[Movie Review] St. Vincent (2014)
Director: Theodore Melfi
Writer: Theodore Melfi
Runtime: 103 min
Main Cast:
- Bill Murray as Vincent
- Melissa McCarthy as Maggie
- Naomi Watts as Daka
- Chris O'Dowd as Brother Geraghty
- Jaeden Lieberher as Oliver
Review: by Anthony and Lee
The trailer for St. Vincent told us pretty much everything we needed to know about the movie. Bill Murray, who is great, would be playing a cranky old man who befriends a precocious young child, and they would both grow to be better people because of it. It seemed simple. It seemed classic. It seemed like Melissa McCarthy would finally be playing a role more like the one she played in Gilmore Girls. We wanted to see it.
As we thought, St. Vincent told the story of Vincent (Murray), a cranky “old” man who became an unlikely babysitter for the young son (Lieberher) of his new neighbor (McCarthy).
What We Liked:
We enjoyed the fact that St. Vincent was what we expected it to be. However, it was more than that as well. The story that was told in the movie was deeper and more complex than the typical crotchety old man/innocent child movie. It conveyed the message of not judging a book by its cover better than those movies usually do. The characters were not cut and dry. Of course, you expect the old man to not be as bad as he seems, but Vincent’s case was special. By the end of the movie, we were in full agreement that he was a saint — still rough around the edges, but a saint nonetheless.
The acting really sold the story, though. Bill Murray can act. We’re not saying that people deny this, but he was really good. The scenes were he was in therapy and everything afterward were fantastic.
As far as child actors go, they are usually hit or miss. They often overact, coming across as little adults rather than children, but the combination of the writing and relative newcomer Jaeden Lieberher’s acting skills was near perfect. He came across as a child, a sensitive, impressionable, innocent child. What was great was that, even when the movie could have gone the super witty child route in conversation, it just didn’t.
The supporting actors did a good job as well. We are not fans of Melissa McCarthy in general because we do not find her brand of humor to be funny; however, I (Lee) enjoyed her in Gilmore Girls, and thought she should do more roles like that. St. Vincent was a great move for her and may go a long way in broadening her acting horizon. Chris O’Dowd, on the other hand, we do appreciate because of his role in The IT Crowd. It was good to see him in yet another movie, and it was better to see that he was legitimately funny as the Catholic school teacher.
The real star, however, was Naomi Watts as Daka, the pregnant Russian stripper/prostitute. She may not have been the main character, but she was hilarious. The timing and delivery of her lines and her thick/bad Russian accent worked together to create some of the best scenes.
The movie did a great job of not going too far, as well. It brought tears to our eyes, but it wasn’t a sob fest. It poked fun at Catholic schools, but it didn’t attack religion. It sent a message, but it wasn’t preachy. It toed a fine line, and it did it well.
What We Didn’t Like:
There wasn’t much we disliked about the movie. We weren’t sure how we felt about the boy’s school bully situation, but we eventually decided that it was a realistic enough portrayal of how kids interact with each other.
Summary
St. Vincent was a heartwarming dark comedy that left us satisfied with our movie experience. It had good writing, great acting, and a cute kid. What more could we want?
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( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
