Review of St. Vincent (2014) by Jesse O — 19 Feb 2015

It's always good to see Bill Murray doing a full-on comedy movie. He definitely excels at the more understated and dry stuff he's done throughout the years with Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola, but it's still good to see him back doing what made him famous in the first place.

Working with Wes Anderson and Sofia Coppola has definitely extended his career, which was heading down a pretty dangerous path with movies like Larger Than Life and The Spy Who Knew Too Little. So, while I may not be the biggest Wes Anderson fan, Bill Murray certainly owes a lot to those two filmmakers I just mentioned.

But I digress, I'm a big Bill Murray fan. I think I can watch the guy do just about anything and he would entertain me, whether he meant to or not. He entertained me in Ghostbusters 2, that I did not like, because he clearly did not want to be there, and neither did any of the cast, but Bill made it so obvious by making everything into a joke for his own amusement.

So I can watch this guy do just about anything. He can be hurling insults at random people for 2 hours straight, with no semblance of a narrative, and I would think it was tremendous. But I digress, this movie definitely benefits from Bill Murray's almighty presence and I think he does a good job carrying the film, but there is a very good supporting cast around him indeed.

Melissa McCarthy and Naomi Watts are always good, so no complaints on that front. Unfortunately, though, the movie definitely veers into a sentimental route after Vin's stroke. Which is understandable, it's a pretty heavy subject matter, but I think it was really settling into maudlin for a bit there.

I think this is honestly what kept this movie from reaching a higher level. But, even then, I don't think I ever found the movie hilarious. It was certainly funny enough, but I don't think it was ever hilarious.

Never mind the fact that the story, with an old curmudgeon connecting with someone to reveal that they're in fact not so bad after all, is something that you've seen elsewhere. It's an assembly line plot, something simple and, theoretically, easy to pull off.

It doesn't always work, but it's certainly an easier story to pull off than other types. I don't mean to suggest that the writer didn't work hard on this film at developing characters that you would come to care for, but its sentimentality definitely played a part in holding it back.

Maybe it was written differently or it was edited this way, but the film certainly wears its heart on its sleeve. No subtlety here. I honestly can't complain though, I enjoyed this movie. Bill Murray seems like a fun guy to work with and I'm pretty sure he made it easy and fun for Jaeden Lieberher, Oliver, to work with him.

Their chemistry is definitely the core of the film. They're just good together, their characters play off each other very well and what they've gone through somehow makes them closer to each other.

So I cannot complain about that at all. While I don't think the cast is used to its full potential, they're definitely not wasted here. So the cast, the solid writing, and the ease of watching definitely make this a solid rental.

It's a movie that's definitely very pleasant to sit through and will live you with a smile on your face, even if you're not gonna remember much of it by the same time next week. Enjoyable, but not particularly memorable or special.