Review of About A Boy

Introduction

Hugh Grant always seems to be typecasted - as the single, nice guy who of course will fall in love throughout whatever film, and they will live happily ever after.

But typecasting ain`t all bad: I mean, Grant has had some good roles in recent years - Four Weddings & A Funeral, Notting Hill and Bridget Jones`s Diary. He has proved that having floppy hair and a very British voice can go for you if you have good comic timing, and the ability to lift a film above the norm.

And now, he is back. Based on a Nick Hornby novel (of High Fidelity fame), his new outing is goes something like this:

Will (Hugh Grant) is a typical bachelor - single, lives alone and indulges in nothing except from leisure: pool, home cinema et al; and he enjoys baggage-free relationships...by that I mean no kids. But, one day he decides to go for single mothers (for a reason that is damn amusing - but I won`t spoil the joke), and in doing so makes up that he has a son - Ned - so that he can join a single parents club. He soon meets a pretty f**ked up woman (Toni Colette) to tell you the truth, and her equally quirky son (newcomer Nicholas Hoult). Soon they form a relationship, yet the object of Will`s affections is another woman, another single mother (Rachel Weisz)...

Video

It is presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, and as one would expect from a recent transfer, all things are a go-go. Crisp and clear print, no dust nor grain, no artefacts nor blemishes...you know the deal. Not as crisp as some recent reference quality prints (The Fellowship of The Ring, Monsters, Inc. et al), but this is A-OK.

The helmer, or make that helmers, are Chris and Paul Weitz...of American Pie fame. So, before you write this out as `some other gross-out`, think again. With About A Boy, the Weitz`s have proved that a bit of moral structure, and shall we say `clean comedy` exists in their imaginations. It is still evident that they are great comic directors though, no matter what class of comedy they do, which is very pleasing to see.

Audio

A DD 5.1 track is on offer, and the surrounds are used well considering this is a dialogue-driven feature. During any music the surrounds are used, and the main audio stream is crisp and clear. Good ambiance, and no complaints whatsoever except for the fact that this won`t make your room shudder...this just ain`t the type of genre.

The script is good to great: no doubt due to Nick Hornby`s book that this is adapted from. The jokes come thick and fast, the characters are well developed, and the set-pieces are good.

Features

Went through the rental window (albeit shortly), and has now `emerged`, with features. Just a pain in the ass that the executives at Universal can`t take their heads out of their rich asses and cut the rental windows out altogether.

We begin the disc with an audio commentary by the directors, and it is anecdotal and informative - offering a lot of insight into the production. Well worth a listen.

The next feature is a 15 minute featurette on the making of the film, and although it is a bit too short, it has enough soundbites with the cast and crew to satisfy most people`s needs...although either die-hard Grant (or for that matter, any other cast/crew member!) fans or die-hard film buffs will be left wanting a bit more.

Then, we have a selection of deleted scenes - with or without optional commentary by the directors. They are good, and do add something to the plot: which is normally not the case. The commentary, like the feature commentary, is again insightful and adds more to the scenes, such as why they were excluded and anecdotes about filing, et cetera. Note: this is probably self-explanatory, but I have realised that some people, when listening to an audio commentary, don`t realise that they can follow the action at the same time...simply enable the subtitles - meaning you can still follow the plot whilst listening to the commentary. Simple I know, but it is funny how some people complain of not being able to follow what`s going on whilst listening to a commentary.

A 20 minute interview is next, and the interview is with...Badly Drawn Boy. "Who the hell?" I hear you ask. Well, Mr. Boy is the music artist who apparently has done `lots of good albums`: but the significance of him in the film is that he provides all the music. The interview is interesting (provided courtesy of MTV) and shapes the disc up as a multi-insightful package.

Carrying on with the music theme, there are two music videos provided. Both by Badly Drawn Boy: one is good, one is er, bad. Both appear in the film (and the bad one is used to better effect), and at least it gives people a chance to see how this guy makes his videos.

There is also a theatrical trailer (guess what this does) and some DVD-ROM features finishing off the extras.

The menus are completely static, but still offer the usual setup.

Conclusion

The film is great, and if you are a fan of either comedy or Hugh Grant (is that tautology?) then you`ll really like it. Instantly rewatchable and suitable for the whole family, this would make a great Christmas present.

Disc wise, everything is fine - but, and here comes the only DVD complaint, the extras need a bit more work. More making-of and comprehensive interviews please Mr. Universal.

Unwrap it on Christmas morning, watch it with your family and friends, enjoy it, and when the others have gone, slide the disc back in your player - and bask in the glory of the (almost good) extras.