About a Boy, based on the Nick Hornby book of the same name, confounded nearly all of my expectations of it, which wasn't too difficult, considering how little I knew about it going it (I took one look at Hugh Grant's new haircut and booked it to the theatre--what of it?). What I expected was that it would be one of those "Selfish man is redeemed by the love of a good kid" movies, and what I got was an honest--at times painfully so--look at what it means to come to terms with growing up and fitting in.
Of course, there are lots of laughs throughout. If you've never seen a duck killed by a loaf of bread, you will by the time this movie is out. If you don't quite understand the allure of Mystikal's song "Shake Ya Ass," after you see this, you'll probably comply with Mystikal's request the next time you hear it. If you've ever wondered why you find people who close their eyes while singing so annoying, you'll have a much clearer idea when this is through. Hugh even takes a shot at his own hairdo, noting how long it takes for his stylist to achieve its "perfectly dishevelled" state each day.
The film opens by introducing us to Will Freeman (Grant), a shallow womaniser (by his own admission) who lives solely off of the royalties of a particularly awful Christmas song his father wrote, and to Marcus (Nicholas Houton), a twelve-year old boy burdened by the depression of his single mother, Fiona (Toni Collette, in a brilliant performance, as always). It then shows us how their lives converge: Will attends a meeting of S.P.A.T. (Single Parents Alone Together) as a way to meet women, and hooks up a friend of Fiona's, not realizing he will soon become an integral part of Marcus's life.
Will realizes the way to impress women like Rachel Weitz, who plays the love interest, is to tell them he has a child. Problem is, he hasn't one. Of course, Marcus is willing to fill this role, with the hope that Will might eventually bring some happiness to his mother's dreary life. Of course, Rachel detects the whole scam and Will is left to revel in his realization that he is a "blank slate," with no job, no interests, and no personality.
Here's what got me thinking: how did he get to be thirty-something before realizing this? The film does an adequate job of explaining how time-consuming a frivolous life can be, but it really just made me sad to think that someone could reach that point. There's not much he can do about it, either--he tries his hand at volunteering for Amnesty International as a cold caller, and finds himself flirting with those he solicits. I found myself wondering if this is what the future holds for me, if the job market stays the way it is. I hope this doesn't sound terribly self-centred of me, because I think the film does ask us to discover our own inner Wills. We laugh at his insensitivity and egocentricism, but perhaps it is because of a fear of our own insubstantiality--perhaps we are afraid we'll discover that, as Gertrude Stein once said, "there is no there there."
The other thing that I was thinking about is sacrifice and survival. Marcus is a social outcast at school, partly due to the influence of his mother, but mostly due to his own individuality. In order to fit in and make it through his daily life, Marcus has to sacrifice a lot of what makes him unique. What makes this especially sad is that Marcus is aware of this when he does it, but I don't fault the character for it--with all the things we hear in the news about bullying, I think it was his only choice.
Rest assured, the whole movie is not about giving you things to ponder. In fact, there's a great scene towards the end where Toni Collette's character, sitting in a car with Will, comes to realise the harm she may have done to her son, and wails, "I've wounded his soul!" I thought we were headed for touchy-feely territory, until Will shot back, "Shut up! You're wounding my soul!"
All in all, a good film, whether you're viewing it for laughs or for Deep Thoughts--or even just to see Hugh Grant in snug-fitting jeans.
-reviewed by the ladybug, May 20, 2002 |
