St. Vincent

Sometimes, I run out of adjectives to describe Bill Murray. Beneath the internet memes, the random and goofy appearances around the world in unlikely places and blowing away the crowd at every talk show, he’s an amazing actor who may never get his due because the legend of Bill Murray has become more about his life than his work. Yet, his work is fantastic, especially in St. Vincent.

Jaeden Lieberher stars as Oliver – a little kid whose life has pretty much been upended. His mom, Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), is divorcing his Dad, they have moved into a new house and the kid has to start going to a new school. Of course, on moving day, Maggie and the movers upset her new neighbor, Vincent (Bill Murray) – a grumpy misanthrope.

Due to her new job, Maggie needs someone to watch Oliver after school, and Vincent is the only person she can find. Of course, the ornery guy proves to be a very unorthodox and inappropriate babysitter, but one who is teaching Oliver some very important lessons about how life really works. Yes, underneath all of the bluster, the old guy has a heart of gold, and we are about to find out how big of a heart beats inside of him.

Don’t call St. Vincent a dramedy. Ultimately, it is a comedy with a very dramatic sequence or two, but the comedy always masks the pain and hurt of life underneath it all, kind of like humanity. St. Vincent is a story about regular people trying to survive the struggles they face, which is why the people in the audience can so easily connect to the people on screen as the layers are peeled away.

Murray and writer/director Theodore Melfi take what could be a painful after school special and turn it into a hilarious movie with some deeply emotional moments, and those dramatic moments are where Murray shows his stuff.

Vincent, Oliver, and Maggie become close because all three are lost, lonely, confused souls who have seen the promises of life become lies and feel some sort of cosmic betrayal.

However, Murray goes above and beyond the rest to create a prickly character who is deeply sad and desperate as every facet of his life is falling apart around him, and wears his anger like a protective coating. Murray makes Vincent into the kind of repulsive, annoying guy you don’t want to see on the street, but, in private situations, reveals his true heart, which makes him honorable and lovable. It’s the kind of character evolution you don’t see done with such nuance anymore.

Plus, we get a wonderful performance from McCarthy. Not required to be clownish and overly silly to make us laugh, McCarthy gets to play a very straight role as a troubled woman trying to figure out how to do right by her kid and make ends meet. We see and sense her strain and frustration until it overflows and leaves no doubt, which is the secret to why McCarthy is so beloved by fans and will have a great, long career.

The ending to St. Vincent does get too cutesy and the movie goes on a bit too long, but you need to see it to watch Murray at the top of his game.

St. Vincent is rated PG-13 for mature thematic material including sexual content, alcohol and tobacco use, and for language.