It is very little about riff raff
The latest from director Dito Montiel and screenwriter John Pollono, to praise it. The film is bleak, mean-spirited, and simply not good. The character is very malleable to comedy; Many have contributed to some hilarious movies, but the script offers them nothing but one embarrassing joke after another.
Riff Riff Follows an ex-criminal, Vincent (Ed Harris), on his blissful New Year’s vacation with his new wife, Sandy (Gabrielle Union), and stepson DJ (Miles J. Harvey). His vacation is thwarted by the presence of his biological son Rocco (Louis Pullman), his ex-wife Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge), and his son’s pregnant girlfriend (Emanuela Postachini). Oh, and a couple of dangerous people (Bill Murray and Pete Davidson) are hunting down his son and are not far behind. The film is a pitch-black comedy about family dysfunction and the past returning to wreak havoc.
Despite a promising premise, Riff Raff has nothing worth enjoying
The tonal inconsistency makes the high-stakes moments feel like a joke. The actual jokes land like a solid brick, while the sweet moments generate more chuckles than they should. What discredits the film the most is the script and how derivative it is. Riff Riff Feels like an idea inspired by another and is not fully formed.
Pullman and Harvey are fighting a losing battle; Nor can get over the shallowness of the script and the overwhelmingly derivative qualities of the project.
It doesn’t feel like it was written as an original concept, but born of a growing trend of ensemble comedies that use dysfunction and murder as the catalyst for family drama. Despite a promising start, Riff Riff Fails to live up to its potential and never even benefits from its stellar cast.
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Riff Raff’s fun cast struggle to manage a flimsy script
The figure is the only thing that can really draw us in. That’s why Riff Riff Skyrocketed to the top of my must-watch list. It is quite disappointing to see Gabrielle Union being relegated to a support; Jennifer Coodlegie isn’t nearly as effective as the creative team might have hoped for, and Ed Harris, Bill Murray and Pete Davidson seem to sleep through it despite the innate talent to make something out of nothing.
The only member who comes away with an ounce of credibility is Lewis Pullman, who is just electric and seems to belong in a completely different project. Miles J. Harvey is an absolute darling and deserves infinitely more. When he narrates parts of the film, we get a bit more of him, and he offers quite a few laughs and impressive moments. However, Pullman and Harvey are fighting a losing battle; Nor can get over the shallowness of the script and the overwhelmingly derivative qualities of the project.
finally, Riff Riff is neither funny nor touching. The family drama is poorly constructed, the characters are thinly written, the drama is laughable, and the jokes are bottom of the barrel. There is nothing to recommend this film despite a cast people would be interested in watching. No matter how lovable Harvey is or how engaging Pullman is, the film never rises to their level, and they’re left struggling to manage a tissue-thin script that has nothing of substance to hold them together.
I don’t go out of my way to make films because so much time and effort is put into each project, and a film of this caliber is probably made with the best of intentions. But intending to make a pitch-black dark crime comedy is different from actually executing one well. And Riff Riff Just not land.
Riff Riff Premiere at the 2024 Toronto International Festival. The film is 103 minutes long and not yet rated.
A former criminal’s ordinary life, which is turned upside down when his old family shows up for a long-awaited reunion.