Riff Raff

This is kind of a farcical, black comedy. The characters have some life to them, but little depth or context It is reminiscent of a Fargo type story with the banal, the ordinary, sharing the story with extreme violence.

Because of the substantial lack of EARNED back story, most of the characters flat. Surprisingly, Ed Harris' new family dynamic comes across as flat and hollow. Jennifer Coolidge and Lewis Pullman steal the show with their performances. Bill Murray gets honorable mention...because he's Bill Murray, and I'd watch him read the dictionary. But, he's not that funny here, and is trying to play a straight character...who is put into black comedy situations.

If you're going to see a "Bill Murray movie" then you're going to be disappointed on many levels. But, it's not a complete waste. Although, I'm not sure it was worth his gonzo promotion campaign that included eating super hot chicken wings on First We Feast (although that interview was pretty good).

Riff Raff (2024) has many good qualities, but also a few gaps. Acting is solid, with credible performances by Ed Harris, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, and other less familiar actors. The plot offers layers of complexity. Production values are adequate for a mid-budget film. It's watchable, but not thoroughly enjoyable. I liked Ed Harris's Vincent, but couldn't identify with him. It was nice to see Bill Murray playing against type. However, I never truly identified with or cared about any of the characters.

Some scenes seemed familiar and predictable. There was possibly an overreliance on flashbacks. It seemed a bit awkwardly politically correct with an interracial romance that laced passion. The ending was a bit noir, but spoiled by a Hollywood denouement and a climatic scene that seemed contrived and improbable. The filmmakers offer exposition on family that doesn't quite fit the action, but leave the viewer wondering what it all meant.

I don't typically write reviews, but I felt compelled to after spending $10 to rent this on Xfinity-a transaction that really pisses me off as I hate giving them money. While listening to Joe Rogan, Bill Murray discussed his three upcoming movies, saying Riff Raff stood out as a banger. I strongly disagree - it's anything but a banger. In fact, it's among the most worst films I've seen in a while. With a solid cast, I'm at a loss for how trash it turned out. If you're inclined to spend your time on it, go for it, but wait until it's free to watch - the storyline and overall execution was tired.

After watching this movie I was left with a few questions. One of them being what kind of movie was this supposed to be? The bio says comedy/crime, but I thinks it fell short of that goal. Secondly, how could such a star studded cast come across as an average movie?

I'm not sure if was a script issue, casting issue, editing issue, or the director just didn't get the script, but I suppose my highest problem with the movie was that I had zero attachments to any one particular character. If anything Jennifer Coolidge stole the whole show, and gave it some semblance of a minor comedy.

It's almost as the movie was suffering from some type of identity crisis, in terms of not being one or the other. The trailer did its job enough for me to give it a watch, and the movie did have some great scenes, but I don't think the vision came out the way it was intended. It's an average movie at best, but given the cast, I was expecting something with a lot more to it. No meat, and all potatoes.

I honestly tend to have low expectations with star studded casts as if it means it's going to bomb. This film was obnoxiously amazing. 40 minutes in and there was zero plot. Every character felt so unnecessarily over dramatic with a stereotypical arch. It left me riveted, wanting to know what's next. I often felt beyond annoyed one minute, and the next feeling it was brilliant. The younger son's weird quirks felt unnecessary. The entire character and casting choice of Gabriel Union was cringy. I not once believed Harris and Union would ever be a couple and the one scene with the two was gag worthy. Pete and Bill were *chefs kiss* and I loved the Tarantinoesque dynamic of real world encounters with stupid people. Pete's monologue towards the end was hilarious. If the creators purposefully were making fun of these types of movies then it was spot on. This was honestly some of the best acting I've seen from Jennifer Coolidge. Give it a shot. A gummy helps!