St. Vincent
Stuck between a rock and a hard place, recently divorced single mother of one, Maggie (Melissa McCarthy), is forced to leave her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) with a crotchety neighbor named Vince (Bill Murray) for after school daycare. The trouble is, Vince is anything but a decent upstanding man, cavorting with a Russian hooker (Naomi Watts), making frequent trips to the race tracks, and living in what appears to be a constant state of inebriation. But, it’s Oliver’s fresh set of eyes that sees something different in Vince, how to commemorate the true nature of a man that most people have already written off? Could there in fact be more to Vince? 
First and foremost, don’t allow the half hearted effort of the film’s poster dissuade you from this diamond in the rough. Written and Directed by Theodore Melfi, this well balanced comedy dips from light to dark, hot to cold, and absurd to real, all punctuated by the masterful comedic stylings of Bill Murray– he’s a force of nature. In fact, playing to Murray’s strengths, McCarthy’s straight (wo)man delivery operates as the perfect springboard to launch downright hilarity. Furthermore, dashes of reality and a failing medical system fit squarely into the crosshairs as a fine subtext. This is a must see in 2014 for laughs alone, St. Vincent is rated PG-13.