Riff Raff (2024)

Riff-Raff-(2024)
Riff Raff (2024)

Despite only lasting 103 minutes, Riff Raff family crime comedy created by Dito Montiel definitely feels too long and exhausting. The nice performances by its all star cast are not even enough to save the film which takes about an hour to start, has very little to say or show once it is started, and does not use any of its plot twists to enhance its basic themes or its one joke. When Lonnie and his father are forced to relive the past and abandon all bloody dreams about their peaceful new life, the preconceptions of love and family created for the narrative are far from being executed, instead, they are just lingering and waiting for accumulation. Sadly, they are not.

The prologue is a one and done deal but DJ stands out in it because of how he manages to point a gun to the face of an older bloodied man, Vincent, presumably his step-father. DJ is the same person who served behind-the-scenes narration and he mentions that he was never on good terms with his step-father. At the start of A Beautiful Pain, these two individuals are seen completely getting along with one another as if nothing happened in their past, leading to a surprising resemblance during shooting sessions in their holiday house but without revealing too much. This provides a non linear story construction as the viewers can tell that there is an end to the beginning that took place already.

At any point in the relationship, they remain very open to each drawing dubbed by DJ’s mother Sandy (Gabrielle Union) who happens to be the second wife of Vincent Davidson and who is displeased by her husband being too romantic and even comical with DJ. But a good family life gets disrupted when DJ’s father suddenly comes back home late at night along with his troublesome son Rocco (Lewis Pullman), his cute Italian girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), and his drunken mother (Jennifer Coolidge) who happens to be Vincent’s ex-wife. They attended with the intention of ringing in the new year with family but Vincent quickly cannot trust the son because he seems to be in some kind of trouble.

In this case, in order to appreciate this version however without quite knowing where and how, an old mafioso Leftie, a violent Bill Murray, and his nice, well dressed young associate Lonnie, Pete Davidson, hit the road looking for a target. Most likely, the person they are allegedly seeking is at this winter resort, although information of this sort is delivered to us rather slowly and at great intervals. As the wait drags on, two worlds of Vincent’s family life begin to combine, resulting in chaotic encounters that are comical in the beginning because in the beginning all of them came from a stereotype and all stem from insecurity.

Pullman moves away from his meek character in Top Gun: Maverick into the role of a temperamental bad boy with daddy issues, which seems to work. Another newcomer Harvey is also quite fascinating, as a small child dreaming big and nursing college prep. However, it is strange how he seems to handle heartbreak in relational ways that seem needlessly analytical for his math and science background. It makes sense, that an older sibling would be very useful in such a case, just like Rocco needs someone to instruct him in terms of preparing him for fatherhood. Instead of remaining calm however, Rocco’s ego gets the better of him and he snaps back at DJ for his over the top enthusiasm towards everything.

As expected, boring seems to be the disconnecting element in Mike did it. As a general rule, in the first moment, most of the characters introduced tend to confess their entire character, uniqueness, and the all-around being of the character almost in a monologue appeal an ideal showcasing of the cast, their willingness to perform in writer John Pollono’s inventive text but usually there’s no place left for them to grow. The character of Ruth has been reduced to the fact that she is nothing but a promiscuous drunk, a character that Coolidge so effectively captures, but it seems that she is less of a type.

In Postacchini’s story, Marina attempts to teach DJ a few life lessons and how to love, but they do not help in any part of the plot. It appears that Union’s Sandy is only there to help audiences understand some of the more mischievous characters, but she is rather bland. Harris’ Vincent is a frantic man and he certainly is a passionate character but he seems to be all bark and no bite. This is, however, supposedly revealed as we learn more of his background particularly how two men who were heading somewhere were related to him, but Montiel is never one to capitalize on such promising build ups and instead opts to tell everybody all of Vincent’s secrets towards the end of the movie. In short, any payoffs come much later than they should.

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