Saturated by the amazing music of Badly Drawn Boy, this is an enduring and enjoyable comedy. Hugh Grant's character of the roguish unlikely hero seems ideally suited to him. Collette's performance as a seeming shallow liberal is wonderfully dynamic, bringing depth and heart to the character. The film tackles many social issues, especially problems of male (father-son) relations, from a compelling point of view. It's a picture of modern England that burrows into the largely untapped life of this fascinating country. The horribly undeveloped and unrealistic character of the rebellious teenage girl with whom Marcus becomes smitten is the only place where this film really lacks. Otherwise it is a pleasure to watch.

The caustic British wit immediately sets the film apart from its studio comedy brethren -- its actually, frequently funny. The characters feel real, lived in. The superb dual voiceover is potent rebuke to those still peddling the convential wisdom that vo's are "uncinematic" (if this includes you you're immediately assigned "Election" and "Adaptation"), working comfortably inside our protagonists' heads without any dreaded 'literary' staining, bringing their vibrant inner lives to comic life.

So instead of the false life lessons and maudlin sentimentality films of this sort so often trade in, we get a moving, witty story about...okay, yeah...Hugh Grant bonding with a little boy. But that's no reason not to rent it.

The widescreen picture is gorgeous (another nice departure from drearily filmed studio comedies) and the disc comes with numerous, lengthy deleted scenes that are virtually all terrific, and well worth viewing.

Matching moments of true horror involving attempted suicide at the film's beginning with Grant's continuing snarky, sarcastic voiceover showed that the directors had found the precise balance necessary to make the film work. It's a heartwarming, occasionally edgy film about the human need for others and about how a family - whether one we're born into or one that we create for ourselves - can help us grow.

Nicholas Hoult, as Marcus, gives a great performance, and Toni Collette, as his hippie, depressive mother, is Oscar-caliber, but the film belongs to Grant. It's the best work he's ever done.