Saint Vincent

Fatherless boy befriends grumpy, lonely, old man, and an “unexpected” friendship results. Okay. We’ve seen this one before, but reasons exist why we so frequently come across this storyline.

This sort of plot has worked beautifully in the past—and it blew up a few times in our faces, as well.

Such a story usually requires a gimmick of sorts (a house that floats via a million balloons, or the old man serves as a mentor to teach the kid how to write or play baseball, or act the old guy's Clint Eastwood).

Saint Vincent (actually spelled St. Vincent and mistakable for another movie of the same name, in which a hit-man goes undercover as a priest) relies less on gimmicks (not to suggest that gimmicks always prove a bad notion) and more on excellent characters expressed through unique actions.

Bill Murray presents a character named Vincent, who tries to make something of his life but never seems to possess direction. He gambles and loses. He waters his lawn, but not a single blade of grass ever grows.

Vincent tries to cheat his way to success, almost as if he doesn’t trust himself enough to get there through honest means.

“Honesty” and “Success” ripple in strange, out-of-balanced ways that feel . . . regrettably realistic.

Vincent’s outlook on honesty comes across as both warped and enlightened. He considers prostitution “one of the more honest professions.”

One such prostitute uses a “trick” to get a snack machine to drop two candy bars for the price of one (it serves as no surprise that the write’s chose Paydays for those candy bars).

Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, and Naomi Watts provide wonderful acting. McCarthy’s best scene, hands down, takes place in her son’s principal’s office. She might earn Best Supporting Actress for that scene.

Miscommunication serves as a constant theme throughout the movie, which starts with a joke about . . . well, miscommunication. The movie eventually embodies this theme with a stroke that shatters Vincent’s ability to speak. However, once Vincent drops his mask of sarcasm, even the stroke can’t prevent his words.

I could, if pressed to find a fault in this movie, complain that many issues remain unresolved by the film’s conclusion, but to voice such a complaint would amount my own evasion of the film's finer premise.

The movie reflects that life’s problems don’t always work themselves out by the end of the third act. Several characters say, “It is what it is,” which tells the audience that they shouldn’t hope for a clean break before the credits.

Saint Vincent speaks of left turns, let downs, bad luck, and the less-than-perfect person we become once we surface from the meat mincer.

I love an unexpected treat such as this one. It deserves and possesses my recommendation.

(You can enjoy my novels, such as "Daughters of Darkwana," on Kindle and my short fiction at martinwolt.blogspot.com. Thanks for reading!)