Review of St. Vincent (2014) by Matthew C — 28 Feb 2015

The Weinsteins release yet another indie dramedy that's much the same as all others.

I enjoy Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy (they earn these three stars pretty much on their own). Even the kid (Jaeden Lieberher) in the film is a pretty likable and talented actor. The problem is that you could swear you've seen this movie a million times. Indeed, "Weinstein Indie Dramedy" should be it's own genre. It has the same quirky soundtrack you've come to expect. It has the same old, miserable misanthrope (Murray) you've come to expect. It has the same snarky little kid who is written as if he is someone far more advanced in age that you've come to expect. It has the same frank, darkly comic attitude toward death that you've come to expect. It has the same authority figure who is supposed to be lame (a Catholic school teacher played by Chris O'Dowd), but who ends up being cool, quirky, liberal and sarcastic that you've come to expect. I could list more of these tropes, but I won't.

Seriously. Despite the varied talent involved in these films, they all seem to follow a specific formula. I'm sick of it. There's gotta be a better way for a young filmmaker to get on the map. I blame the Weinsteins.

I hate that I can't enjoy the film completely on its own merits. I don't hate the film by any means either. It is fairly entertaining -- inspiring in some ways -- and even has a few laughs. But, having seen so many films just like it, I'm often left bored and underwhelmed by its lack of originality.

The only other negative elements that stand out for me are Bill Murray and Naomi Watts' accents. The former employs some kind of New England thing like when he awkwardly played Roosevelt, and Watts does the kind of over-the-top Russian accent you'd find in a Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon.