Monday, November 17, 2014

St. Vincent *** - A Comedy with Heart

In St.Vincent, Bill Murray stars as a surly man who's much more than he appears.  St. Vincent owes much to the John Hughes/John Candy comedies of the 1980s. When a single Mom played by Melissa McCarthy moves in next door, she enlists Vincent to watch her son Oliver after school.  Vincent swears, drinks, and proudly wears his beer gut.  Murray has a great chemistry with the kid as he mentors him on handling bullies and placing bets at the track.  As the story unfolds we learn about Vincent and his eventful life.  He's not the type of guy to talk about what he's done. Vincent lets his actions speak for themselves.  First time director Theodore Melfi stays away from too much sentimentality and yet achieves an emotional resonance. Chris O'Dowd and Naomi Watts are strong in supporting roles. Bill Murray does a great job as usual and we're lucky he's still making movies.

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