St Vincent

If there is one thing that can always be said about Bill Murray films, it is that they contain Bill Murray, a fact that instantly improves them by around 50%.  His most recent role, as the Vincent in Theodore Melfi’s St Vincent, see’s him being particularly wonderfully Bill Murray, as the gruff, prone to a drink elderly gentlemen, who takes up the role of father figure to the young protagonist Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher).

St Vincent can’t claim to be particularly original, gruff elderly man meets young boy and young boy shows there is more to gruff elderly man than you might have thought.  Underneath his hard-drinking and weekly appointments with a prostitute (portrayed by Naomi Watts with a Russian accent that would have been more at home in The Muppets: Most Wanted), Vincent actually has a heart of gold.

Of course, the aforementioned Bill Murray insures this film doesn’t descend into complete schmaltzy rubbishy.  It’s a talent that he has in abundance and even at his most horrible, Vincent remains likable.  Throw in the fact that Jaeden Liberher manages to not be an annoying child actor and you have a good combination.

Throw in the fact that Melissa McCarthy finally gets a role which doesn’t revolve around the fact that she’s not skinny and St Vincent comes out as a winner, despite the fact you can’t help but feel you have seen it before.  It’s a sweet film that will make you chuckle throughout and I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear at the conclusion.  Not one that’s unmissable, but if you are looking for something to see in the cinema, you could easily do a lot worse.