by Orrin Konheim

Created on: December 15, 2008   Last Updated: March 30, 2009

Hugh Grant stars as Will, who is out-of-sync with the world in a way that makes him a very unconventional character. His late father once wrote a famous song and with the royalties he collects from it, he doesn't have to work to sustain himself financially. The downside of this, of course, is that he doesn't have anything substantial or fulfilling in his life and while he's comfortable with that at the beginning of the story, he inadvertantly finds greater meaning in his life through connections to other people.

What specifically changes Will's life is the inadvertent introduction of a 12-year old boy and his suicidal mother (Toni Collette) into his life when a scheme to meet an attractive mom backfires. Like some of the best relationships in life, Will's with the 12-year old Marcus is involuntary at first but the two learn a lot from each other. With a fear of losing his mother and an uneasiness about whom he can depend on, Will gives Marcus someone to look up to while Marcus enables Will to find meaning in his life, especially when Will meets a woman he feels he might be able to fall in love with (Rachel Weicz before she became famous).

This is the second Hugh Grant film that I've seen this year (2002), which surprises me considering I still don't think much of Hugh Grant as an actor. He only works in comic situations and he only has one gear of funny. It takes a fine-tuned script to make his nonchalant and shallow wit to really work and I have to give credit to an excellent adaptation of Hornsby's novel that adds more depth to Grant's role than the usual bumbling romantic lead. Also, because setting is London, Grant works better within the cultural context. The boy who plays Marcus is a cute kid who's easy to dislike at the beginning, but proves pretty bright when he takes Will's immensely useful tip that it is possible to change his level of coolness simply by changing some of the little things in his appearance (getting a haircut, buying new shoes, etc). Watching that scene warmly brings back memories of that monumental day in our own lives when it dawned upon is after years of feeling hopeless within our grade school social circles that it is, in fact, possible to change your level of coolness. The film is filled with a lot of those little things in life we can relate to so much more than we thought we would.

Nick Hornby writes about human relationships and unconventional lifestyles with tremendous insight and wit. This film is among four adaptations (Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, Fever Pitch remake) of his work and the one I find truest to that spirit of looking at life in an interesting, fun, and unconventional way.

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