The Saint From Next Door

It’s difficult to resist a humorous Bill Murray performance.  His expert, deadpan delivery of his dialogue makes him one of our finest comedic actors working today.  

It’s because of him that Theodore Melfi’s overly sentimental comedy, “St. Vincent,” is more tolerable than it deserves to be.  Ultimately, the performances are what keep this movie afloat, while the story itself is something we’ve all seen a few times before.

Vincent MacKenna (Murray) lives alone, drinks a lot, gambles and maintains a relationship with a Russian prostitute, Daka (Naomi Watts).  When his new neighbor, Maggie Bronstein (Melissa McCarthy), and her young son, Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher), move in next door to Vincent, they don’t get along at first, but after Maggie starts getting busy at her job, she needs someone to look after her son, and asks Vincent for his help, who reluctantly agrees.  As Vincent and Oliver begin to spend more time together, the two establish a bond and help each other grow.

In the role of Vincent, Bill Murray provides us with another witty character who makes us laugh from the beginning, but also provides a few dramatic moments as the film goes on that allow us to see why he tangles with his vices.  It’s mostly because of Murray that the movie somewhat works at all.

Melissa McCarthy’s performance, thankfully, isn’t another loud and obnoxious character.  Although that sort of shtick worked at first in “Bridesmaids,” it grew tired in her films that came later.  In this movie, McCarthy’s role as a hardworking mother shows that she’s able to do more than what we’ve been seeing in her films over the last few years.  This role shows that McCarthy can still be funny while taking a step back from her usual wild side.

Newcomer Jaeden Lieberher displays his acting skills admirably, and his ability to connect with Murray onscreen helps make the film’s common scenario watchable.

The screenplay by Theodore Melfi, although pretty comical in spots, uses the familiar story of a young boy befriending a cantankerous older man, in which you can see where the narrative is going to end up.  It’s really the lead performers who make this movie passable.  The film doesn't really add anything new to this concept, and pretty much coasts along on the capability of its cast.

“St. Vincent” is an okay diversion for fans of Bill Murray’s work, but his character deserved a better and funnier film.

Final grade: B-