Okay Liz you can take the baby back now. Glad it's not mine

The third Nick Hornby novel to make it to the big screen and About A Boy follows the high watermark achieved by Fever Pitch and High Fidelity.

Nigel Bell

At last Hugh Grant shows us there's more to his acting abilities than upper class bumbling would-be lovers.

In About A Boy he's a bit of a cad, shallow but ultimately loveable.

And he's got rid of that horrible floppy hairstyle for something far more trendy.

The Plot
Will (Grant) is 38. He doesn't hold to the adage that "no man is an island."

"Aren't kids great?" "Kids...oh yeah, sure...great"

Will likes being an island. In fact he believes himself to be the island of Ibiza, such is his perfect single life of love 'em and leave 'em, CDs, DVDs and Countdown.

He discovers his success rate at attracting women is increased by claiming to be a single parent with a young boy, Ned.

He attends SPAT (Single Parents Alone Together) and meets an attractive single mum, Susie (Smurfit).

It's through her that he comes into contact with Marcus (Hoult), a 12-year-old boy with a heapful of troubles, not least his depressive mum who tries to commit suicide.

Marcus decides Will is the answer to his problems and imposes himself on his life, causing a reassessment for everyone concerned.

The Verdict
Considering this film comes from the hands of the men behind American Pie, the style couldn't be more different.

"Hey Hugh, want to wear my hat?" "Err, not really kid."

About A Boy has a certain American gloss but to all intents and purposes this is a typically British film which neatly follows the traditions of Four Weddings... and Notting Hill.

Unlike High Fidelity which found itself transposed to the States, About A Boy remains in London and for once it's a London which doesn't rely on Big Ben and the London Eye to focus the attention.

Indeed the streets could be just about anywhere making this a universal tale which should do well abroad as well as at home.

For that, Hugh Grant will be the star attraction and he delivers a top performance.

He's suitably selfish without being obnoxiously so, but isn't so lily-livered that he won't stand up for himself when needs be.

Support from Hoult, Collette and Smurfit is great although Rachel Weisz doesn't really impose herself on her role as the woman Will truly falls for.

The humour is continuous with some great one-liners: "She didn't have a DVD or satellite so I had to end it," he says of one encounter with a single mum.

On discovering Marcus's mum has tried to kill herself and the subsequent rush to get her treated, Grant's character says: "It was horrible...but driving fast behind the ambulance was fantastic."

About A Boy is great entertainment. Not too slushy but enough to maybe make you re-evaluate your own life.