Sadly Over-hyped

Let's be realistic.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Bill Murray's performance is worth the watching but the storyline is glacial and in parts improbable. Not fond of movies where the music tells you how you should be feeling (but really aren't!)

Chemistry can make all the difference in a film, even when the story has been done before. St. Vincent wasn't a great film because the story was out of this world. In fact, it wasn't even all that original, but rather the fantastic chemistry between veteran Bill Murray, and newcomer Jaeden Lieberher made all the difference. After a bitter divorce, Maggie & Oliver have been forced to move to a new neighborhood, where they find their new neighbor is a bitter old drunk named Vincent (Murray). Vincent wants nothing to do with anyone, until happenstance throws him together with Oliver, who he reluctantly agrees to watch in exchange for a paycheck, but what does he know about taking care of a kid? Even though this movie could have been more raunchy, Bill Murray is always funny and paired together with this scrawny, innocent, overprotected kid, made for some of the best interplay I've seen in a very long time. Murray was at the top of his game, but he almost had the show stolen right out from under him by young Jaeden Lieberher. Four years later, we know this kid is a star, and after seeing this performance, it's easy to see how he landing huge roles in the movies It and The Book of Henry. Finally the cast is rounded out by Melissa McCarthy who I honestly can not stand anymore, but believe it or not, she was very reserved and laid back. I didn't know she was actually capable of doing that. St. Vincent won't win any awards for originality, some parts could be a bit slow, although there were a few surprises. As for me, I love the chemistry, I always enjoy seeing how young actors and actresses got their start, and the film stars Bill freaking Murray, need I say more?

This film works for me because my believability meter never needed to be consulted throughout. It is a rare film these days that doesn't rely on CGI and triple back-flip plot twists to get them over the line. It is simple, honest story-telling at its best.This is a story about a VINCENT, a old man who has run out of options. So deep in denial, he blindly carries on with a slow suicide while ignoring the way his life is crumbling around him. He is completely broke, he can no longer afford to pay for the expensive care facility his wife resides at (she has dementia and doesn't even know who he is anymore), he owes a large gambling debt to a hoodlum, he drinks and smokes heavily and generally hates most of the world.His redeeming qualities are few and the film does not try to recreate him into the SAINT (from the title), which I really appreciated. This is not a Disney movie though I found the speech by Oliver a little bit too much. Something got in my eye about here.Vincent is forced to grabs the last lifeline left to him when his neighbours kid, Oliver, needs a sitter. Vincent uses the circumstances to extort money from the mother, Maggie, but as time passes he gets to know, and like, the kid. We can chose to see this as Vincent's true nature coming out, but enough of the old, bitter Vincent is still there to make for some very funny scenes.Perhaps there's not a great deal of substance in this film but I liked the way it was presented. No one had to be totally evil or totally good. It was about real people and real reactions. In this day and age of extremes, it actually felt fresh. All the wrongs weren't corrected or even apologised for. The ending lets us know that just having a life with even a tiny bit of meaning can be enough to make us happy.

The type of mid-budget star-vehicle that gets sold in production meetings with the caveat that it's "a feel-good movie." With Bill Murray acting like a lovable jerk (not a big stretch for Murray), "St. Vincent" also has the earmarks of a project groomed and designed to generate Oscar buzz--it has 'prestige' by way of its edgy but essentially warmhearted presentation. A grouchy Vietnam veteran in Brooklyn inadvertently becomes a babysitter for the little boy living next door after his parents split up and Mom has to work all day at the hospital. Fill-in-the-blanks screenplay by director Theodore Melfi has absolutely no surprises up its sleeve, and Murray is no longer the inimitable rascal you hate to love (he's present, but I question his sincerity). The picture isn't unique--it doesn't feel fresh, it doesn't tear you up--and Oscar did not come calling. I'm not even sure what Melfi was ultimately aiming for here (beyond setting up his happy ending), especially with the anticlimactic casting of Melissa McCarthy as the child's harried mother (she has little to do but react and scold). There's not a convincing scene in the entire 102 minutes, but some audiences may respond to its 'endearing' qualities, which is what the people behind "St. Vincent" had planned for all along. ** from ****