Chernin Entertainment, Crescendo Productions, Goldenlight Films,
Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Naomi Watts, Terrence Howard,Jaeden Lieberher
Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) are moving to a new home. Maggie is just recently divorced and in dire straits watching every penny. Their next door neighbor Vin (Bill Murray) is an ex soldier, retired, and taking care of his wife who is in a nursing home and doesn’t remember him. He an angry guy, drinks too much, lives with a Russian stripper/hooker (Naomi Watts) who is pregnant. When Maggie’s troubles grow, she calls on Vin to take care of Oliver after school while she’s at work, but he has no problem taking little Oliver to the horse races, to the bar, and to the strip club which probably isn’t such a good example. But Vin and Oliver become friends, and get along well.
This is such a touching story. Bill Murray does such a wonderful job of playing this angry old man who everyone knows has a heart of gold. This is probably the weirdest role Naomi Watts has ever done, Russian accent and all, but it it’s a real riot. In Russia they grown ’em tough, and she’s seen it all. This is also a perfect role for Melissa McCarthy who usually gets roles with lots of foul mouthed fighting and all the rough edges, but in this one she plays a single mom with the short end of the stick in a really heartbreaking way. She’s a woman who doesn’t deserve her fate, but is doing the very best she can despite the dumb ass she married. Everyone here is a pretty decent choice for their role, and this ensemble cast is a pleasure to watch. The humor is really good, Bill Murray is classic, and the whole thing wraps up with a heart breaking ending that will touch you to the core. All in all, this is a great comedy film, and I highly recommend it!
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
