Bill Murray is something of an indie darling, so to see that he starred in 2014's St. Vincent was no surprise. I wouldn't be surprised if director/writer Theodore Melfi had the SNL alum and Wes Anderson favorite in mind when penning the screenplay about the grumpy, boozy codger and his grandfatherly relationship with a neighbor boy. It's good that Melfi snatched up Murray. I'm not sure how well the movie would've worked otherwise.
Beyond Murray, the casting is solid. Melissa McCarthy puts on an endearing performance as a struggling single mother, and Chris O'Dowd plays a smart-ass priest/teacher at a Catholic school. The strongest performer here next to Bill Murray is newcomer Jaeden Lieberher as a young boy named Oliver whose begrudgingly taken under the nicotine-stained wing of Murray's Vincent. He learns of the finer things in life from Vin, such as fighting and gambling. He even meets Vin's softer alter-ego, a man whose wife has forgotten who he is from the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease.
It's in the few moments we see of Vincent and his wife that we see a completely different character than the callous old dude in camouflage cargo shorts. He becomes a perfect gentleman. His behavior is so starkly different that it's hard to see him bounce back and forth between hardass to softie, but we can allow it only because of Murray's performance. We can't see Murray as the asshole the entire time because we know he's going to be alright at some point. There's some tension lost, but it's made up for in the genuine camaraderie that we witness between Vin and Oliver.
It's not a gamechanger, and the plot feels somewhat predictable at times, but St. Vincent is still a satisfying slice of movie that should be given a chance. It's not often you get to see Bill Murray pal around with a kid and a stripper.
