‘Riff Raff’ Review
Stars: Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Miles J. Harvey, Lewis Pullman, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson | Written by John Pollono | Directed by Dito Montiel
Dito Montiel’s Riff Raff is a curious tale, a crime comedy that boasts an ensemble cast of heavyweights like Ed Harris, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Gabrielle Union, and a surprisingly great turn from Pete Davidson. Riff Raff blends dark humour, family dysfunction, and gritty thrills into a holiday-season caper. While it occasionally shines thanks to its talented performers, Riff Raff ultimately lives and breathes in the strength of its writing. Often it’s somewhat of a chaotic mashup of genres that can’t quite decide if it wants to be a biting satire, a heartfelt drama, or a full-on gangster flick, but somehow comes out the other side having entertained and thrilled this viewer with its rapid pace and effortless execution.
Riff Raff centres on Vincent (Ed Harris), a former criminal who has traded his shady past for a quiet life with his wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and stepson DJ (Miles J. Harvey). The trio is spending a peaceful winter break at their secluded Maine cabin, preparing for DJ’s upcoming departure to Dartmouth, when Vincent’s past comes crashing through the door. His estranged son Rocco (Lewis Pullman), Rocco’s pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), and Vincent’s boozy ex-wife Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge) arrive with dire news: two hitmen, Leftie (Bill Murray) and Lonnie (Pete Davidson) are hot on their trail, seeking vengeance for a murder Rocco committed. What follows is a collision of family secrets, dark comedic tangents, and violent showdowns, narrated sporadically by DJ as he reflects on how this chaos reshaped his understanding of family.
The film is hugely strengthened by its cast, a roster of seasoned actors who bring undeniable charisma to their roles. Ed Harris anchors the story with a gruff, world-weary intensity as Vincent, a man caught between his reformed present and the ghosts of his criminal past. His scenes with Miles J. Harvey’s DJ, a geeky, earnest teen trying to toughen up under Vincent’s guidance, offer some of the film’s more grounded emotional beats. Harris excels at portraying a man whose stoic exterior masks a deep well of regret, and his chemistry with Union’s Sandy hints at a tender love story before being cruelly ripped from us.
Jennifer Coolidge, as the foul-mouthed, perpetually inebriated Ruth, is a standout, delivering every line with her signature blend of absurdity and pathos. Her unfiltered vulgarity provides some of the film’s biggest laughs, though it’s a familiar shtick for those who’ve seen her in The White Lotus or Legally Blonde. Bill Murray and Pete Davidson, playing the hitmen Leftie and Lonnie, form an odd-couple duo that injects a jolt of eccentric energy into the proceedings. Murray’s deadpan menace and Davidson’s twitchy unpredictability make their scenes sing. particularly a darkly funny sequence involving unsuspecting neighbours. Their interplay feels like a nod to classic crime-comedy pairings, helped along by a wickedly dark-humoured relationship. Davidson does get my line of the movie when asking Leftie if he can take his time killing Rocco, due to being wronged in a moment of weakness when he discovered pubes in his Wonton soup.
Lewis Pullman also earns my praise as Rocco, bringing a conflicted intensity to a character torn between his violent impulses and his love for Marina. His flashback scenes with Postacchini offer a glimpse of sweetness amid the chaos, though their romance feels a tad underdeveloped. Collectively, the cast elevates this already well-written material and takes it to the next level.
Director Dito Montiel, known to me for his raw debut A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (one of my all-time favourites), does seem to play around a little with what he wants this film to be. Is it a dark comedy in the vein of the Coen Brothers’ Fargo? A gritty crime thriller like No Country for Old Men? Or a dysfunctional family drama with a holiday twist? The answer appears to be “all of the above,” and while not a perfect movie, it does everything right for my money. The tonal shifts from slapstick humour to brutal violence to earnest family moments are handled very well in its pacing.
John Pollono’s screenplay feels oddly natural for the setup and shenanigans and makes our outlandish characters feel totally relatable. Giving us the information we need when we need it, with non-linear storytelling that really boosts the stakes of the present-day story. This is nothing too surprising from the writer as I was a massive supporter of Small Engine Repair a couple of years back which was Pollono’s debut as a director.
The dark humour is a definite key selling point, given the cast, is a messed-up eclectic mix. While Coolidge, Murray, and Davidson land their punchlines as you might expect, it’s the more poignant almost inadvertent comedy beats from the likes of Harris and Pullman that really hit you where you live. The movie does lean on some tropes of the genre and the odd mean-spirited gag but honestly, if it ain’t broken then it doesn’t need fixing. The film’s attempts to satirize family dysfunction and the criminal underworld aren’t so much reinventing the wheel as it is just doing all the right things.
One complaint I do have is that the film’s runtime feels strangely too long yet also too short: too long in a sense that not a lot is left open to interpretation and when the twists start coming they keep coming, too short because just when we start getting key information on some of our characters it’s almost too late to give them enough room to breathe. Characters like Sandy and Marina, despite having interesting story beats to explore, are almost sidelined.
Riff Raff is a film that’s easy to root for and be entertained by. Its cast is a joy to watch, and there are moments, particularly those involving Murray and Davidson, where it springboards into being an unhinged comedy to remember. Fans of dark humour or ensemble crime flicks will find more than enough here to enjoy with a bag of popcorn. It’s a reminder that sometimes having all the right ingredients can make a great plate of Zitti.
**** 4/5
Riff Raff is available on digital platforms in the US now.
