About a boy

Hugh Grant loses his trademark stammer and twitches and dons a fresh haircut for this British romantic comedy-drama in which a vacuous 30-something heir to the royalties of a hit Christmas song matures into a caring, responsible adult. Will Freeman (Grant) invents an imaginary son so he can attend singles parents meetings in search of attractive, available women. His plan backfires and he befriends 12-year-old Marcus, who has problems at school and a clinically depressed mom. Will teaches Marcus how to be cool. Marcus teaches Will how to grow up. This predictable but entertaining story, based on Nick Hornby’s popular novel, is an abrupt and impressive change of pace for American Pie directors Paul and Chris Weitz.