Grant scores again in refreshing comedy

About a Boy -- PG-13
Starring: Hugh Grant, Nicholas Hoult
Directed by: Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz
Showing: Showplace 11 East Based on "High Fidelity" author Nick Hornby's novel, "About a Boy" maintains Hornby's wit and knack for creating refreshingly real characters and situations. The pathetic and the out of place are wonderfully portrayed in moments and moods that feel immediately familiar. Hugh Grant plays Will, a selfish bachelor who lives off the royalties of his father's one hit song and "doesn't do anything." He discovers the benefits of dating single mothers, and decides to con his way into a date with one. But when Will picks her up, he's also joined by Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), a 12-year-old boy with a suicidal mother and a more grown-up attitude than himself. After Marcus comes to Will's apartment day after day for sanctuary from the miserable reality of his own life, the two become friends. In a sense, Will teaches Marcus how to be kid and Marcus teaches Will to be more of an adult. As Disney as this sounds, it's not. The characters are very real, and their relationships develop through arguments and embarrassing moments rather than camera commercial style smiles and hugs. The painfully uncomfortable instances where Marcus sings are both sad and funny. They capture the bittersweet reality of Marcus's life. The dialogue is subtle and comes off as very natural. Grant fits his role perfectly, probably because his personality seems to match with his character's. I couldn't imagine the casting being more appropriate for this movie. The irony of Grant's and Hoult's characters learning from each other is both charming and funny and done with only a few minor "Wonder Years" style offenses. Grant, Hoult and Toni Collette (as Fiona, Marcus's mother) all do a fine job. "About a Boy" may not be the funniest or most dramatic movie of the year, but it is clever and stands out as a movie that needs neither a happy ending or Jack Black to be entertaining.