St. Vincent
Starring Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy
Directed by Theodore Melfi
Bill Murray’s back and he’s a little rough around the edges in Theodore Melfi’s sometimes oversentimental comedy St. Vincent.
The veteran actor plays Vincent, a scruffy and curmudgeonly man with a penchant for day drinking and gambling debts. He’s quite happy to spend his days alone, wallowing in self-pity or keeping up relations with local escort Daka (a scene-stealing Naomi Watts) but things get complicated once a single mother named Maggie (McCarthy) and her 12-year old son Oliver (newcomer Jaeden Lieberher) move next door.
Forced to work long hours, Maggie soon has no choice but to leave Oliver with Vincent for after school care while she toils at the local hospital. The plot unfolds rather predictably and the heartstring tugging begins as Vincent’s prickly façade begins to melt away when we learn his beloved wife is dealing with dementia in a care home and no longer recognizes her longtime partner.
Thankfully, the script from Melfi provides plenty of genuine humour and keeps the story afloat most of the time. If anything, St. Vincent reminds us why Bill Murray has such underrated screen magnetism as he is a sheer delight to watch even when being a total jerk. The movie also finally showcases Melissa McCarthy’s true range and emotional depth as an actress rather than reducing her to physical gags as a typecast character. Even young Lieberher is commendable and anchors the heart of the story.
It doesn’t reinvent the wheel but St. Vincent has plenty of roguish charm to spare.
