About A Boy

No man is an island.  So quotes Hugh Grant's character, the aptly named Will Freeman.  Will thinks he's built a good life for himself- no commitments to anyone, no one relying on him, and he's not relying on anyone.  He doesn't work, living off the royalties of a popular Chrismas song (one of the more interesting movie reasons of why a character wouldn't work), so he has a lot of free time. 

Will needs a new way to meet women, so he invents a son and meets a single mom at a support group for single parents.  This single mom has a friend, Fiona (played by Toni Collette) suffering through severe depression, and her son (played by Nicholas Hoult) needs someone to latch onto.

The movie is narrated by Will and Marcus, and the two characters are looking for completely different things at the beginning of the movie- Will's looking simply to date women and stay unattached, while Marcus is looking for stability. 

About A Boy worked for me for many reasons.  The movie is based on a Nick Hornby book, so the characters and dialogue are well written and believable, and the story never becomes corny or overdone.