Sn. Vincent

BY RYAN C. SHOWERS

If you have seen the trailers for "St. Vincent", you probably think avoiding it at all costs is the best option with the film's release. The judgmental thoughts I had with the previews were: recycled storyline, serious actors taking "lesser" roles, and award season junk. But that really wonderful thing happened to me while watching "St. Vincent" where all my preconceived notions dissolve and the film revealed proffers an sweepingly enjoyable time at the movies. It looks like every area of the film could be a disaster, but mostly everything in the new comedy moves fluidly.

Three or four times, "St. Vincent" really stumbles, completely misfiring an already risky move. The first of these blunders is when Vincent fights a group of punks bullying Oliver in an alley-- even the trite set-up of the scene sounds like its asking for criticism. The whole screenplay has a sense of predictability, but director Theodore Melfi makes your see past the stale clichés and reminds you why audiences were so moved by these overused plot devices for years and years. (Melfi's directing is well completed, shooting and editing the film adequately.) Accepting the screenplay's banal set-up will allow you to see the acutely written dialogue in "St. Vincent". The film's climatic pay-off is the best example of vigorously written, directed, and acted dialogue through a speech recited by Oliver.

A selling point for any comedy could be the ability to make the viewer really laugh. Not giggle, not smile from the film's cleverness, but an erupting, uncontrollable laughter that captures your mind in bliss. Time after time, "St. Vincent" made me laugh like this, out loud. It runs the gambit over all methods of comedy: physical gags, one-liners, banter between actors, situational comedy, and awkward moments. The actors and execution are responsible for creating comedy where there may not have been any to begin with, yes, I'm looking at you, Naomi Watts.

At first sight, Watts made me laugh to myself thinking, "Man, 'Diana' really did a number on her career options, huh?", but the more Watts got to flesh out the character, the more she made me chuckle, and the more I saw her commitment to the obnoxious role. She throws herself into territory where she usually does not trend, as does her co-supporting actress Melissa McCarthy. McCarthy gives the performance with the most value, cranking this character out of the park. She radiates her dramatic talents to extents only hinted at in her more serious roles like Sookie in "Gilmore Girls". Get McCarthy out of films like "Tammy" and "The Heat", and let her pursue roles in which she can create a real person, like she does here.

Bill Murray has been the actor hailed by critics and the selling point of the picture, and he brings exactly what you would expect he would bring to the role: perfect comedic timing, a faultless empathy to the scumbag, and movie star strength to carry the project. But who brings a movie star power more than anyone is newcomer Jaeden Lieberher, who transcends past typical annoying children archetypes.

"St. Vincent" is a sweet, lovable film that grows on you with each passing laugh. It's the most I have shamelessly laughed at the cinema all year.

* * * 1/2 / * * * *

Vincent MacKenna (Bill Murray) is a drunken grumpy gambling Vietnam vet. He has run out of money. He can't even pay pregnant Russian prostitute Daka (Naomi Watts) for her regular visits. Divorced Maggie Bronstein (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver move in next door. Zucko (Terrence Howard) is looking to collect debts from Vincent. Oliver gets picked on in school. Vincent wants to be paid for babysitting and they build a surprising friendship. Brother Geraghty (Chris O'Dowd) gives Oliver's class an assignment to determine if someone they know deserves a sainthood.

Bill Murray is getting good at playing these grumpy characters. The little kid is good and cute but not too cutesy. Melissa McCarthy takes a nice simple dramatic turn. Naomi Watts should probably drop the Russian accent. I also love Chris O'Dowd's character. There are a couple of twists that I especially like. I like that Oliver makes friends with his bully. I also like that Oliver's father doesn't turn out to be evil. There are some good laughs. There are some sections where I feared that the movie would turn too sentimental. It does try hard to be a tear-jerker. The movie mostly succeeds in giving a great family of characters.

The grumpy and unpleasant Vincent (Bill Murray) is a veteran Vietnam sergeant completely broken that gambles in horse races and owes money to the shark Zucko (Terrence Howard). He is a regular client of the stripper Daka (Naomi Watts) that is closed to him. When the CT operator Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) moves with her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) to the next-door house, Vincent offers to babysit him to make money. Maggie, who is facing a divorce process, accepts and soon Vincent finds that Oliver is bullied at school. He teaches the boy how to defend himself; he takes him to visit Sandy (Donna Mitchell) in a nursing home; and to go to the horse races and bars. Soon they become friends and partners. When Brother Geraghty (Chris O'Dowd ) asks his students to prepare a lecture about a saint, Oliver learns the life of Vincent and understands his behavior.

"St. Vincent" is an entertaining dramatic comedy with great characters and dialogs. Bill Murray is very funny with his behavior and lines. Jaeden Lieberher seems to be a promising actor with magnificent performance in his debut. Naomi Watts and Melissa McCarthy complete the lead cast with also wonderful performances. It is impossible to highlight the best moments of this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Um Santo Vizinho" ("A Holy Neighbor")

If someone can play a character who seems despicable, but has a warmth to him (and has more dimensions than one), it definitely is Bill Murray. And he's showing it off here. While this might have gone completely wrong with someone else in the lead, this works almost perfectly. You also get to see Melissa McCarthy being the "straight" person for once. Yes she can act and be more than just a goof-ball.

Naomi Watts has a difficult small role, but she manages to do a fine job (even with that accent, that might put some people off, no pun intended). Also a great choice is the kid. He's obviously elemental and very important to the whole story. It may be slow paced and some might not feel the complete impact towards the end, but the movie does a very solid job

Bill Murray can mug with the best of them and in this film he is pretty much the whole thing. Playing a Vietnam vet, Vincent, who has seen better times, he parlays his drunkenness into opportunity. The film begins with him totally wasted, backing his car, an old woody convertible, over his picket fence. The next day, a couple of Hispanic movers bringing a middle aged woman (Melissa McCarthy) and her son to their new digs, damages a tree branch. Murray uses this to threaten her with a law suit unless she pays up. It's obvious that she doesn't have much money. It turns out that she and her son are escaping her husband, a philanderer, and the two are on the road to divorces. What ensues is a relationship that grows out of necessity as Murray is enlisted to look after the boy, Oliver, at significant cost to the mother. The kid now becomes a part of Murray's daily forays into irresponsibility: bars, horse track, joy riding, etc. He also brings the child to a hospital where his Alzheimers stricken wife lives. Murray is devoted to her, even though he has an ongoing thing with a Russian hooker, Naomi Watts, whom he may have impregnated. She has the heart of gold in a combative personality. The boy, Jaeden Liebehrer, is a gem of an actor. He has this fatalistic sense to him. He knows he will remain the perpetual victim, but when Vincent comes into his life, he begins to absorb tools to try to get by. Mom works sixteen hour shifts and has no idea of what goes on after Murray picks the boy up from school. What is heartening is that nothing is simple here. Murray continues his bad ways almost throughout, but we know he has a marshmallow center. With all the darkness in the world, give this one a shot.