Oliver (Jaeden Martell) and his mom (Melissa McCarthy) have just moved, which means a new school, new bullies, and a new neighbor in the form of Vincent (Bill Murray), an alcoholic and gambler who reluctantly agrees to watch Oliver while his mom works. The two strike up an unlikely (except that every other movie about a curmudgeon and adorable child is exactly like this) friendship.
It is a very well-worn trope and this brings nothing new to the table. I personally found Murray overrated in the part and Naomi Watts is just slumming at this point. Honestly, she's given incredible performances in the past and this is a step down. The story is trite and saccharine and the message of "you have to go beyond the surface and people are really good deep down" is misguided. Nobody is any one thing. You can be an asshole and still be a good pet owner. Pablo Escobar had a bunch of people murdered but still went to all his kids' birthday parties. Sure, there are gruff-exterior-heart-of-gold types but there are also gruff-exterior-selfish-interior types too, and hoping the latter will turn into the former with a long enough CareBear Stare burns good people out and makes them bitter.
This could have had a more nuanced view of the various facets and flaws that make up a person but chose to paste a halo over it instead. It's streaming on Netflix but I guarantee every single actor in it has a better movie you could watch instead.
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