Will Freeman lives a carefree lifestyle without any responsibility or commitments, thanks to royalties left to him by his father's successful Christmas song.

When Will and Suzie take Marcus home, they find Fiona (who suffers bouts of depression) has attempted suicide and rush her to the hospital.

Concerned that he may be left on his own if his mother succeeds at killing herself in the future, he becomes determined to find her a boyfriend and creates an awkward lunch date with Will, who is uninterested in Fiona.

However, the bullies steal the shoes and Marcus is forced to confess to his mother that Will bought him, also revealing they've formed a friendship and that Will is not really a father.

Despite a tense exchange with Suzie, who has been made aware of Will's deception, he is asked to stay for Christmas dinner and genuinely enjoys his day with Marcus' family.

As Marcus develops a crush on a girl at school named Ellie, Will also meets Rachel, who seems interested in him as first but is turned off by his lack of profession or direction in life.

The website's critical consensus states, "About a Boy benefits tremendously from Hugh Grant's layered performance, as well as a funny, moving story that tugs at the heartstrings without tilting into treacle.

"[5] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

[8] The Washington Post declared the film to be "that rare comedy-drama that dares to choose messiness over closure, prickly independence over fetishised coupledom, and honesty over typical Hollywood endings.

"[9] Rolling Stone wrote, "The acid comedy of Grant's performance carries the film [and he] gives this pleasing heartbreaker the touch of gravity it needs".

"[9] The New York Observer concluded: "[The film] gets most of its laughs from the evolved expertise of Hugh Grant in playing characters that audiences enjoy seeing taken down a peg or two as a punishment for philandering and womanising and simply being too handsome for words—and with an English accent besides.

"[14] He added that Grant's "pillowy cheeks are flatter and a bit drawn, and the eyes that used to peer with 'love me' cuteness now betray a shark's casual cunning.