St. Vincent

This film is recommended.

The old curmudgeon has been a screen staple from Lionel Barrymore to Walter Matthau to Jack Nicholson. Yet no one has played this type of character so well these many years as Bill Murray. Even as a young man, the actor brought with him that droll view of life, a wicked acerbic wit, and a unique ironic humor to his many film roles from Ghostbusters to Scrooge to Lost in Translation. So his portrayal in St. Vincent may not be much of a stretch for the actor, but it is wildly captivating performance that needs to been seen.

Yes, the story is far from original. Crotchety old man finds love and redemption by the love of a young kid who he befriends begrudgingly. Vincent is a drunk and a gambler. Yet, his new neighbor, Maggie (a subtle and convincing Melissa McCarthy), hires him to babysit her son, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), while she is at work making ends meet. Now right there, one questions the entire sit-com set-up and implausible story of the film, but one goes along with the preposterous notion for sheer entertainment purposes.

Placing Mr. Murray in that pivotal role is the force that binds this story together. He is both charming and repulsive in this part and the actor is an absolute comic delight. Vincent's the man-child, a boy who never grew up, a loner who survives from day to day and Murray nails his character. His droll asides when taking his young charge to a bar or racetrack, or cavorting with strippers and other unsavory persons are key to the film's enjoyment, as is his wonderful chemistry with Master Lieberger, who gives a natural and lovely performance as a child who seems to have more common sense than any of the adults in this film.

St. Vincent is an auspicious film debut by director/ writer Theodore Melfi. While his initial premise is spotty, the filmmaker more than acquits himself with his funny script and fine casting. Rounding out this wonderful trio of actors are Chris O'Dowd, Terrence Howard, and especially Naomi Watt as a Russian call girl with a heart of platinum. The entire ensemble delivers their lines with brutal accuracy and delicious comic timing, even if the film leads to a rather mawkish and sappy ending that some may find to be poignant. One just can't help relishing in the overall fun.

Technically, Melfi needs to learn more restraint as a director. He tends to overuse pop songs to reinforce his message and overdoes many scenes with melodramatic spurts. As a writer, he creates effective dialog mixed with one-liners that, at least, stay true to his well-written characters. But his plot structure is too conventional and simple in every sense of the word. He may easily achieved his goal in making a crowd-pleasing film, even if it lays on the pathos a bit thickly. And from the reaction of the moviegoers in my audience, the film scored highly amid the audible aahs and sniffles to my left and right. It doesn't merely tug at the heartstrings, it plays two part harmony too.

In truth, St. Vincent owes so much of its success to a small blessing known as Mr. Murray. It is his compelling presence that is the main attraction on display, and on that, everybody can rejoice! GRADE: B

St. Vincent, starring Bill Murray as Vincent, asks us to define the qualities of a saint, while we enjoy the decidedly unsaintly Vincent. He defines curmudgeon, a cranky old misanthrope unhappy with his life and ready to dress down practically anyone who talks to him. The film itself is an amusing character study with unanticipated turns.

But don't think you can write the script because Vincent and the motley crew of his life have surprises that do not fit the usual bitter old guy formula. The saving grace is the honesty Murray invests in the role, which requires him also to display caring characteristics not immediately apparent. That we are probably spying into the eccentric character of Bill Murray through Vincent is an added treat.

The catalyst for the clichéd curmudgeon turnaround is a new pre-teen next door neighbor, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), who is thrust on Vincent for after school babysitting by med-tech mom, Maggie (Melissa McCarthy). While the bonding is to be expected, Vincent and Oliver do a long dance before any saintly traits emerge. Yet Oliver learns what saints don't ordinarily do, like fight and gamble. As we learn, those aren't necessarily negatives.

Although Naomi Watts' Russian hooker is a bit over the top in beauty and heart of gold categories, she manages to project a simple love for Vincent, a symbol for everyone who loves Vincent even as rough as he is. Although Vincent could be loved for only his Vietnam experience, he does low-key, un-Mother -Teresa-like acts of kindness that could qualify him for sainthood.

That's the important theme of this tragicomedy: Being good, loved, and saintly are within the grasp of the most common among us, implying that imperfection is a constant of being human and maybe a bigger credential than piety when that sinfulness is transformed into good deeds.

St. Vincent is an entertaining film with a well-worn message, but Bill Murray, in his finest role since Lost in Translation, transforms it into holiness.

Bill Murray shows his acting range in this film by playing a despicable human being that you can't help but to like, as Vincent, an angry old man who takes on the job of a babysitter to his new neighbor's young son in order to make some extra cash he surely needs.

Melissa McCartney, who plays the neighbor is also in the movie. I love McCartney, but it was obvious from the start that this is Big Bill's show and he's leading this dance, while Melissa and Naomi Watts, who also stars in the film are just tools to move the story along. A task any actress could have done, but having Naomi and Melissa makes the movie better to market.

I wish I got more laughs for McCartney, but like I said, this is totally Bill's ride, and it was a good one.

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.

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.