TMS Movie Review: Riff Raff
(Canopy Media Partners / Roadside Attractions)
The concept of the big star, half-baked, mid-budget studio comedy is a relic of the past, and what remains of it is now generally thrown on to various streaming platforms. But this month one of them actually made it to theaters in the form of Dito Montiel’s Riff Raff. It’s the kind of movie you land on while looking for something new to watch just because the cast and plot look decent enough [which is exactly how I chose this as my movie to review this week]. There’s a crime set-up, funny actors and plenty of one-liners and puns. But unfortunately, it doesn’t even give us enough of that for the film to work.
During a chilly winter in the Maine countryside, Rocco (Lewis Pullman), his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), and his mother Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge) abruptly arrive in the middle of the night at the vacation home of Rocco’s father, Vincent (Ed Harris), his second wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union), and his stepson DJ (Miles J. Harvey). Rocco claims he just wants Marina to meet his family before she gives birth, but local gangsters Leftie (Bill Murray) and Lonnie (Pete Davidson) are also on the hunt for Rocco, who has mob connections to Leftie.
(Canopy Media Partners / Roadside Attractions)
Riff Raff was written by actor-writer John Pollono. Montiel’s new film has a lot going for it. Old-timers like Harris, Murray and Coolidge, Pullman showing his range as a rugged tough guy after beginning his career cast as dweebs, as well as Davidson proving his own range as a solid supporting player these past couple of years. The premise is comparable to Ted Demme’s own dark family comedy The Ref (1994), with even the setting being close to the holidays like the former. But a lot of the time unoriginality can be made up for with execution. Yet, despite all this, the biggest sin of Riff Raff is that it’s a comedy that’s never really funny. You have this impressive cast capable of delivering jokes, but are never given any that completely land, save for a couple of moments by Davidson. Along with some obvious ADR in a few scenes, and an assumingly shaky camera gimmick during close-ups that feels more like the DP forgot to rent out a Steadicam, Riff Raff is sadly a good example of wasted potential.