Directed by:
Simon CurtisScreenplay:
Kevin HoodCinematography:
Tim PalmerComposer:
Rob LaneCast:
Ioan Gruffudd, Elizabeth Mitchell, Ian McShane, Rebecca Craig, Gary Bakewell, Pauline Collins, Ian McNeice, Jack Shepherd, Shelley Conn, Natasha Little (more)Plots(1)
In this made for TV adaptation of Tony Parsons' best-selling novel, Ioan Gruffud plays high-flying executive Harry Silver who has to learn the hard way what fatherhood is all about. When the unsettled Harry has a one-night stand with a colleague, his wife leaves him to care for their five year-old son on his own. After a bad start, he ropes in help from his parents and an American waitress and soon they are discovering how strong the father-son bond can be. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (1)
I have absolutely no intention of claiming that this is an exceptional film, as I don't think it is. However, in its genre (and considering that it is a TV film), it is nonetheless above average, and compared to the flood of family melodramas and sappy romantic films of American and German productions, it is a masterpiece. The story of random infidelity, the breakdown of a family, and the subsequent search for a new relationship are believable (who among us hasn't seen something similar?), and even though the director works with sentimentality, they never slide into kitsch. Ioan Gruffudd and Elizabeth Mitchell are perfectly cast and likable. Considering that only a small sample of productions can match films like As Good as It Gets, Man and Boy deserves its 65% overall impression.
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