MOVIE REVIEW: St. Vincent - 'It Is What It Is'

Director: Theodore Melfi

Starring: Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts

Release Date: October 10, 2014

St. Vincent marks the directorial debut of Theodore Melfi. On the other hand, the film itself is not making much of a debut, as it has been told differently throughout the years. Despite this, St. Vincent is not like the rest. Melfi surrounded his film with an amazing cast which includes: Bill Murray, Naomi Watts, Terrence Howard and Melissa McCarthy. Not only was the cast amazing but Melfi was able to get the best out of Murray, who gives his best performance since Lost in Translation. St. Vincent might have a simple premise but this film is anything but simple and is a must watch.

Ted Melfi's comedy St. Vincent stars Bill Murray as a crusty old man who ends up caring for the son of his new neighbor (Melissa McCarthy). Although he's a cynic who gambles, drinks, and frequents prostitutes, the man turns out to be exactly the mentor the 12-year-old kid needs as the young one adjusts to his parents' divorce, and life at a new school.

The highlight of the film is the cast by far,  causing me to give Melfi two rounds of applause. The first, for being able to assemble such an amazing cast for his directorial debut. The second, for being able to bring so much out of each of their characters. Melissa McCarthy who plays Oliver's mother, Maggie, plays a serious role that we are accustom to. I mean, if my last film was Tammy, I would have a lot of things to get serious about. Regardless of her performance in her latest film, McCarthy definitely proved she has some solid dramatic acting skills. Naomi Watts on the other hand was the complete opposite of McCarthy. We are used to seeing Watts in serious roles being that she has been nominated for two Academy Awards and a Golden Globe. But Watts will have you laughing at her over the top Russian prostitute role, Daka, in this film. Who is not only Vincent's best friend but also his lady of the night.

The two big stars of this film are Jaeden Lieberher and Bill Murray. Jaeden Lieberher makes his debut onto the big screen as Oliver. It's not because he is eleven years old that makes Lieberher so impressive, but his comedic timing with Murray throughout the film that was just perfect. Lieberher could have easily been overwhelmed and found himself playing catch up but that was never the case. You fall in love with this character and every single act he makes just opens your heart more to the kid. However, this is Bill Murray's movie. Oliver's actions open your heart and hit your soft spot but Bill Murray's actions as Vincent will open your heart and hit your funny bone. Vincent has no filter when he talks to anyone, so half the things he says might come off as rude to the other characters but audiences will find it hilarious. It takes a special kind of actor to manage a chuckle out of the audience from just a simple act as walking through a line in a bank.

The film opens up with Vincent telling us a joke at a bar and the jokes just keep rolling from there. The film isn't meant to be a comedy and I don't believe Melfi originally sought the film to be as funny as it ended but when you have Murray as your lead, your game plan tends to change. But despite all the jokes and laughter, St. Vincent will cause your eyes to water here and there but never causing full water works due the good will tone carried throughout the film. St. Vincent will go down as one of Murray's most memorable works in a career that is already very decorated.

MOVIE REVIEW: Tammy - 'Gimme Some Pies'

Director: Ben Falcone
Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Susan Sarandon, Dan Aykroyd
Release Date: July 2, 2014

Since Melissa McCarthy's role as Megan in Bridesmaids, she has slowly taken over the game making her one of the hottest comedians in Hollywood. She went on to do the movie Identity Thief with Jason Bateman which was sided with a lot of negative reviews but her next film would end up being one of the biggest surprises of 2013 as a Heat sequel is already in production. Now McCarthy teams up with her husband, Ben Falcone, in hopes to make their first hit together. Falcone makes his directorial debut with a script that both McCarthy and himself wrote. McCarthy already proved to us that she has what it takes to make an audience laugh but Tammy falls short in making anyone laugh and the problems start with the script.

Tammy (Melissa McCarthy) is having a bad day. She’s totaled her clunker car, gotten fired from her thankless job at a greasy burger joint and, instead of finding comfort at home, finds her husband getting comfortable with the neighbor in her own house. It’s time to take her boom box and book it. The bad news is she’s broke and without wheels. The worse news is her grandma, Pearl (Susan Sarandon), is her only option—with a car, cash, and an itch to see Niagara Falls. Not exactly the escape Tammy had in mind. But on the road, with grandma riding shot gun, it may be just what Tammy needs.

The main problem that Tammy deals with is that it doesn't give the main protagonist a strong goal. Yes, Pearl wants to go to Niagara Falls but there is no real importance to it and that makes the audience not care for their journey. What makes it worse, the duo have NO consequences if they fail to make it to Niagara Falls, they will be the exact same character they were from the beginning of the film. Once again, why should I or anyone else care if they get to Niagara Falls then? 

The weak plot can be saved if the characters are amazing. But once again, Falcone and McCarthy fall short of that as well. Pearl is an alcoholic with a health problem. A character development that has been seen in movies before but the health problem was never explained at all throughout the film and alcoholism was executed pretty simply. As for McCarthy's Tammy, the character who is supposed to bring all the laughs, goes through a character development that confuses viewers. Her initial vice is that she is overeats but that disappears early from the film and does not make a return. Then what makes her "funny" is that she is vulgar, has a potty-mouth, and is unpredictable. But besides these antics not bringing in any laughs, all of a sudden and without a warning, she becomes the opposite of all those things as she becomes laid back. 

What made Due Date, another road trip film, starring Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. funny is that the two characters had a big contrast making their interactions hilarious. One was crazy, the other was serious. In Tammy, both characters are some sort of crazy making the interactions between the two bland. If the two characters aren't going to be different then at least they are going have an unresolved issue between the two, right? Wrong. Tammy's biggest differences were between her boss, husband and even a deer. Tammy is concerned about her grandmother's drinking but besides that, they got along pretty well. 

Two people who are alike and have no major problems going on a road trip that has 0 consequences if they fail is exactly what Tammy is about. The script did not set up for the film to succeed and everything else that followed can be blamed on the Falcone and McCarthy. Like Tammy in the film, I expect McCarthy to bounce back and give us more films with a script that actually works. I will totally recommend you to skip Tammy and wait until you are channel surfing one night and you happen to pass it.