About a Boy

"Growing up has nothing to do with age."

2002 1h 41m EN

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 2,481

DramaComedyRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.

“Growing up has nothing to do with age.”

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Cast

Hugh Grant
Will Freeman
Nicholas Hoult
Marcus Brewer
Toni Collette
Fiona Brewer
Rachel Weisz
Rachel
Natalia Tena
Ellie
Victoria Smurfit
Suzie
Augustus Prew
Ali
Sharon Small
Christine

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Chris Weitz
Writers: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz, Peter Hedges
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 24 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 4 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Chris Weitz, shot by Remi Adefarasin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Badly Drawn Boy. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nick Moore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Growing up has nothing to do with age.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Chris Weitz directs. Remi Adefarasin behind the camera. Badly Drawn Boy scores. Nick Moore cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 4.8× over at the box office.
2Released 24 years ago.
3International production across 4 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, France, Germany.
4Directed by Chris Weitz, shot by Remi Adefarasin. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Badly Drawn Boy. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Nick Moore shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Growing up has nothing to do with age.".
9IMDB entry: tt0276751 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 11 themes, including "friendship", "london, england", "rock 'n' roll", "rap music".
11Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Remi Adefarasin
Original score: Badly Drawn Boy
Editing: Nick Moore
Production design: Jim Clay
Costume design: Joanna Johnston
Makeup / hair: Graham Johnston
Sound: Chris Carpenter
Stunt coordinator: Grahame Crowther
Runtime: 101 min · 1h 41m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $27,000,000
Box office: $129,000,000
Return: 478% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: About a Boy (2002)

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Chris Weitz

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2020-03-22
★ 7/10
It didn't kill me softly. Will is self centered and has cast off all his responsibilities. But during one of his more dubious scams to date single mothers, he is forced to reconsider his moral fibre after coming into contact with a 12 year old outcast named Marcus. Adapted from the massively popular book written by Nick Hornby ("Fever Pitch" & "High Fidelity") About A Boy easily translates well to the screen without truly breaking free of the modest premise. Oddly enough for such a British picture, this is directed by an American, Paul Weitz, who along with his brother Chris, brought the world "American Pie". It works, largely to the undervalued comic talents of one Hugh Grant (Will). I would go so far as to say that without Grant leading the film, this would have been a flop, all the highlights on offer are when Grant is on the screen. Expressive with his face and delivering his lines with a natural high, Grant nicely lures the audience into the less than admirable Will's hands. Which is quite a trick considering that Will is a morally dubious scum bag!. Nicholas Hoult (Marcus) is OK as child actors go, but here he is given far to much to do. Which is another reason why Grant is so important to the film being a success, he shoulders much of the emotional burden, letting Hoult breathe what life he can into poor young Marcus (worst hair cut on film ever). Solid support comes from Toni Collette and Rachael Weisz, and Weitz's direction is smooth and unobtrusive, with Badly Drawn Boy's score an integral part of the story. Yet as much as I enjoy the film myself, one still feels frustrated that it didn't turn out better than it did. A double handed narration from both lead characters intrudes on the flow of the plot, and the pay off is ultimately an "oh" moment. So to me it's an OK movie made into a good one courtesy of one of Britain's best light comedy actors. 7/10
CinemaSerf2024-04-18
★ 7/10
"Will" (Hugh Grant) lives a life of leisure living off the royalties of a Christmas song written by his grandad. He dates a succession of women but usually neither party want much more than a quickie. He realises that all of the interesting people have grown up and into relationships, marriages and family life - so he decides that it's time for him to have a son too! An imaginary one. Then he encounters "Fiona" (Toni Collette) and her son "Marcus" (Nicholas Hoult) and they begin to bond a little - even if the boy does bring out his (and my) best Herod tendencies. Despite himself, "Will" isn't a complete waste of space and when a near tragedy strikes the life of the bullied "Marcus", the two start to bond over afternoon editions of "Countdown" on the television and slowly all concerned start to realise the benefits of family - shiny new trainers, warts and all. The dialogue is quite observationally witty here and as much of the story is told via a punchy narration from Grant and Hoult, we get an additional degree of honesty to their story that augments the acting quite amiably. Hoult is the star, no doubt about it. His characterisation of an increasingly savvy and persistent child is engaging to watch and though I really did struggle to get through the cheese-fest that is the conclusion I did rather find myself wanting an happy ending. It's easy to see why Grant was Hollywood material and here he effortlessly delivers a gentle feel-good film tinged with the odd bit of reality. One that still works well.
tmdb257962992024-06-27
★ 7/10
Really like this movie. Hugh Grant before he started playing himself.