THE STORY – One-time criminal Vince turned his life around when he fell in love with Sandy. Nearly 20 years later, the still-happy couple are looking forward to spending a quiet New Year’s Eve in their country home with their good-natured son, DJ. Then Vince’s other son, Rocco, shows up unannounced with his pregnant girlfriend, Marina, and Vince’s first wife, Ruth, in tow. It is not a happy reunion. Ruth is rude, lewd, and randy, while Rocco — who never divested himself of the family business — is clearly hiding something sinister. Hot on Rocco’s tail is Lefty, an aging mafioso with a score to settle regarding his own son. When Lefty catches up with Vince’s teeming clan, it seems likely that blood ties will yield blood spilled.
THE CAST – Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Lewis Pullman, Miles J. Harvey, Emanuela Postacchini, Michael Angelo Covino, Pete Davidson & Bill Murray
THE TEAM – Dito Montiel (Director) & John Pollono (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 103 Minutes
Director Dito Montiel has touched on many genres throughout his 20-year film career. The former member of a hardcore punk band, Montiel transitioned to film to adapt his memoir, “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints,” which included an all-star cast with Robert Downey Jr. and Dianne Wiest, and would begin a three-film collaboration with Channing Tatum. Montiel has written and directed everything from drama to crime thriller to comedy. With his latest film, “Riff Raff,” written by John Pollono, Montiel combines elements of all those genres. It can sometimes feel unfocused because of this, but it’s a pitch-black comedy about family, loyalty, and murder that’s a real crowd-pleaser.
Ex-criminal Vincent (Ed Harris) wants a peaceful, normal New Year’s Eve. He turned his life around when he met his wife, Sandy (Gabrielle Union), and built a beautiful home with her and her son, DJ (Miles J. Harvey). All Vincent wants to do is spend quality time with DJ at their cabin before he goes off to college. Their bonding of talking about DJ’s girl problems over beers is interrupted by the arrival of some unexpected and unwelcome guests. Chaos ensues with the arrival of Vincent’s disowned son Rocco (Lewis Pullman), his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), and Vincent’s ex-wife Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge). It’s clear that Rocco arrives at his father’s door because he’s running from something or someone – and it becomes a waiting game for what or who that is. However, we don’t have to wait long for the introduction of gangsters Leftie (Bill Murray) and Lonnie (Pete Davidson), hot on Rocco’s tail. Vincent’s New Year’s is about to be lit, not by fireworks, but by bullets.
“Riff Raff” is hilarious throughout, veering from sweet to raunchy with its humor, and gets better and better as the story continues. It has a deadpan approach to both its comedy and violence, which works well to combine both genres. However, what ends up getting lost in this are the romance and family drama sides of the story. The script loses focus at times, bouncing from one genre to the other and attempting to successfully capture the relationship between Rocco and Marina, the same way it tries to capture the complicated relationship DJ has with his mother. It can often feel all over the place in that way but can be also touching in exploring how complicated family is and the shit we go through for them.
Montiel has assembled a fun cast here, with everyone elevating the comedy even more than what may seem average on the page. This is especially true for Coolidge, whose singular delivery makes every filthy, filterless line that comes out of her mouth the funniest thing you’ve ever heard. Everyone delivers in their roles, but the strongest performer turns out to be newcomer Harvey. As the intelligent, naive teenager who knows nothing about girls and attempts to discover more about himself, he’s so charming in the role and acts as a grounding force to the pressure-cooker situation around him.
With an all-star ensemble, “Riff Raff” proves to be simply one thing: good ol’ popcorn entertainment. Of course, we’ve seen better films before, but this comedy caper surprises with what it delivers, even if it doesn’t do so with the most precise pen.
