They say that there are no new stories, just variations on the same old ones. Sometimes the measure of true talent is how a group of artists is capable of elevating relatively predictable material to make it emotionally impactful and revelatory. The newest Bill Murray vehicle St. Vincent falls into this category of achievement.
St. Vincent is a very familiar story of redemption through opening up to the people around us and really learning who they are. There are many examples of these kinds of stories, especially with a child being the catalyst for bringing down carefully constructed walls against the outside world. Nick Hornby’s novel About a Boy, which has been made into both a film and a TV show, comes to mind. These stories, especially in their movie forms, have a tendency to be a little treacly and simplistic, even in their best incarnations.
While I am an unapologetic fan of About a Boy, it does feature that embarrassing school assembly scene in which Hugh Grant’s misanthropic character takes the bullet for his young friend by making a fool of himself instead. It was a good idea on paper, but it came off a little sitcommy. Just as that may go down as Grant’s best overall performance, Bill Murray’s take on the grumpy old jerk next door will undoubtedly stand alongside his best remembered characters.
Murray’s status as a beloved smart-ass who crosses generational lines definitely informs the audience’s reaction to Vincent. We know we like this guy and are used to seeing him act hilariously grumpy. It takes a lot of ammunition to make us think he might genuinely be a no-good jerk. It is a testament to both Murray and first time writer/director Theodore Melfi that we eventually begin to believe that Vincent is irredeemably awful. Is it a weakness or a strength of the film that the most despicable thing we see him do is never actually addressed? I can’t really decide. I won’t reveal the nature of this act, but suffice it to say that both my jaw and heart dropped when it happened. Murray has a well-deserved reputation as an iconoclast, who uses what power he has to subvert the parts of the Hollywood experience he doesn’t feel like participating in. Lebeau recently shared a story about the process of casting Murray in this film as told by Melfi in the comments section and I’ll include it here.
“Oh god, that story’s so crazy,” says Melfi, laughing. “The nuts and bolts is (Murray) has no agent and manager, as everyone knows. You just call the 1-800 number. And I left, I don’t know, a dozen messages. It’s not his voice on there. It’s a Skytel voicemail with a menu. You have to record the message and send the message. It’s so confusing. I think if you can get through that and believe in it, he might call you back. I started calling once a week, and then sometimes once every two weeks so I didn’t annoy him. He never called back. I finally called his lawyer and said, ‘I’m trying reach Bill.’ And he goes, ‘What number do you got?’ And I go, ‘I’ve got the 800 number.’ And he goes, ‘Well that’s what I got.’
“So I finally call his lawyer, it must have been at least six weeks later after all these messages. (The lawyer suggests Melfi write Murray a snail mail letter.) A ‘Dear Bill’ letter. To a post office box back in New York. Two weeks later, (Murray) calls his attorney and goes, ‘OK the letter was swell. I’d like to read the script. Have him snail mail a script.’ To another post office box on Martha’s Vineyard. Bill is a nomad. He’s never in one place for long.
“And so we snail-mailed a script. Bill calls two weeks later, he picks up the phone and calls my producer’s assistant (who is flabbergasted) and says, ‘I never got that script.’ So we Fed Ex the script to a place in North Carolina. Two or three weeks after that, driving down the road I’m in the middle of a commercial job and my phone rings and he goes, ‘Ted? It’s Bill Murray. Is this a good time?’
I pull over and he goes, ‘Listen, I got this script of yours and I don’t know who you are. I don’t Google people. I don’t know who you are, what you do. Tell me about yourself.’ So that was 20 minutes of me stammering around trying to tell Bill Murray who I am. And he goes, ‘Well, that sounds good.’ And this was on a Wednesday; I was shooting a commercial the next day. And he goes, ‘Want to get together and have a coffee and talk about the script?’ I say, ‘I’d love to.’ He goes, ‘How about tomorrow?’ And I go, ‘Well, it depends on what time, maybe …’ Bill goes, ‘In New York.’ (Melfi was in L.A.) Bill goes, ‘Oh. How about Friday?’ I say, ‘Um, I don’t think I can get (to New York) on Friday. He says, ‘No, in Cannes.’Melfi laughs. “‘I say, ‘No I can’t get to Cannes Friday, Bill, I’d have to leave today.’ He goes, ‘Oh, well, you know it’s going to be a good time.’ (He was premiering Moonrise Kingdom.) But don’t worry about it, we’ll connect later. I’ll call you in a couple of weeks.’ (Melfi is now frantic.) I say, ‘Bill, is there a better number for you, anything –’ He goes, ‘No no, you’ve got the number.’ (The call ended and Murray disappeared.)
“I wanted to shoot myself. About three weeks later I’m in limbo, literally dying painfully. I’ve thrown my back out I’m so stressed out about the whole thing. It’s Sunday of Memorial Day weekend. I’m in bed at 8 a.m. and I get a text: Ted it’s Bill. Can you meet me at LAX in an hour? And I write back, Yeah I’ll be there! Murray: I’ll be at baggage claim, flight so-and-so.
“So I take a Vicodin and get in my car and I drive to LAX. I go to baggage claim and there’s a guy in a black rumpled suit holding a card that says ‘B. Murray’ on it. I go, ‘I think I’m with you.’ He says, ‘Yeah?’ I think,oh god, he doesn’t know anything either. Bill Murray comes walking down the hall with his golf bag and goes, ‘Ted? You want to talk about the script? Let’s go for a drive.’
So we get in this town car with this driver and we stop and get four In and Out grilled cheeses and two orders of fries. And he pulls out the script from his attaché case; it’s got dog-ears on it, some scratches here and there. And we drive from L.A. to three hours south at the Pechanga Indian reservation. I have no idea where I am or where I’m going. We drive and drive and drive. We end up at the back of this reservation on a golf course. He has a house there. We talk about the script the entire way.
“We pull into this house and he tours me around. He’s got tangelo trees and avocado growing next door. I used the bathroom. I go back outside and he goes, ‘Alright, this is great. Do you think we should do it?’ (Melfi says he’d love to.) He goes, ‘OK, we’re gonna do it. We’ll make the movie.’ I said, ‘That’s so great Bill, just one thing, if you could do one thing for me. Could you tell someone other than me that this happened? No one is going to believe this story. I can’t possibly go to the studio and say Bill Murray said yes on the way to the Indian reservation in the back of a town car. Murray said, ‘I’ll call someone, don’t worry about it.’ “
It is this sort of behavior that makes us think that Vincent might just be having us on, but the truth about this character is a little more complex and real than a simple case of pranky eccentricity. It is a performance that has rightly been getting Murray some Oscar buzz. The characterization he is using fluctuates a little too much as the film progresses, but this is indeed heavy lifting Murray is doing.
Melissa McCarthy co-stars as Maggie, a recently separated mom who is struggling with a demanding new job and trying to make a secure life for her son after the disastrous end to her marriage. It is a slightly thankless role for McCarthy, who is a decent box office draw at the moment, with successful releases like Bridesmaids, Identity Thief, and The Heat on her resume. The chance to work with Murray and to show off some dramatic versatility had to be strong motivating factors for McCarthy in taking the job, but her presence also had to help get the movie made the way they wanted.
The boy is lacking in adult supervision or a male role model, and is getting bullied at his new school. None of these problems seems to be made better by the presence of the alcoholic gambler next door, but options are not in wide availability for Maggie.
Making just a bit of a comeback, is Naomi Watts, who is also appearing currently on the big screen in the critically acclaimed Birdman as a desperate actress making her Broadway debut. Here Watts stretches even further, playing an aging, pregnant, Russian prostitute and exotic dancer who has Vincent for a steady customer. Watts appeared to be set to become the next big thing when she starred in the horror movie hit The Ring and as aspiring starlet Ann Darrow in the Peter Jackson production of King Kong, but she hasn’t had a real hit since. Neither Birdman or St. Vincent shies away from Watts’ own aging, and hopefully this will pay off with additional mature roles for her in the coming years. She has always been an effective actress, delivering knockout performances in Mulholland Dr., 21 Grams, and King Kong before hitting a bit of a lull. Seeing her featured prominently on this movie’s poster alongside Murray and McCarthy made my eyes snap open the first time I saw it. It honestly wouldn’t have surprised me if Lebeau had featured her in his What the Hell Happened series at some point. Here’s hoping that doesn’t become necessary any time soon.
Despite what can only be described as a formulaic plot, St. Vincent is an emotionally affecting film that makes the building blocks of what could have easily been a lesser work add up to something better. There are no new stories, but when artists like the ones involved here take on familiar tropes, that doesn’t really matter much, does it?
What a good read. After today’s football fiasco I’m really not fit to be around other people, but my kids have heard all the swear words and seem none the worse for it. Anyway. This movie sounds compelling. As football season winds down it’s a natural segue into Oscar discussions 🙂 Could this type of meaty role be a nomination for Murray? Plus the backstories you and Lebeau have included on what it’s like to interact with Murray sound as interesting as the project itself. Also, after my struggles with WordPress and copying images, I look at the posts here… Read more »
After some careful consideration, I’ve determined that you are an Ole Miss fan. I will not hold it against you 🙂 Murray could easily be nominated for an Oscar for his role in St. Vincent. He’s popular, the performance is very good, the role is substantial, and many folks think he’s been mildly snubbed for Rushmore and Lost in Translation. Finding the right images really can do a lot to help an article flow. I’m not always happy with what I come up with, but it’s amazing how hard it is to locate just the right thing sometimes and I… Read more »
OOHHH Daffy…. in many ways, glad I have not given myself away. Love your writing, but as far as your guess…. totally wrong conference! TOTALLY! RB hates everything SEC.
Ha! okay then, I got it wrong. Your team’s crushing defeats that you have mentioned have been on the same weeks as those of Ole Miss, so that’s why I’d come to that conclusion. Now I kind of want to know…
Daffy Stardust, I saw St. Vincent a couple weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised. There was no action to speak of, no violence, no sex, just a pleasant story about a private, suffering old man who found some relief through an unlikely source. I suspect that Bill Murray is far more talented then the industry wants to believe. I can’t remember him giving a poor performance. Naomi Watts, I suspect has a deep intelligence that she uses to select her roles with an eye to building a solid resume rather than a “what could have been” career. I bet she… Read more »
I’ve had to really crack down on Daffy. He had an article written up called “Piss on Jude Law and Kevin Costner”. I think he’s just looking for trouble. I said, Daffy, can’t you just review a movie or something?
Fortunately, he writes a mean review. Otherwise, he’d be more trouble than he’s worth.
I liked this film quite a bit. I saw Birdman and St. Vincent in the same week. So it was kind of funny seeing Naomi Watts twice in a row after not seeing much of her for years! I loved both movies but St. Vincent was the one I recommended to my parents since my mom hates anything too strange or confusing in a movie. St. Vincent was great while being straightforward. This film reminded me of Bad Santa in many ways. Both movies are about grumpy, very unlikable, down on their luck jerks that you end up rooting for… Read more »
Finally picked this up at the Box and just finished watching. This has been on the ol’ to-do list since reading this review, and after watching “Last Vegas” all the way through, twice on Youtube, (isn’t it better for me to watch it instead of talk about it endlessly?), well, a little voice said, “RB watch something you have not seen already!” So off to Redbox it was and got Blended (which sucked) and St. Vincent. Very, very glad to have gotten St. Vincent. It is indeed an emotionally affecting film and I can understand why there would have been… Read more »
A final followup. “Lost in Translation” indeed is another really excellent Murray vehicle. I think I’ve been judging him by “Meatballs” all these years when he is so much more. “Lost” is a movie that resists formula and is remaining in the permanent collection!
Murray started off a goofball. But he has grown into a very nuanced actor who can do comedy or drama equally well. Although few have his comic chops when he is on. Meatballs is a great Murray performance in a so-so teen movie. Check out Quick Change if you haven’t. It features Murray, Geena Davis and Randy Quaid.
Great to hear a Quick Change mention, I’ve always thought that movie was underrated. Murray, Quaid and Davis are all winning in this film. Actually, Bill Murray even directed Quick Change, and a look at IMDB confirms that it remains his only directing job to date. Very funny film for anybody who hasn’t seen it yet. Bill Murray robs a bank dressed as a sad clown, and who doesn’t want to see Bill Murray rob a bank dressed as a sad clown? Murray doesn’t really do his comedic schtick like he used to anymore, so if you’re thirsty for that… Read more »
The problem with quick change is that after the heist the movie loses steam. But it’s worth watching. I know RB is a fan of Randy Quaid. I would highly recommend the movie to any Randy Quaid fan.
I do like Randy Quaid. That is one I will have to check out. As far as Murray’s old time comedy schtick it actually wore thin with me with stuff like Meatballs. But it was a mistake to conclude that he didn’t have wider range. In St.Vincent he knocked it out of the park. I was bowled over with admiration. So I ordered Lost in Translation off Amazon and while this wasn’t on the same level, it had impact in a different way. It’s all mood and cinematography. At first. Then you get drawn into the relationship between Murray’s character… Read more »
Yeah, I think “Lost in Translation” is a big winner; when it was played on HBO repeatedly last decade, I viewed it anytime I could. I went through a real phase with that film. As for “Meatballs”, I didn’t care for it (then again, I was only mildly entertained by “Stripes”).