ST. VINCENT

Reviewed By Patrick Gibbs



GRADE:  B+
Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Jaden Leiberher, Chris O'Dowd, Terrence Howard, Scott Adsit, Dario Barasso
Written and directed by Theodore Melfi
Rated PG-13 (for mature thematic material including sexual content, alcohol and tobacco use, and profanity)

If there is one person in Hollywood who wants an Oscar even more desperately than Leo DiCaprio, it's Bill Murray. He's been fishing for one since The Razor's Edge back in 1984, and he finally came somewhat within reach with his nomination for Lost In Translation (although everyone knew that he would never beat Sean Penn, with the exception of Murray himself, who was caught looking less than gracious in defeat on camera.). While I delight in every performance he gives in a Wes Anderson film, and still think he deserved a nomination for Groundhog Day, I confess that I find the Oscar grubbing tedious, and I have a lot of trouble getting up enthusiasm for his yearly bid (having missed the press screening, I still have not worked up enough interest to see Hyde Park On Hudson, even though FDR is one of my personal heroes.). That being said, he does indeed deserve a recognition for his multi-layered and beautifully nuanced performance in St. Vincent, and it's very easy to get behind him on this one because the movie is more than just a showcase for Murray the serious actor. While he is the lead, he shares the spotlight with young newcomer Jaiden Leiberher, and the film is a strong ensemble piece.

Vincent (Murray) is a drunken, gambling, misanthropic war veteran who lives alone in his house, with his only company being the occasional paid visit from Daka (Naomi Watts), a Holllywood Russian prostitute and stripper who's career is in a bit of slump thanks to an increasingly noticeable baby bump.  But Vincent's life of intentional isolation is interrupted when new neighbors move in next door.  Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), a very recently divorced single mother, and her pre-teen son Oliver (Leiberher.).

They get off on the wrong foot when the moving van damages Vincent's fence and tree, but when Oliver is bullied at the Catholic school he attends and his wallet and keys are stolen, he has no choice but to ask the neighbor if he can use his phone to call his mother. Oliver ends up staying with Vincent until Maggie's shift at the hospital ends, and when she arrives to pick her son up, she is met with a surprising proposition: Vincent will look after the boy every day after school, for $12 an hour. Having nowhere else to turn for babysitting, and talked into it by Oliver himself, who is badly in need of a friend and finds Vincent strangely interesting, she accepts.

Oliver and Vincent become an unlikely dynamic duo, as Vincent takes the kid along with him to the race track, to bars, and to a nursing home where he regularly visits one of the patients. He even coaches the boy in self defense. Maggie is so overwhelmed at work that she doesn't pry into their activities. Meanwhile, at school, Oliver is learning about the saints, and is given the assignment to observe someone in real life and determine if they possess the qualities for sainthood.

Nothing about the premise here is exactly cutting edge, and elements of it feel a litle bit forced, but the sincerity of the performances and the witty, understated screenplay make it thoroughly enjoyable. The chemistry between Murray and Lieberher is nothing short of perfection, and every time they are on screen together the movie soars, even in the simplest of moments. 

If there is one thing that generally gets me even less than excited than a Murray Oscar bait flick, it's a Melissa McCarthy comedy. It's not that I don't recognize her talent, but I don't find the crass slob character doing all of the fat jokes and the bathroom humor funny when it's a man, so the hilarious twist of making a woman be the boisterous fool is lost on me. That being said, McCarthy really shines as Maggie, breaking away from typecasting a bit to play a complex character that is equal parts loving, devoted mother and self pitying, angry divorcee (she does get to cut loose in one particularly hilarious scene, but it's still very low key compared to what we've come to expect.) You genuinely grow to to love this trio as if they are real people, because they feel so real. By far the most outlandish abd silly character is Daka, and the only reason she manages to work is because Naomi Watts is such an outstanding actress that she managed to bring some level of truth to performance in Movie 43.  Still, the character is intrusive and a bit out of step, and one can't help but wonder if writer-director Theodore Melfi had a chance to work with Watts and grafted her into the script at the last minute.

St. Vincent is a feel good movie that is just dark enough to appease the more jaded moviegoer, and touching enough to win over those who find Murray's hedonistic antics initially off-putting. It may not be a gut buster, but its genuine laugh out loud moments are duly earned. This is definitely not a family movie, per se, but if you are an adult looking to for a movie to take your mother to see, you'll  likely both leave happy that you chose St. Vincent, which truly does posses all the qualities needed for a solid and moving piece of entertainment. 

The only level on which the film completely fails is as a showcase for the increasingly declining Terrence Howard, who is wasted in a small and thankless role (and Marvel geek in me couldn't help but find it amusing that the film was executive produced by his Iron Man replacement, Don Cheadle, which is almost certainly as irrelevant as the fact that Moon was directed by David Bowie's son and produced by Sting's wife, but I notice these things.).