A movie I love came out 21 years ago today: About a Boy with Hugh Grant and a young Nicholas Hoult, in his breakout role.
Grant plays a self-absorbed bachelor living off the royalties of a Christmas song his father recorded years ago, who decides to try to meet women by posing as a single dad in a support group. Through a series of misadventures he meets Hoult's character, Marcus, who is the awkward son of a troubled mother.
This all sounds very dire, but the charm of the movie is absolutely how these moments are balanced with humor and the unlikely bond the two male leads share. It's very funny and very sweet at the same time.
The soundtrack of About a Boy is unusual, as it was entirely done by Badly Drawn Boy, aka Damon Gough, and served as his sophomore album.
There are 16 songs, seven of which are instrumentals, and it complements the film beautifully. Bonus: it is terrific even if you haven't seen the film.
So for today's SoundTRAX selection, from About a Boy, it's Badly Drawn Boy with "Something To Talk About."
