Dito Montiel’s latest film, Riff Raff, boasts a stellar ensemble featuring the likes of Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Pete Davidson, and Lewis Pullman. Despite this impressive lineup, the film fails to live up to the potential of its cast, leaving audiences with a crime comedy that’s more disjointed than cohesive.
At its core, Riff Raff revolves around a dysfunctional family reunion that takes a dark turn as past criminal ties surface. However, the film struggles to find a consistent tone, oscillating between moments of mob-driven menace and awkward attempts at humor. This tonal imbalance ultimately undermines the characters’ relationships and the overall story arc, leaving the audience questioning how a cast with such proven talents got entangled in this project in the first place.
A Talent-Rich but Unbalanced Cast
The film provides some standout moments from its cast, although they never quite gel as a unified ensemble. Bill Murray and Ed Harris deliver a memorable face-off, while Pete Davidson takes on a more serious role as a depressed gangster, showing a new side of his comedic persona. Gabrielle Union adds a touch of class to her role as Sandy, the beleaguered matriarch, while Jennifer Coolidge leans into her character Ruth, an unfiltered, boozy ex-wife, with gusto. However, Coolidge’s over-the-top performance clashes with the more subdued tones of Union and Harris, further highlighting the film’s struggle to find balance.
Wasted Potential of a Strong Premise
The story begins with DJ (played by Miles J. Harvey), a sweet-natured teen who’s about to leave for Dartmouth, narrating a tense moment where he points a gun at his stepfather, Vincent (Harris). The film then rewinds to show how the family arrived at this point, with DJ as the film’s moral compass. As DJ navigates a family visit to their remote vacation home in Maine, the family’s dark secrets unfold, particularly surrounding Vincent’s shady past.
Rocco (Lewis Pullman), Vincent’s son, arrives at the house with his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), much to his father’s dismay. Their strained relationship is one of the few that feels authentic, thanks to Pullman and Postacchini’s believable chemistry. The familial tensions build further when Ruth, Vincent’s ex-wife, is brought into the mix. Ruth’s chaotic presence and tendency to drink heavily and flirt with Vincent makes for some of the film’s more outlandish moments, but it never quite fits within the larger narrative.
Flashbacks throughout the film give us glimpses of the family’s past, but they do little to enrich the relationships or offer deeper context. While these scenes are meant to build suspense, they instead come off as scattered and disconnected, making it difficult to fully engage with the characters’ dynamics.
Crime, Comedy, and Confusion
One of the main issues with Riff Raff is its inability to commit to either the crime-thriller or dark-comedy genre. Director Dito Montiel, known for his 2006 feature A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, seems to struggle with blending the two styles. In interviews, Montiel referenced a wide range of inspirations for the film, including Goodfellas, No Country for Old Men, and A History of Violence. However, those comparisons only serve to highlight what Riff Raff lacks—a clear vision.
The movie attempts to balance comedic moments with gritty crime elements, particularly when Lefty (Murray), a stone-cold criminal from Vincent’s past, arrives to collect on a debt. His henchman, Lonnie (Davidson), adds to the film’s darker tones, though his deadpan delivery provides occasional comedic relief. Murray’s portrayal of Lefty is one of the film’s few bright spots, especially when he debates whether or not to kill two nosy neighbors. Still, even these moments feel out of place in a film that never quite decides what it wants to be.
The film’s climax, which involves a violent confrontation, feels both rushed and unearned. The escalating tension throughout the film doesn’t land as intended, leaving the emotional stakes of the final showdown feeling flat. Despite the chaotic nature of the climax, it fails to provide a satisfying resolution to the characters’ struggles or tie up the loose ends of the plot.
An Inconsistent Script
John Pollono, who penned the script, is capable of writing sharp, compelling dialogue, as seen in his previous work on Stronger and Small Engine Repair. However, in Riff Raff, his writing doesn’t quite hit the mark. The dialogue lacks the crackling wit or depth needed to make the characters’ relationships convincing. Instead, the interactions between characters often feel forced, with plot points that stretch believability, particularly around the criminal elements in Vincent’s backstory.
The film’s pacing also suffers from its narrative inconsistencies. While Montiel intersperses flashbacks throughout the story, they don’t offer enough clarity or depth to justify their inclusion. Rather than building suspense or enriching the characters, they feel like distractions from the central conflict.
Final Thoughts
Despite its star-studded cast, Riff Raff stumbles through an uneven blend of crime drama and comedy, never fully committing to either genre. The potential of its talented ensemble is wasted on a muddled script and direction that fail to capitalize on the unique skills of each actor. For fans of the cast, there are a few moments of enjoyment, particularly in the performances of Bill Murray and Ed Harris, but overall, Riff Raff fails to deliver a coherent or compelling story.
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