this movie should talk about how we decide just how much of an island we want to be. Why is it important to Will not to have any relationships? Why are the kids in school so mean to Marcus? How are Will and Marcus alike and how are they different? Is it right for him to believe that it is his responsibility to make his mother feel better? How does Will's relationship with Marcus make him more interested in a relationship with Rachel? What kind of grown-up will Marcus be? How does helping Marcus change Will's feelings about him?
Families should also talk about the definition of girlfriend that Will and Marcus discuss and Marcus' idea about the importance of having a back-up. Why does Will watch Frankenstein? Does Will create a monster? Families may also want to talk about depression and its causes and treatments.
Common Sense Media Review
ABOUT A BOY, based on the book of the same name by Nick
Hornby, is the story of a shallow man appropriately named Will
Freeman (
Hugh
Grant) who believes, contrary to John Donne's theory, that
every man is an island.
Or at least he wants to believe he can live life entirely self-contained with no reason to form attachments of any kind. Will has enough money from the royalties of his father's Christmas novelty song to devote his time to leisure, and divides life into half-hour segments -- he doesn't want to commit to anything much longer than that. Up to his late 30s his plan is still working and he decides his life is pretty much perfect. In other words, chaos is about to ensue.
Will's latest plan to avoid romantic emotional entanglements: single mothers. He decides it's the perfect relationship; they have low expectations and a sympathetic listener can get pretty far with them. So he pretends to be a single parent himself, makes up a 2-year-old son, and attends a support group in order to meet them.
A mother in the group brings a friend's 12-year-old named Marcus (the thankfully un-movie-kid-like Nicholas Hoult) along on a picnic. Marcus is isolated but does not want to be. His single mother is severely depressed and even the outcasts at school think he is too much of a dork to hang out with.
And so, with the inability to process other people's reactions and total disregard for his own vulnerability that only a pre-teen could survive, Marcus just shows up at Will's home every afternoon to watch television and ultimately insists on becoming the closest thing to a friend that Will has ever known.
I know what you're thinking: this is manipulative claptrap from a Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie. That's because there is so much appeal in this kind of theme that even a lousy script and poor production values can't completely destroy it. But when it's done well -- or even very, very well, as it is here -- it turns into a purely satisfying and enjoyable film.
We know from Bridget Jones's Diary and even Small Time Crooks that Hugh Grant relishes playing a cad. Freed from the obligation to be the perfect boyfriend of Notting Hill -type movies, he gives us a superb performance of great honesty and subtlety and flawless comedy timing.
Families who enjoy this movie will also enjoy Bridget Jones's Diary and Four Weddings and a Funeral (very mature material). Families with younger children who enjoy this theme should watch Disney's delightful The Kid.
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
