Starring: Hugh Grant, Toni Collette, Nicholas Hoult
Director: Paul Weitz, Chris Weitz
Country: USA, UK
Genre: Comedy

About a Boy is a story of two boys growing up. One of them just happens to be in his thirties.

Fresh off of their highly successful* 2001 film Down To Earth starring Chris Rock, Paul and Chris Weitz turned their focus on a slightly different type of comedy. About a Boy is a simultaneous coming-of-age story between a boy and a selfish man. One comes to terms with growing up, and the other comes to terms with high school. This film is really sweet, but most importantly, it doesn’t pull any punches. It deals with some heavy issues, (suicide, depression, Mystykal,) and doesn’t water itself down to conform to a general audience. That’s not to imply that it doesn’t have wide appeal, it does, which is why this film is so enjoyable. But you really can’t do much harm when Nick Hornby is your source for story and characters.

* highly successful = not at all successful