ST. VINCENT – The Review

Bill Murray has always played the nice guy. Whether on-screen in one of his many iconic roles or off-screen singing karaoke with fans or giving spontaneous bachelor party speeches (yes… that has happened), Bill Murray seems to wander intermittently in and out of our lives like that stoic but occasionally goofy uncle that you’ve always admired. His career has been partially eclipsed by his public reputation as of late, but ST. VINCENT is here to tarnish it with a bad-boy image. Well… maybe just a little.

Bill Murray plays a crotchety boozer named Vincent. His thrown-together appearance and house in shambles is just the start of the deeper problems that lie within. Around every corner is another person who he’s indebted to (one of which is a fellow gambler from the racetrack played by Terrence Howard). Vincent sees an opportunity to get himself out of the hole when a single mother (Melissa McCarthy) moves in next door and is suddenly in need of a babysitter when her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) has an incident with some bullies at school and is without his house key and cell phone. From there we see Vincent in his new job as a babysitter to the young boy. Their daily activities include betting at the race track, drinking at the bar, and attending a gentleman’s club where the boy meets Vincent’s favorite “woman of the night,” the very pregnant Daka (Naomi Watts). But there’s more to Vincent as well and Oliver is determined to let others know of the light in the man that so many fail to see.

Our little lead in Jaeden Lieberher is always smart and endearing without ever feeling obnoxiously precocious. A role like this could have easily gone the route of corny or groan-inducing but director Theodore Melfi walks the line and keeps the film on the right track so that it doesn’t let its heart get in the way of the story. What helps is having a talented cast who is committed to the material. Seeing and hearing Murray and Watts in roles that make them both look and sound almost unrecognizable feels more inspired than a cheap novelty. They elevate the occasionally hokey material in a way that recalls LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. Sure, seeing Vincent and his young sidekick running in slow motion with their winnings from the horse track or witnessing Oliver finally stand-up to his bullies are both examples of the standard scenes we’ve seen before in indie films (a later scene involving Murray racing in a wheelchair drifts a little too close to what Wes Anderson did stylistically in RUSHMORE), but that doesn’t take away from the magic and charm that the film achieves through its sincere performances.

VINCENT aims to be an adult film with heart. This type of feel-good film doesn’t get made very much anymore for adults, aside from the requisite Maggie Smith and Judi Dench “Royal team-up” that usually takes them to a foreign country (yawn). A talented cast and a lot of love is injected into ST. VINCENT. It’s hard not to believe in a film that believes so much in itself.

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

ST. VINCENT opens everywhere October 17