While the main appeal of St. Vincent is unapologetically Bill Murray playing a lazy, drinking, and smoking curmudgeon, it’s an ensemble cast and a first time director that shape this feel-good drama.
Theodore Melfi directs a script he wrote about a man named Vincent, an old grouch set in his ways who finds a renewed sense of self thanks to the appearance of a neighbor. A single working mother, played by Melissa McCarthy, moves in next door with her 12-year-old son Oliver (newcomer Jaeden Lieberher) and soon solicits the baby-sitting services of Vincent (she’s pretty desperate).
So, Vincent takes Oliver around and show’s him a world that a 12-year-old probably doesn’t need to know about, which includes a bookie (Terrance Howard) and a prostitute (Naomi Watts). Eventually, Vincent’s influence clashes with Oliver’s mother’s wishes and also attracts the attention of Oliver’s schoolteacher (Chris O’Dowd).
At the recent press day for the film, I spoke with Melfi and Lieberher about assuming first time duties, as well as Chris O’Dowd about taking up a supporting role in a major production. And of course, we also discussed what it was like working with the legendary Bill Murray.
Check it out in the video above and be sure to catch St. Vincent as it’s now playing in theatres!