At the very latest since his marvelous films with Jim Jarmusch, Sophia Coppola and Wes Anderson, Bill Murray ranks among the most popular persons on the planet. In the teaser to ST.VINCENT he is smoking a cigarette, is sitting around on a lawn chair, sings a bit of Bob Dylan’s ‘Shelter from the Storm’ and is busy with a garden hose, and a dried out potted plant with an American flag stuck in it. In this scene he is so hilariously funny in a way that only Bill Murray can be.
ST.VINCENT isn’t as good as the teaser would suggest, but better than one thinks. Murray is Vincent, a retired curmudgeon with a penchant for alcohol and gambling who meets a young boy who allows Vincent to see some good in life. The plot can be traced back to a homework assignment of the director’s (Ted Melfi) adoptive daughter. Melfi relies on set pieces what in German is called ‘standard situations’, but in film it means numbers and comedy sketches. Bill Murray is truly a master of set pieces, and the rest of the cast isn't so bad either. Melissa McCarthy, who delivered the best gags in BRIDESMAIDS, justifies being a single mom to her son’s Catholic teacher in a fantastically funny and touching scene. Naomi Watts as Daka, a pregnant Russian ‘woman of the night’, with whom Vincent has more than a business relationship, is hardly recognizable and absolutely convincing. ST. VINCENT is far from Murray’s best film, but it suffices for a nice, entertaining night at the movies.

Tom Dorow