At first glance, there was never as unlikely a candidate for canonization than "St. Vincent," the drunk, disheveled and foul-mouthed Brooklyn misanthrope so winningly played by Bill Murray in a comedy-drama that had its world premiere Friday night at the Toronto International Film Festival — where the beloved comic genius shook hundreds of fans' hands outside during a torrential thunderstorm before the screening.
Vincent has overdrawn the reverse mortgage on his run-down home in Sheepshead Bay, making him so stone broke that the pregnant Russian prostitute Daka (Naomi Watts) he patronizes — the closest thing he has to a friend — is threatening not to extend any more credit.
His bartender, however, enables an epic bender that lands Vincent behind the wheel of his convertible — knocking down his fence and ending up unconscious on his kitchen floor. He's awakened the next morning by new neighbors, whose moving van damages his tree.
Our curmudgeonly hero is so desperate for money that he accepts an unlikely plea from the new neighbor, a newly single mom Maggie (Melissa McCarthy, toning it down) working insane hours at a new job, to look after her 12-year-old son Oliver (Jaeden Liebeher).
The hard-swearing Vincent not only teaches the skinny Oliver how to deal with a bully at his Catholic parochial school with his fists, but takes him on field trips to Belmont Park (where Vincent actually wins a bet for once) and his favorite bar, as well as the two of them hanging out with Daka.
Even before Oliver and his classmates are assigned to choose "everyday saints" for a presentation by his kindly priest teacher (Chris O'Dowd), we see that Vincent has a virtuous side — he takes Oliver to the Staten Island nursing home where his wife, who hasn't recognized him in years, lives in comfort. Vincent also turns out to be a Vietnam War hero.
The comedy part of the role isn't a exactly a stretch for Murray — the dramatic stuff comes when Vincent suffers a stroke and a devastating personal loss, giving Murray another chance to show what a fine straight actor he can be (as he was in the underrated "Hyde Park on Hudson").
Assured first-time director Theodore Melfi, who also wrote the script, joked after the premiere that he cast Murray because Jack Nicholson wasn't available. Frankly, maybe even Nicholson couldn't do a better job than Murray playing this improbable hero — something that probably isn't going to be forgotten come Oscar time.
The Weinstein Co. has moved up this crowd pleaser's limited opening by a week, to Oct. 10, to capitalize on the deafening buzz from Toronto, which even declared Friday Bill Murray Day. Perhaps Murray can return the favor by playing the city's coke-snorting mayor, Rob Ford.
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