Boy lacks maturity

Darren Waters, BBC News Online

The good news is that American Pie directors Paul and Chris Weitz have not turned Nick Hornby’s novel into an orgy of American adolescent hijinx, as some might have feared. The bad news is that the movie has failed to bring out the best of Hornby’s witty, poignant and intelligent novel.

Hugh Grant, continuing to pick _____ offering slightly more challenges, plays Will Freeman, a rich, serial monogamist who lives off the royalties of a Christmas song his father wrote. He gives one of his best _____ for years and has almost cast off the _____ of the bumbling, middle class idiot he played to such good effect in Four Weddings.

Will’s world is one of one-night stands and filling his empty days into bite-sized chunks - a haircut, shopping, watching Countdown, listening to music, taking a bath. He lacks focus, drive, a centre to his life. And so, enters the boy of the _____.

Marcus is a 12-year-old lacking the social skills expected of most primates. His protective mother - _____ by Toni Collette - bringing him up alone, has moulded him into her own image. Unsurprisingly the young boy finds it hard to make friends and avoid bullies when he is acting and dressing like a 40-something single mother.

Marcus and Will were made for each other. Will, who has never had to grow up emotionally, teaches Marcus how to be a trendy, conformist young boy, while Marcus, coping with the attempted suicide of his mother, teaches Will how to be an adult in a confusing world. It is a variation of the “children can teach us so much” idea and there is plenty of humour in the _____ between Grant and the young actor Nicholas Hoult.

Unfortunately, the _____ feels short of polish - an alarming number of jokes fall _____ and some of the dialogue feels as though it has been lifted wholesale from the book.

But there are three bigger problems with the film. The joint voiceover, given by Marcus and Will throughout the film, provides light moments at best, but at worst it feels like a clumsy attempt to convey information to the _____ without making the effort to do it _____. The second problem is that the young actor Nicholas Hoult is just not up to the task of playing the second most important _____ in the film. His _____ is stilted and when you consider how good young performers such as Alakina Mann and James Bentley were in The Others, then this is just poor _____.

The final large flaw is that the love interest played by Rachel Weisz enters the film at such a late stage it feels almost like an afterthought. Weisz is so woefully underused in the film that the whole point of her being in the film is undermined. With all these _____, one might expect to hate the movie. Not at all. It is well-made and genuinely funny in places but lacks the wit of Four Weddings or the charm of Notting Hill.

2) Complete the table using information from the review.

Title	a)
Reasons for going to see it	b)
Director	c)
d)	Hugh Grant Nicholas Hoult Toni Collette Rachel Weisz
e)	A rich, serial monogamist who lives off the royalties of a Christmas song his father wrote who meets Marcus a 12-year-old lacking the social skills. It is a variation of the "children can teach us so much" idea …..
Positive points about the film	f)
Negative points about the film	g)
Recommendation	h)

3) Write a film review.

Reviews should include:

• an introduction which gives facts and background information concerning film (i.e. the title, the names of the actors / director / author, type, etc.);

• a main body, usually is made up of:

 description of the main features of the subject (e.g. the plot), and

 general comments and opinion (about acting, direction, photography, musical style, sound effects etc.);

• a conclusion which includes a recommendation of the film supported by reasons.

Remember: A review should guide and inform. A mere telling of the story is not a review.

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