COURTESY: MOVIEPOSTERSDB.COM
Rating: B+
Like a good bottle of wine, Bill Murray only gets better with age, and “St. Vincent” proves this with his captivating turn as titular character Vincent MacKenna. Stir in strong performances from the remaining cast, some quirky humor and a surprisingly warm, refreshing storyline, and “St. Vincent” emerges as a well-made cinematic cocktail sure to satisfy anyone craving a healthy dose of both comedy and heart.
From first-time director and writer Theodore Melfi, “St. Vincent” benefits from his effortless guidance, inspiring the natural performances and pace found throughout the film. Bill Murray is obviously the most impressive player, but Naomi Watts, Melissa McCarthy and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher each hold their own against Murray’s overpoweringly grumpy aggression.
The film begins with worldly Vincent MacKenna – complete with a hangover and head injury – meeting his new neighbors, single mother Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and odd twelve-year old Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) Bronstein, after the moving company hired by Maggie damages his tree. While this initial interaction is unpleasant, a series of events during Oliver’s first day of school sends him to Vincent’s door that night. Maggie – overworked and with no other options – enlists a skeptical Vincent as Oliver’s babysitter.
Through this unlikely friendship, Oliver comes into his own and confronts his bullies at his new school, but the real payoff with the dynamic between the two comes with Vincent’s character arc.
On the surface, Vincent is just a bitter alcoholic with a biting wit and a penchant for gambling, but, through his mentorship of Oliver, the layers of his character slowly peel back. In each of his interactions, the generosity and kindness of Vincent is revealed, especially regarding his rapidly deteriorating wife Sandy (Donna Mitchell) and pregnant “lady of the night” Daka (Naomi Watts).
Both amusing and earnest, the journey that Oliver and Vincent take together unfolds hilariously. Like the cool grandfather that lets you secretly drink at family gatherings, Vincent becomes a masculine, charismatic, bawdy figure in Oliver’s life, imparting him with the knowledge and experience necessary in coming-of-age.
But Oliver is not the only one to benefit from this rapport. Through his own reserved and honest approach to the world around him, Oliver manages to keep Vincent’s pessimism and recklessness in check – most of the time. Oliver, along with Daka, also represent the only two people that actually attempt to bring Vincent from out of his sour shell, and this is key to Vincent’s recovery when he later becomes hospitalized.
The lasting lesson that director Theodore Melfi seems to want to impress on his audience is that looks can be deceiving, especially concerning the elderly. Vincent MacKenna seems like an old bastard in the beginning, but he’s really just another man with a story all of his own. He might very well be a bastard, but he’s also a veteran, husband, father, mentor and modern day saint.
While the extent of the sentimental plot elements were surprising, the humor of the film still outshines all else. Bill Murray is his funniest in years as Vincent, and the dialogue between Vincent and Oliver provides the best moments in the film.
Melissa McCarthy also manages to sneak in some of her signature humor despite Maggie being a character rarely found in her acting repertoire. But the most colorful character – even more so than Vincent – comes from Naomi Watts as pregnant Russian prostitute and dancer Daka. She steals every scene she’s in.
All in all, “St. Vincent” offers a hilarious look into the lives of an unlikely group of underdogs and shows that there’s a little saint in all of us.
The only drawback to “St. Vincent” is that you’ll be forced into the realization that you’ll never be as cool as Bill Murray.
