...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

About a Boy

246 statements
47 feature instances
12 referencing feature instances

About a Boy	type	TVTItem
About a Boy	label	About a Boy
About a Boy	page	AboutABoy
About a Boy	comment	A 1998 novel (set in 1993 and 1994) by Nick Hornby, About a Boy was adapted into a 2002 film directed by Chris and Paul Weitz, starring Hugh Grant and Nicholas Hoult and featuring a soundtrack album by Badly Drawn Boy.Apathetic bachelor Will, who lives comfortably off of the royalties from a popular Christmas song his father wrote, comes up with the idea to join a Single Parents group in order to pick up single mums, despite the fact that he is childless. This starts off a chain of events in which he meets Marcus, an awkward young teenage boy being raised by a depressed, out-of-touch single mother.Marcus is constantly bullied at school and feels alone in the world. He gloms on to Will, who merely tolerates him at first but begins to grow attached to the boy and helps him gain confidence, deal with his mother, and win the affection of an older punk rocker girl at his school. At the same time, spending time with Marcus begins to show Will just how empty his life really is.In the end, Marcus becomes a more socially adjusted kid, Will learns to accept other people into his life, and everyone lives Happily Ever After.Adapted by NBC into a TV series with the same premise. (A different pilot was also made in 2003, but it wasn't picked up.)
About a Boy	fetched	2024-01-28T09:30:51Z
About a Boy	parsed	2024-01-28T09:30:51Z
About a Boy	processingComment	Dropped link to ForeignRemake: Not a Feature - ITEM
About a Boy	processingComment	Dropped link to Nirvana: Not a Feature - IGNORE
About a Boy	processingComment	Dropped link to WhoWantsToBeAMillionaire: Not a Feature - ITEM
About a Boy	isPartOf	DBTropes
About a Boy / int_13ef88c8	type	Must Have Lots of Free Time
About a Boy / int_13ef88c8	comment	Must Have Lots of Free Time: Will, but it's justified due to him being a Royalties Heir.
About a Boy / int_13ef88c8	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_13ef88c8	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_13ef88c8
About a Boy / int_22cf536c	type	Chekhov's Gun
About a Boy / int_22cf536c	comment	Chekhov's Gun: Early in the movie, Marcus sees a guitar in Will's flat and asks him if he uses it to write songs, but Will basically says it's just there to look cool. In the climax, Will uses a guitar to save Marcus from committing social suicide.
About a Boy / int_22cf536c	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_22cf536c	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_22cf536c
About a Boy / int_23473ae7	type	Adaptation Expansion
About a Boy / int_23473ae7	comment	Adaptation Expansion: The series burns through the entire book/movie plot in The Pilot and continues from there.
About a Boy / int_23473ae7	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_23473ae7	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_23473ae7
About a Boy / int_237404cc	type	Ironic Echo
About a Boy / int_237404cc	comment	Ironic Echo: The film both opens and closes with the words "no man is an island." Marcus's use of it shows that he has taken it seriously, whereas Will prefers to defy it.
About a Boy / int_237404cc	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_237404cc	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_237404cc
About a Boy / int_2b7d29e1	type	Artifact Title
About a Boy / int_2b7d29e1	comment	Artifact Title: Partly true of the movie, which loses the references to Nirvana that added to the meaning of the book title. Of course, the movie still is literally about a boy (in more ways than one).
About a Boy / int_2b7d29e1	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_2b7d29e1	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_2b7d29e1
About a Boy / int_2dc0d2bf	type	Hidden Depths
About a Boy / int_2dc0d2bf	comment	Hidden Depths: Initially subverted early in the film, prior to his Character Development:
About a Boy / int_2dc0d2bf	featureApplicability	-0.3
About a Boy / int_2dc0d2bf	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_2dc0d2bf
About a Boy / int_355007c3	type	Brilliant, but Lazy
About a Boy / int_355007c3	comment	Brilliant, but Lazy: Will can be quite crafty when he wants to be and has a very dry wit but has spent his life simply living off his dad's money.
About a Boy / int_355007c3	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_355007c3	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_355007c3
About a Boy / int_3684532f	type	Never Heard That One Before
About a Boy / int_3684532f	comment	Never Heard That One Before: No, Will is not tired of all the people singing "Santa's Super Sleigh" once they learn his father wrote it.
About a Boy / int_3684532f	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_3684532f	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_3684532f
About a Boy / int_392372f9	type	Actor Allusion
About a Boy / int_392372f9	comment	Actor Allusion: Marcus says in his narration that he would be able to take care of his mother if he were a child star, like Haley Joel Osment. Toni Collette, who plays Marcus's mother, played Osment's mother in The Sixth Sense.
About a Boy / int_392372f9	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_392372f9	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_392372f9
About a Boy / int_39eba631	type	The Slacker
About a Boy / int_39eba631	comment	The Slacker: Will.
About a Boy / int_39eba631	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_39eba631	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_39eba631
About a Boy / int_3b113b7	type	Character Development
About a Boy / int_3b113b7	comment	Character Development. Almost all the major characters undergo it—Marcus learns to take care of himself and fit in better with other kids, while his mother gets a handle on her clinical depression and stops trying to run Marcus's life for him—but it's Will (who begins the book and film as a selfish, lying hedonist who's never held a job) who has the farthest to go, and he does rise to the task.
About a Boy / int_3b113b7	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_3b113b7	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_3b113b7
About a Boy / int_3d078cc5	type	Concert Climax
About a Boy / int_3d078cc5	comment	Concert Climax
About a Boy / int_3d078cc5	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_3d078cc5	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_3d078cc5
About a Boy / int_3f11ef74	type	Parental Substitute
About a Boy / int_3f11ef74	comment	Parental Substitute: Will reluctantly spends time with Marcus at first, but eventually evolves into a sort of father figure to him.
About a Boy / int_3f11ef74	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_3f11ef74	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_3f11ef74
About a Boy / int_4781adbb	type	Jerk with a Heart of Gold
About a Boy / int_4781adbb	comment	Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Will. He's selfish, immature and refuses to get attached to anyone but not a bad guy at all and learns to be kinder and more considerate as the story goes on.
About a Boy / int_4781adbb	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_4781adbb	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_4781adbb
About a Boy / int_47d35854	type	Intergenerational Friendship
About a Boy / int_47d35854	comment	Intergenerational Friendship: The story is about one forming between Will and Marcus and how it changes both of them.
About a Boy / int_47d35854	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_47d35854	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_47d35854
About a Boy / int_4a5fcde	type	Adaptational Alternate Ending
About a Boy / int_4a5fcde	comment	Adaptational Alternate Ending: Owing to the film's new chronological setting, its ending is completely different from the book's. To wit: instead of an altercation at a police station and a Take That! at Joni Mitchell, Marcus uses the Concert Climax to sing his mother's favorite song in the hopes of cheering her up, with Will as last-second back-up.
About a Boy / int_4a5fcde	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_4a5fcde	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_4a5fcde
About a Boy / int_4e7c4536	type	Wham Line
About a Boy / int_4e7c4536	comment	Wham Line: Will greatly enjoys living by not caring for anyone but himself. In the film, Marcus eventually lays it down on him what such a mindset ultimately results in:
About a Boy / int_4e7c4536	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_4e7c4536	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_4e7c4536
About a Boy / int_4f773434	type	Wise Beyond Their Years
About a Boy / int_4f773434	comment	Wise Beyond Their Years: Marcus is a very dark version. His lack of a father figure, unstable mother and overall miserable life means that he has had to learn to be emotionally mature long before he should have.
About a Boy / int_4f773434	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_4f773434	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_4f773434
About a Boy / int_52989fee	type	Narrator
About a Boy / int_52989fee	comment	Narrator: Both Will and Marcus provide voiceovers.
About a Boy / int_52989fee	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_52989fee	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_52989fee
About a Boy / int_5313c266	type	Bookends
About a Boy / int_5313c266	comment	Book Ends: The film both opens and closes with the words "no man is an island."
About a Boy / int_5313c266	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_5313c266	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_5313c266
About a Boy / int_5a40d6a	type	Adaptation Distillation
About a Boy / int_5a40d6a	comment	Adaptation Distillation: Ellie has a much bigger role in the book.
About a Boy / int_5a40d6a	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_5a40d6a	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_5a40d6a
About a Boy / int_5e111c91	type	Uncle Pennybags
About a Boy / int_5e111c91	comment	Uncle Pennybags: Whilst he is nowhere near as rich as most of the examples, Will is able to afford a really nice apartment in the middle of London, a very nice car and able to spend at high-end establishments on a regular basis and really is fun to be around, despite never having a job thanks to the royalties from his dad's song.
About a Boy / int_5e111c91	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_5e111c91	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_5e111c91
About a Boy / int_6554e8fb	type	Pick Up Babes With Babes
About a Boy / int_6554e8fb	comment	Pick Up Babes With Babes: Will joins a single parents' group, in the hope of picking up single women.
About a Boy / int_6554e8fb	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_6554e8fb	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_6554e8fb
About a Boy / int_66805a18	type	Race for Your Love
About a Boy / int_66805a18	comment	Race for Your Love: film only, while Fiona parks the car.
About a Boy / int_66805a18	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_66805a18	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_66805a18
About a Boy / int_69391768	type	Expecting Someone Taller
About a Boy / int_69391768	comment	Expecting Someone Taller: When Will hears his doorbell ring, he opens the door expecting a salesman, and finds he is looking at empty space, because his visitor (Marcus) is quite a bit shorter than the average hawker.
About a Boy / int_69391768	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_69391768	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_69391768
About a Boy / int_6c313cd	type	One-Hit Wonder
About a Boy / int_6c313cd	comment	One-Hit Wonder: In-Universe. Will lives well on the money "Santa's Super Sleigh" earns him, but breaks into frothing-at-the-mouth fury whenever he hears it. His father, on the other hand, buried him self in work and at one point writes a musical in a day as one of a long series of desperate and futile attempts to have his work taken seriously.
About a Boy / int_6c313cd	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_6c313cd	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_6c313cd
About a Boy / int_76dc3807	type	Alone in a Crowd
About a Boy / int_76dc3807	comment	Alone in a Crowd: Will, after the argument scene with Fiona, refuses in voiceover to go over to Marcus's place for Christmas. At this point, he is walking in the opposite direction in a big crowd of people, and to drive the point home, he is the only person walking that way. A later shot shows a mirrored view of people on a down escalator, while Will is the only one on the up escalator.
About a Boy / int_76dc3807	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_76dc3807	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_76dc3807
About a Boy / int_8042e814	type	Actually Pretty Funny
About a Boy / int_8042e814	comment	Actually Pretty Funny: Marcus and Fiona buy Will a single parents' handbook as a Christmas gift after his lie about being one is exposed. He responds to the joke with appreciation.
About a Boy / int_8042e814	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_8042e814	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_8042e814
About a Boy / int_860addab	type	Royalties Heir
About a Boy / int_860addab	comment	Royalties Heir: Will doesn't have to work because he lives off of the royalties of a Christmas song that his father wrote.
About a Boy / int_860addab	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_860addab	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_860addab
About a Boy / int_87ab7f69	type	Sharp-Dressed Man
About a Boy / int_87ab7f69	comment	Sharp-Dressed Man: Will wears fashionable clothes. At some point, he tells Marcus that he is the right person for clothing advice.
About a Boy / int_87ab7f69	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_87ab7f69	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_87ab7f69
About a Boy / int_8e20979	type	Wham Episode
About a Boy / int_8e20979	comment	Wham Scene: The movie starts out funny and lighthearted until Marcus and Will come home from the park to find that Marcus's mum has just attempted suicide.
About a Boy / int_8e20979	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_8e20979	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_8e20979
About a Boy / int_a6971841	type	Dining in the Buff
About a Boy / int_a6971841	comment	Dining in the Buff: Will drinks a beer in the bath.
About a Boy / int_a6971841	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_a6971841	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_a6971841
About a Boy / int_abad35b4	type	Soundtrack Dissonance
About a Boy / int_abad35b4	comment	Soundtrack Dissonance: With a ho, ho, ho and a hey, hey, hey, It's Santa's super sleigh â™ª
About a Boy / int_abad35b4	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_abad35b4	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_abad35b4
About a Boy / int_ae3d6438	type	Deadpan Snarker
About a Boy / int_ae3d6438	comment	Deadpan Snarker: Will, both in person and while narrating. Naturally as it's Hugh Grant.
About a Boy / int_ae3d6438	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_ae3d6438	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_ae3d6438
About a Boy / int_bb18a227	type	It's All About Me
About a Boy / int_bb18a227	comment	It's All About Me: Will though its really more due to his refusal to look for companionship than outright selfishness.
About a Boy / int_bb18a227	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_bb18a227	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_bb18a227
About a Boy / int_c5ef2d50	type	Cringe Comedy
About a Boy / int_c5ef2d50	comment	Cringe Comedy: Marcus singing "Killing Me Softly With His Song"... at first.
About a Boy / int_c5ef2d50	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_c5ef2d50	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_c5ef2d50
About a Boy / int_c75df49a	type	Shout-Out
About a Boy / int_c75df49a	comment	Shout-Out: The title is an homage to both the Nirvana song "About a Girl" and Patti Smith's Kurt Cobain tribute "About a Boy." The book makes countless references to Nirvana and Cobain (Ellie idolizes Cobain, Marcus thinks Cobain is a British athlete named Kirk O'Bain, Cobain dies near the end of the book). Due to being a slight Setting Update, the movie omits these references entirely. Will watches TV a lot: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Countdown, Xena: Warrior Princess, Bride of Frankenstein...
About a Boy / int_c75df49a	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_c75df49a	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_c75df49a
About a Boy / int_d19469d	type	Characterâ€™s Most Hated Song
About a Boy / int_d19469d	comment	Characterâ€™s Most Hated Song: Will does not need to work, instead living off the royalties of a successful Christmas song that his father wrote. Naturally, hearing the song in question is a Berserk Button for him (and was for his father as well, a composer who hated being pegged as a one-hit wonder).
About a Boy / int_d19469d	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_d19469d	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_d19469d
About a Boy / int_dcbe8a6e	type	Chekhov's Gunman
About a Boy / int_dcbe8a6e	comment	Chekhov's Gunman: In a short flashback, Will is showed working as a volunteer for Amnesty International. He is in a call-centre with other colleagues. One of them plays an important role in the epilogue: he is invited by Will for Christmas and Marcus's mother has a crush on him.
About a Boy / int_dcbe8a6e	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_dcbe8a6e	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_dcbe8a6e
About a Boy / int_de19df2b	type	The Matchmaker
About a Boy / int_de19df2b	comment	The Matchmaker: Marcus tries to create a relationship between his mother and Will. He fails. In the epilogue, Will invites one of his ex-colleagues because he thinks this man would be a good match for Marcus's mother.
About a Boy / int_de19df2b	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_de19df2b	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_de19df2b
About a Boy / int_deea2fb5	type	Idle Rich
About a Boy / int_deea2fb5	comment	Idle Rich: Will lives off royalties from his dad.
About a Boy / int_deea2fb5	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_deea2fb5	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_deea2fb5
About a Boy / int_e040c8f	type	Romantic Comedy
About a Boy / int_e040c8f	comment	Romantic Comedy: zigzagged trope. It uses most of the plot structure, including a Second-Act Breakup and a Race for Your Love-finale, but the "couple" are Will and Marcus. Arguably a Bromantic Comedy, though it has a much more refined tone.
About a Boy / int_e040c8f	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_e040c8f	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_e040c8f
About a Boy / int_e0804063	type	Even Nerds Have Standards
About a Boy / int_e0804063	comment	Even Nerds Have Standards: Towards the start of the movie, two of Marcus's nerdy-looking classmates tell him that they can't hang out with him anymore, because the bullies only pick on them when Marcus is with them.
About a Boy / int_e0804063	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_e0804063	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_e0804063
About a Boy / int_e150c4c7	type	Manchild
About a Boy / int_e150c4c7	comment	Manchild: Will though more mature than most other versions.
About a Boy / int_e150c4c7	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_e150c4c7	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_e150c4c7
About a Boy / int_f64a9cf7	type	Earn Your Happy Ending
About a Boy / int_f64a9cf7	comment	Earn Your Happy Ending: Everyone get their happy ending after being put through the emotional wringer.
About a Boy / int_f64a9cf7	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_f64a9cf7	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_f64a9cf7
About a Boy / int_fec2b522	type	Happy Ending
About a Boy / int_fec2b522	comment	Happy Ending: Marcus becomes a more socially adjusted kid, Will learns to accept other people into his life, and everyone lives Happily Ever After.
About a Boy / int_fec2b522	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_fec2b522	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_fec2b522
About a Boy / int_name	type	ItemName
About a Boy / int_name	comment
About a Boy / int_name	featureApplicability	1.0
About a Boy / int_name	featureConfidence	1.0
About a Boy	hasFeature	About a Boy / int_name
About a Boy / int_name	itemName	About a Boy

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

About a Boy	hasFeature	Characterâ€™s Most Hated Song / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Children Raise You / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Creator-Preferred Adaptation / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Expecting Someone Taller / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	International Coproduction / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Must Have Lots of Free Time / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Never Heard That One Before / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Not Wanting Kids Is Weird / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Romantic Comedy / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Royalties Heir / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Setting Update / int_fd74cf6b
About a Boy	hasFeature	Tropaholics Anonymous / int_fd74cf6b

Copyright of DBTropes.org wrapper 2009-2013 DFKI Knowledge Management. Imprint. - Thanks to Bakken&Baeck for hosting. Contact.
Copyright of data TVTropes.org contributors under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.