"No man is an island," according to John Donne, although super-bachelor Will (Hugh Grant) disagrees. With DVDs, CDs, TV, cappuccino makers and computers he believes he does not need anything or anyone else. And with beautiful women coming in and out of his life he has no need for a wife, even a steady girlfriend. His friends, a married couple, constantly tell him there is more to life, that he has nothing and will eventually need something substantial but Will disagrees.

Click to enlargeHe declines when these same friends ask him to be the God father of their new baby, he lists all the reasons why he's the absolute worse candidate-it's obvious he isn't the right person when we see him hold the baby like it's a life threatening disease. Will is a shallow person who only thinks about himself, he has no job (he lives off the royalties of a hit song his father wrote) and he has no desire to take on any responsibilities that will not somehow benefit him. Anything that detracts from his lifestyle is a nuisance.

Click to enlargeOne good thing his friends have done for him, however, is set him up with a beautiful young friend, who happens to be a single mother, and although Will says he loves children to sound charming he has no tolerance for them. But while dating this single mother Will has a revelation: dating single mothers is an ego massage with loads of passionate sex, and the relationships are easy to get out of. So when things do not work out between the two Will seeks out single mothers with one problem however, he doesn't know who is single and who is not. His solution: he joins a single parent's support group where he meets another beautiful young mother, Suzie, but has to make up an imaginary son, a two-year-old named Ned.

Click to enlargeAnd it is on his first date with this single mother that he meets Marcus (Nicholas Hoult), the odd yet affable 12-year-old son of even odder woman who is also in the support group. Marcus's mother is depressed and when they return to his house at the end of a day in the park they find his mother passed out on the couch after a suicide attempt. She survives but Marcus discovers that one person to rely on isn't enough, if his mother dies he will have no one, so he decides he'll need a backup: he settles on Will.

Click to enlargeMarcus calls Will and asks him to take his mother and him out to lunch. And although Will does not want to be bothered he agrees. Marcus then follows Will around for a couple days and discovers he doesn't really have a son. So when he shows up at Will's flat he uses this to sort of blackmail him into letting him hang out and watch TV. And the remainder of the film looks at how Will and Marcus develop a relationship that will change both of them.

Click to enlargeWill helps Marcus realize that it isn't his fault his mother is depressed, and there's nothing he can do to change it, it's something she has to work on herself; Will also helps Marcus become a little more hip by buying him trendy trainers (sneakers) and rap CDs (he also saves him from committing social suicide at a school talent show). Marcus helps Will discover that there is more to life than TV, DVDs and pretty girls.

About a Boy is warm and funny; it was one of the most entertaining films I've seen in a while. Hugh Grant is especially charming and Marcus is incredibly likable. It shows the importance of connecting with other people, as truly "no man is an island." We all have a need for love and relationship; also, Will learns that true wealth and happiness can only come from the immaterial.