TV Review | NBC adapts Hugh Grant film into new series

It may be unfair to judge an adaptation by its source material, but it is also inevitable. NBC’s new sitcom “About a Boy” tries — and, so far, fails — to live up to the high expectations set by the beloved 2002 film of the same name, itself an adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 1998 novel. NBC’s version has been remodeled for television by Jason Katims, who has also worked on “Parenthood” (2010-present) and “Friday Night Lights” (2006-2011) — both of which, incidentally, are themselves adapted from movies. Unfortunately, Katims’ latest endeavor struggles to find a balance between honoring the original film and venturing out on its own, ultimately failing to do either.

The pilot opens with Will (David Walton), the show’s resident smarmy bachelor, watching in horror as a married friend struggles with a fussy baby. We quickly recognize that Will not only fears responsibility, but is also a pathological liar: he says he is a single parent in order to win the affections of an attractive woman named Dakota (Leslie Bibb), who is headed to a single parents’ meeting. In the group-healing session that follows, he continues to escalate the lie, inventing a son named Jonah who had leukemia but was cured in Africa. Dakota seems skeptical — but in the next scene she and Will are tearing off each other’s clothes.

Before they can sleep together, though, Dakota is called away on a parental emergency. Will dashes out into the street in his underwear to secure her number. It is thus that he meets his new neighbors, Fiona (Minnie Driver) and her 11-year-old son Marcus (Benjamin Stockham). The contrast between Will and Fiona is instant: for example, he is a grill enthusiast, while she is a vegan. Their initial snippy exchanges seem to establish some chemistry despite their obvious incompatibility and may hint at a future romance — but for now they appear entirely uninterested in each other.

Marcus, meanwhile, is sweet, intelligent and close with his mom — making him a prime target for the school bullies, who one day chase him to Will’s back door. When Dakota arrives for a date with Will, she immediately assumes Marcus, who is taking refuge in Will’s bachelor pad, to be the fabled Jonah. Marcus catches on and plays along, quietly telling Will, “I own you.”

Dakota, Marcus and Fiona all eventually interact later in the episode and recognize that Will has been using Marcus to sleep with Fiona. In what is supposed to be a dramatic climax, Marcus begs Will to explain to Fiona that it is not true and that they are really friends — and Will, of course, cannot.

Forced to return to hanging out with friends his own age, Will mopes around until one friends calls him out on his fears of commitment (gasp!). In a cosmically well-timed opportunity, Will — desperate to prove his friend wrong — realizes that Marcus is preparing to sing an a capella version of a One Direction song and hurtles across town to try to stop him. Marcus, no longer willing to trust Will, decides to perform anyway, only to struggle in front of the crowd and be saved by Will on guitar. Will is immediately returned to everyone’s good graces. It is all a bit too neat, lacking the realness and rawness that Katims encourages on his critically acclaimed “Parenthood.”

The acting is strong in its own right, but leaves something to be desired in contrast to the film. Hugh Grant, who plays Will in the movie, was simultaneously grumpy, aloof and endearing. In NBC’s version, Walton fails to bring the same charm as leading man. Part of the disconnect could arise from the lack of voiceover, which helped make Will more accessible in the film. And while Driver’s confident Fiona is a pleasant contrast to the unbelievably gullible Dakota, Toni Collette’s starkly different portrayal of Fiona was a highlight of the original movie. Collette offered a sensitive take on the irrational, paralyzing nature of depression. In the show, other characters talk about Fiona being depressed, but viewers never see it or feel it.

The biggest problem with “About a Boy” is that it’s hard to imagine a future for it. A movie can hinge on one major change in a character, but television relies on characters that are continuously developing. The film follows Will’s personal development as he comes to comprehend that relationships are a privilege, not a burden. Yet the show has already seen Will embrace relationships and responsibility, so with the entire movie plot covered in the pilot episode, where will the series go from here? Not even NBC’s sparse promotional materials can offer clues. “About a Boy” is certainly not bad, but the jury is still out on whether it has the legs to make it to the end of a single season.