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About A Boy (1 Viewer)

Paul_D

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For once, us Brits have the chance of disucssing a major movie before you Yanks! ;)
Just got back from this one, and boy have the Weitz brothers hit a home run. Though quite a small film, and certainly not one that'll likely be remembered in years to come, its an exceptionally funny, touching comedy. Great performances, superb score by Badly Drawn Boy, and a well-constructed script. It's got some killer scenes, and it single-handedly has converted me from a Hugh Grant sceptic to a Hugh Grant fan! :D Simply put - this is a star performance, that I perviously wouldn't have expected him capable of. The apparently long search they had to undergo in casting Marcus ended with a great young actor. He inhabits the role, and really gets into the quirky side.
:emoji_thumbsup: :emoji_thumbsup: :emoji_thumbsup: Highly recommended. Should be a solid hit. So much better than Notting Hill, and quite a bit better than Bridget Jones's Diary IMO.
2 other plus points: Rachel Weisz is adorable, and for us North/West Londoners, there are plenty of great locations for us to recognise! :D
 

Ken Situ

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Wouldn't you say this script (even the original book) and film have Hugh Grant written all over it.

I think it's natural for Hugh Grant to excell in it.

Note: I havn't see this movie yet.
 

Paul_D

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Wouldn't you say this script (even the original book) and film have Hugh Grant written all over it.
I think it's natural for Hugh Grant to excell in it.
I agree that the role suits his acting style. But if you mean that its in keeping with previous roles then I disagree. This isn't the same Hugh Grant as in Four Weddings or Notting Hill. He was like a loveable doofus in those, where as in this, he's sort of a prick! And it suits him. :D :emoji_thumbsup:
 

BrianB

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Glad to hear it's turned out good, Paul. Been looking forward to this as I downright loved the novel.

I don't think it's a natural role for Hugh Grant, certainly not the 'old' Grant before taking the Bridget Jones' role. The character's not the foppish stereotypical English blundering middleclass bloke he tended to play.
 

Ken Situ

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I meant his acting style, and in particular, his real life - isn't he a loveboy of some sort? I thought he spent quite bit of time chasing down women, and had fun with them.
 

Derek Miner

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Wouldn't you say this script (even the original book) and film have Hugh Grant written all over it.
When I read the novel, I said to someone, "If they make a movie of this, they'll probably go and cast someone like Hugh Grant and completely ruin it."
Then after looking into it, I found out they had cast Hugh Grant. :)
Of course, with the press ramping up on this film, I found out that Hugh Grant was attached from the beginning and has been part of the process of actually getting the film made.
I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie, as I liked the novel. I take it, from the previews, that the story has been moved to present day and is not set in the early '90s of the book?
 

Paul_D

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I take it, from the previews, that the story has been moved to present day and is not set in the early '90s of the book?
It's most definitely set in the present day. There are quite a few references to DVD players in fact. :emoji_thumbsup: Also, a quick question for the Brits? Why is it, that in movies like this, those who appear to be medium-income types always seem to live in Primrose Hill or Notting Hill, or basically any area with a Hill in it - i.e. a $1million+ piece of real estate that they really shouldn't be able to afford. ;)
That aside, it's a really super film. Check it out.
 

Derek Miner

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Why is it, that in movies like this, those who appear to be medium-income types always seem to live in Primrose Hill or Notting Hill, or basically any area with a Hill in it - i.e. a $1million+ piece of real estate that they really shouldn't be able to afford.
I know you're just poking fun at the idea (like people in the US wondering how the characters on Friends can afford such large NYC apartments)... The novel of About a Boy did have an answer, however. The character had a father who had written a classic song and he was living off the royalties, if I'm not mistaken.
 

BrianB

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Yup. It's one of the points of his character - he doesn't have to work, he has literally more money than he can comfortably spend, all due to that one song.
 

PhilipG

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Saw this one yesterday. Can't say I was impressed.

Well filmed (in scope), nicely played, and nothing wrong with the script, but I give it 2 stars out of 5. I found it tepid. This, from the writer of High Fidelity and the people who brought us Four Weddings And A Funeral and Notting Hill? I was underwhelmed. This was nothing more than a TV movie on the big screen, one of those reasonably entertaining dramas you get on Sunday evenings. It could have been so much more (well, maybe it couldn't; I haven't read the book).
 

Paul_D

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This was nothing more than a TV movie on the big screen, one of those reasonably entertaining dramas you get on Sunday evenings.
True, it does have that fell about it - I simply loved the characters and loved the way it goes in the absolute opposite direction from Four Weddings and Notting Hill.
 

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