St. Vincent (DVD REVIEW)
St. Vincent
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Bill Murray Bittersweet Character Study Released on DVD
Almost nothing is right in Vincent
MacKenna’s (Bill Murray) life. The aging, Vietnam War vet is still suffering
from PTSD. Plus, he’s fighting a losing battle against with booze, cigarettes
and gambling, which has left him deeply indebted to a vicious loan shark
(Terrence Howard).
In fact, Zucko is threatening to break
Vincent’s kneecaps if he doesn’t come up with the cash in a couple weeks.
Trouble is the miserable misanthrope doesn’t have a friend in the world, unless
you count Daka (Naomi Watts), the pregnant prostitute he befriended at a
neighborhood strip club. Unfortunately, Vincent can come up with no better
solution to his money woes than wagering on long shots at his favorite haunt, Belmont race track.
Meanwhile, he’s also concerned about
his wife, Sandy (Donna Mitchell), who’s been suffering from Alzheimer’s for the
past eight years. He still visits her regularly at the elderly care facility,
despite the fact that she no longer recognizes him.
The last thing you’d think Vincent
might need would be a new, next-door neighbor who’s more of a burden than a
help. But, that’s just what he gets in Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) a single-mom
desperate enough for a babysitter that she’s willing to let him babysit her
latchkey kid.
Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) attends
Catholic school where the pint-sized 12 year-old is picked on by bullies. This
makes the boy a prime candidate for the sort of toughening Vincent has to
offer, lessons on everything from boxing to betting.
Written and directed by Theodore Melfi,
St. Vincent is a bittersweet, unlikely-buddies
flick which works more in terms of comedy than drama. There’s something a tad
unconvincing about the ambitious adventure’s sentimental side.
The film has one glaring flaw, a rushed
feeling resulting from the introduction of more plotlines than it has time to
develop fully. So, when it asks us to empathize with this or that character’s
plight, or to buy into the heartwarming resolution, there’s simply not much of
a wellspring of emotion forthcoming.
Nevertheless, St.
Vincent does work when going for the joke, especially Bill
Murray’s tongue-in-cheek brand of humor. He’s in rare form, here, as an
irascible curmudgeon who exhibits an endearing vulnerability for the sake of an
at-risk tween in need of a father figure.
Very
Good (3 stars)
Rated
PG-13 for sexuality, profanity, smoking, mature themes and substance abuse
Running
time: 102 minutes
Distributor:
Anchor Bay / The Weinstein Company
Blu-ray
Extras: Deleted scenes; Bill Murray Is St. Vincent; and The Patron Saint of
comedy.
To
see a trailer for St. Vincent, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5BVn-eyAxA
To
order a copy of St Vincent on Blu-ray, visit:
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