SummaryWill Freeman (David Walton), an unemployed songwriter living off his royalties, finds his life changed by the arrival of Fiona (Minnie Driver) and her son Marcus (Benjamin Stockham) in this comedy based on the Nick Hornby novel of the same name.
SummaryWill Freeman (David Walton), an unemployed songwriter living off his royalties, finds his life changed by the arrival of Fiona (Minnie Driver) and her son Marcus (Benjamin Stockham) in this comedy based on the Nick Hornby novel of the same name.
There's so much here to build on, from the strong performances to the chemistry between the stars to the sweet central story of two people helping each other mature.
Walton and Stockham are a seamless comedy team straight out of the gate. Their banter is more salty and cynical than sappy, but that’s how it gets to you.
Happy to read that this show is being renewed for the Fall 2014 line up. The cast is awesome!! Stories are funny, heartwarming, and clever. I look forward to the show's return!!
Wonderful new show, great acting, always a moral regarding friendship at the end of the show. Good chemistry with all main characters. Hope the show is around for a long time.
Walton’s Will is more jovial and goofy, a ladies’ man with at least one good and honest friend his own age in Andy. He’s also the primary reason to give NBC’s About a Boy any sort of chance to develop its formula.
About a Boy yearns to be good. Yet it relishes being bad. And Katims--guiding hand to "Parenthood" and "Friday Night Lights"--doesn't fess up to that dichotomy.
Once you strip down the predictable jokes (Will teaching Marcus about “the bro code of silence”; letting Marcus eat forbidden barbecue ribs), you’re left with a banal arrangement of gender and social stereotypes.
Clever writing which does not dumb down the viewer. Minnie Driver is pitch perfect and all the cast work well together. I've seen all shows, look forward to it each week and was pleasantly surprised that it has remained entertaining.
Feel-good show reminiscent of "Calvin and Hobbes" among other "buddy stories." The pilot was well-done, and the show has a lot of potential to grow into something even better.
"About A Boy," as well as "Growing Up Fisher" are two of the new shows on NBC worth getting excited about!
Great pilot, Walton is no Hugh Grant but he is more then adequate and Minnie Driver lights up the screen. Only problem I can see is that the pilot was a synopsis of the movie, can the second episode build on that? Are the writers up to the task? Warm funny not too mushy, so far so good.
The pilot was great but by episode 10 of Season 1 the age appropriateness of Will 34 and 12 Marcus bein BFFs is now border-line boring ... and not to mention getting creepy.
I really loved the movie. The Fiona character in the movie is annoying at first but slowly becomes open to the idea of her son benefitting from a friendship with Will. Unfortunately the TV show isn't hitting that mark. I've liked Minnie Driver in almost everything I've seen her in but in this she is UNBEARABLE! She's a snarky hypocrite, sitting on her high horse judging Will at every turn while preaching peace, love and understanding. He could have easily closed himself off to the lonely, suffocated Marcus but he doesn't. He continuously tries to help the kid from becoming a social pariah at school and the only thanks he ever gets is Fiona telling him to stay away from her son. She also goes so far as to tell OTHERS how horrible a person Will is. YES, he's an immature man-child. But he didn't initiate the relationship with Marcus. He tried everything to avoid it. So instead of thanking him for being kind, she stabs Will in the back whenever she gets the chance. (When she's not taking advantage of the free childcare, that is.) The only thing that might save this show is the relationship between Will and Marcus. The two actors have great chemistry. Hugh Grant is a hard act to follow, and David Walton makes a pretty great effort. And Benjamin Stockham is just a delight to watch no matter what he's in. If they tone down Minnie Driver’s character and make her a little more neighborly and a little less condescending, I might start watching it.