Bill Murray
Melissa McCarthy
Naomi Watts
Jaeden Lieberher

Theodore Melfi

102 mins.
Comedy, Drama
October 24, 2014

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including sexual content, alcohol and tobacco use, and for language. (MPAA)

“St. Vincent,” writer-director Theodore Melfi’s directorial debut, offers nothing new. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Bill Murray plays the titular character, but he’s no saint, of course. He’s a “New Yawk” curmudgeon with gambling debts. (He lives in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn to be exact.) Melissa McCarthy plays Maggie, a mother who’s going through a divorce and trying to make ends meet. After moving into the house next to Vincent’s, she agrees to let him babysit her 12-year-old son, Oliver. Uh oh. She has to pay him to do so, of course. You can predict what will come next.

Despite its predictability, this film is enjoyable. The first half of it is thoroughly amusing, even when some of its jokes don’t land. And Melfi moves things along nicely. Murray is pitch-perfect, and Jaeden Lieberher plays Oliver with believable intelligence. It’s always nice when child actors are casted thoughtfully and know how to be themselves. Lieberher doesn’t have a hint of artifice. Their characters’ relationship isn’t a new one for cinema – old, grumpy man forced to deal with a curious boy – but it’s nice to watch them together all the same.

As Oliver’s mother, McCarthy is not the comic relief here, by the way. It’s nice to see her play a character who doesn’t require falling out of cars or the stretching of her legs for a laugh, which McCarthy can do in her sleep. She’s just a mom in this film: overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. When she first meets Vincent, you can tell that she just wants to be as pleasant as possible and move on with life. She doesn’t want or need any extra trouble.

Contrastingly, Naomi Watts has a supporting role as a Russian stripper-prostitute who continues to work during her pregnancy. Yes, you read that correctly. She’s tough as nails, and I suspect that Watts had a good time playing her. But don’t worry, she comes across better than she sounds. I think.

Underneath the offensiveness of Vincent – who actually could be much more offensive – there’s a heart. The film itself is exactly the same way. Does it go too far with its manipulations? Yes, dangerously so during its second half. (The second half almost derails the whole thing. Look out.) But I guess that can be forgiven. Barely. Overall, “St. Vincent” is a comedy-drama that does a better job with the comedy (largely in its first half) than with the drama (largely in its second half). The acting saves the day.

Verdict: Good to Somewhat Good

About: (Source: stvincentfilm.com)

Maggie and her adopted 12-year-old son, Oliver, move next door to war veteran Vincent, but when Oliver gets locked out after school one day, Vincent allows him to stay at his house until his mom gets home. Because he has bills up to the ceiling and is desperate for cash, he tells Maggie he’ll babysit Oliver every day after school. Vincent then introduces Oliver to his lifestyle, including gambling, drinking, and his relationship with a Russian prostitute.