Saturday

I never had any intention of watching About a Boy. I'd read High Fidelity when I was younger, and marginally enjoyed it, but it wasn't the kind of fiction I continued reading, or especially wanted to see adapted into movies. So, Hugh Grant in what seemed like another romantic comedy role trying to scrape the last bit of success out of the achievements of Four Weddings and a Funeral. Nonetheless, I somehow found myself with nothing else to watch last night, and decided to give the film a chance. Most reviews seemed to be 'better than you'd expect', which was encouraging. And, overall, I'd have to say it was better than I'd expected. This does not, however, mean it was good. The director simply wasn't brave enough with the material. The first thing to do is get rid of the voice-over narration. And this isn't a romantic comedy, it's been mis-advertised. Hugh Grant's relationship with Rachel Weisz takes about five minutes. The rest of the film is devoted to how he deals with the boy. Without the richness of a book, the film is unbalanced, and becomes bizarre. The ending isn't at all satisfactory or convincing. But I'm being too harsh. This wasn't a bad movie, it's just that it didn't make much of an attempt to rise above a standard that had been set eight years earlier.