heartwarming

ST VINCENT

The screening I went to started 15 minutes early while I was buying very crappy AMC chicken sliders (don't buy it peeps). That was annoying on both counts, however, I popped in right when the kid was in gym class getting bullied. It proceeded from there. I thought the film was pretty nice and interesting. Bill Murray was good. He plays grumpy old man very well. I loved the cat and I usually don't like cats. McCarthy was great in her role. She brought laugh out loud moments to the film. The kid was fantastic. I guess most child actors are fantastic in dramedys but he really was good. Naomi Watts was also good as the Russian lady of the night ladyfriend. One thing that was not so great was the turn it took with him recovering from a stroke. That felt very Oscar baitish and over the top. That was distracting. Should have just given him a heart attack. Overall, it was just a good film worth a viewing. That's it.

Grade - B

This was a highly enjoyable crowd pleaser. It could have been a seriously great movie if the movie was a bit tighter. There were a few tonal issues and it felt like it lost it's flow from time to time, though it was never not enjoyable. Bill Murray is absolutely fantastic here and he deserves to be nominated for an Oscar. He was the heart and the soul of the entire movie and it was just a beautiful, well rounded performance. Naomi Watts was also great and showed she has quite the pair of comedic chops. Melissa McCarthy was also very good. Definitely recommended.

B+

I didn't mind the scenes after he had the stroke. There was a lot of heart there and a lot of funny moments to be had. I did, however have an issue with the whole Don Cheadle plot line, which was just awful. Other than that, I really did enjoy this one.

yeah, don cheadle was awful

St. Vincent is a perfectly nice, if rather pedestrian comedy-drama graced and elevated by a top-notch cast. With only a series of relatively obscure short films to his name, it is honestly a bit of a mystery how first-time writer and director Theodore Melfi assembled such a substantial group of talent to tell his sweetly predictable story of a grumpily imbibing Vietnam veteran and the put-upon lad who defrosts his heart. But he has, and the result is largely satisfying despite uneven pacing and competent, but bland photography.

Entirely established now as a living legend after a long and winding career of global hits and independent cult favorites, Bill Murray does much of the heavy lifting for St. Vincent without sweating or straining, infusing a circumscribed character arc (from disagreeable old bastard to hard-won generosity of spirit) with grit and vivacity. It is a pleasure to simply see this pro do his job as well as ever, unleashing barbed one-liners with his casual mastery of exhausted deadpan. As the Tiny Tim to his Scrooge, newcomer Jaeden Lieberher avoids the potential pitfalls of child performance—he is adorable and wide-eyed without overplaying either—and the often boisterous Melissa McCarthy delivers a tender and dialed-down performance as his mother, aching and adrift after a foul divorce.

There are more famous names on hand still: Naomi Watts, for instance, in at once amusing and deeply strange role of a Russian call girl and exotic dancer pregnant with what may or may not be Vincent's child. It is interesting to see Watts play so against type, but the character is rather improbable and ill at ease with the rest of the picture. Chris O'Dowd cannot help but be charming in the otherwise thin role of a neighborhood priest and teacher, while Terrence Howard is unpleasant and squandered as an intimidating debt collector in a bit of a grim subplot abruptly abandoned by the film without, as far as I can see, any resolution.

Overall, St. Vincent has lumps and cannot always rise above certain perfunctory instincts, but the muscular cast, particularly the spellbinding Murray and his pint-sized straight man, bring it home and justify the price of admission.

B

Rather enjoyed this. Touching and Bill Murray is of course terrific, as is everyone else in the movie. It does feel like it's missing something but there are some genuinely great scenes.

I got them mixed up because Cheadle was a producer.

oh. I thought it was a dig at the indie hit Iron Man 2.

I watched this for a second time a bit ago with my boyfriend. Such a lovely little movie.

**SPOILERS**

An almost perfect movie is marred only by major pacing issues. The entire cast, led by Bill Murray, is terrific. The story is heartwarming, often humorous, and never lost my interest. But the pacing of the whole thing is borderline terrible. It lacks a cohesive flow, often times feeling like a group of scenes stapled together. But thankfully those scenes are still fun to watch.

One has to stand in awe of Bill Murray, who started his career with straight comedy roles, playing brash Peter Venkman, smart-ass John Winger and goofy Carl Spackler in the 80s before evolving into hateful antiheroes Phil Connors and Frank Cross in the late 80s and early 90s. Just when it seemed he would fade away with countless other comedy stars, he redefined his career with roles like Herman Blume, Bob Harris and Steve Zissou. Now, 35 years after his first major film role, Murray again surprises with not just a scene-stealing side role, which has been the norm for Murray in recent years, but a career re-defining lead role.

It's a damn shame Bill Murray will likely miss out on an Oscar nod. In anyone else's hands, the role would likely veer too close to hilarious grump rather than riding the fine line between likable antihero and despicable antagonist. Post-stroke, most other actors would give the scenes far too much melodrama, hamming it up for potential award recognition. Murray does it convincingly, tugging at heartstrings but never over-doing it. He's a damn good actor when he wants to be.

A few easy outs that the film could have went for and thankfully didn't are appreciated. Scott Adsit's dad character could have been an asshole to really get the audience on Melissa McCarthy's side, but instead the character is largely silent. Beyond Maggie's digs at her ex-husband, we're left to believe he may not be a bad guy after all. And even though we're never given much resolution for Vincent's money woes, he thankfully doesn't end up winning the lottery or any other groan-inducing ending.

In the end, the movie thankfully and deservedly boasts a happy ending, complete with the best and most fun during-credits scene in a long time.

If Theodore Melfi had been working on, say, his 4th or 5th film, St. Vincent could have been a major awards player this year. But it is what it is. St. Vincent is still an exceptional movie, boosted by a stellar cast.

***

P.S.: I'm not even sure why Terrance Howard is in this. David is right, they basically abandon the entire subplot without resolution. I can't even justify his role in the movie. They could erase the character entirely and still make it to the exact same ending.

At least Murray is a shoe-in for a Golden Globe, which is something.

B+/A-

I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked the film. Yes, it is incredibly formulaic, but the cast carries it with such dedication and bravado that I couldn't help, but be into it all the way. Bill Murray is obviously the highlight here, in his best performance since Lost in Translation (and it is a rich role!), but the surprising thing was that he was not the sole highlight. Melissa McCarthy is the best I've ever seen her (okay, that is not saying much because I generally don't like her at all, but her toned-down low-key performance is really good here) and Naomi Watts is fantastic, fully deserving of her SAG nomination, though I am sure nothing more will come her way in terms of awards consideration. The most surprising thing, however, was how good the Jaeden Lieberher was. Kid actors often bring a movie like this down, but his performance really worked for me. I can see why the film enjoyed such terrific WoM.

I really enjoyed this. The cast is great and I never wanted to stop watching the whole movie. The only real faults are some pacing issues and the Terrence Howard role, neither of which ruined the movie for me.

A-

Forgot a key word.

This movie was entertaining enough, but I was kind of disappointed by the central relationship between Vincent and the kid. IT just didn't feel fresh or new, and I'd seen more interesting similar relationships on sitcoms like Modern Family. Naomi Watts is the highlight, she's really funny, while it is nice to see Melissa McCarthy in a serious role; she really shines,. Ultimately though, forgettable.

B-

I was surprised at how emotionally invested I got in this. Nothing really felt forced, even though some things were forgotten about, it was fine.

B+/A-

I rewatched this today and it actually felt even better this time. The whole thing feels organic. I didn't even loathe the Terrence Howard subplot, although it makes so little sense to not assume Vincent was faking it to get out of a beating.

Bill Murray is obviously on top of his game and that's who I really focused on in my first viewing, but this time around I really appreciated Melissa McCarthy and especially Naomi Watts. The Oscars will often go for these smaller, drama-comedy movies (Little Miss Sunshine, for example), so it's a shame that St. Vincent went unnoticed. I still believe if the first-time film director had a little more experience, or it just had a little more polish, it would have been recognized.

Revised Grade: A-