I loved the original Chris Weitz dramedy “About A Boy.” It’s easily one of my favorite comedies of all time and one of the rare Hugh Grant performances I can stomach. It’s not a surprise that the US would seek to adapt it in to a television show, I’m just saddened it’s on NBC in America. I mean, could you have picked a more incompetent channel with no idea how to handle new series’? In either case, “About a Boy,” granted it lasts more than one season, is a decent adaptation of the movie, but doesn’t do anything with the concept at all. For some reason the writers have completely side stepped the narration, and have eliminated a ton of interesting supporting characters from the series.
The whole idea of “About a Boy” was that this bachelor and this young boy find a family in a group of disjointed, somewhat dysfunctional individuals that love one another. Now it’s mainly just boiled down to Will, Marcus, and his mother Fiona. This time around Minnie Driver plays the fracture Fiona who moves in to the city with her son Marcus, next door to Will. The character dynamics are all still the same, except the pilot is really a truncated remake of the original movie. Marcus and his mom still sing, still have an odd bond, and Will finds friendship with Marcus, but a lot of the more important themes are missing. The whole point of the pilot is that Marcus is going to sing a song during his school talent show for his mom. What’s cut out is the fact that Fiona attempts suicide.
In this series she’s just mildly depressed and quirky, which makes Marcus’ intentions to sing for her forced. In the film, Marcus sang for his mom because he was convinced singing for her would keep her from attempting to commit suicide again. Will did everything he could to ensure him that singing would do nothing and she’d attempt suicide again anyway, and probably would succeed. All he could do is make himself happy. This time he just really wants to do it for her, just because she’s sad she’s in a new city. David Walton is a nice replacement for Hugh Grant as Will, now a gruff American who lives a lazy bachelor life living everyday on his royalties from his days as a one hit wonder in a rock band. Walton really has a talent for comic timing, and plays well off of Driver, who is the more uptight Brit stationed only inches away from David.
Cue many an awkward confrontation, quippy bickering, and hilarious misunderstanding. That said, while the first few episodes are repetitive, the show still has room to grow. David rescuing Marcus in his talent show performance is still touching, and Walton’s chemistry with Benjamin Stockham is fun to watch. Where as Nicholas Hault played Marcus as a good looking kid who could easily transform in to a cool kid, but chose not to, for his mother, Stockham has a more cherubic and impish quality to him. He has a lot of time to reach the point where he can be socially acceptable, but behind closed doors he’s still clever, funny, and charming. After two episodes, “About a Boy” is only a lukewarm adaptation with plenty of room to grow in to something excellent. I’ll stick with it for as long as NBC keeps it on, and hope for the best.
If not there’s always the 2002 film, which I insist is a masterpiece.
Now on NBC. Check Local Listings.