It makes a killing of words and bullets.
What makes “Riff Raff” the latest in a series of Tarantino-inspired films are its choice of characters, how they use their dialogue, what needs to happen to certain people, and how the cast (featuring Ed Harris, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, Gabrielle Union, and Jennifer Coolidge, among others) handles the genre.
It’s funny because Giancarlo Eposito is currently in “Captain America: Brave New World,” and “Riff Raff” is entering the theaters soon. He told me he hated “Pulp Fiction,” but maybe he might like this one better. Or he’ll hate it, too. I don’t have a clear reason for why he would hate such a classic, but I do know he said: “To each is own.” I’m just spilling my thoughts here, considering what’s in theaters, and what inspires other films.
The story takes place at a remote vacation home in the middle of the woods in Maine in December. Don’t you just love crime movies that take place during the holidays? And it’s almost March.
We meet a teenager named DJ (Miles J. Harvey), who serves as the film’s narrator and main character caught in the middle of a family crisis. As the film begins, DJ’s crush rejected him and finds out from his stepfather Vincent (Ed Harris) about his real biological father, which I won’t spoil here. His mother Sandy (Gabrielle Union) is not too pleased to hear about this, considering that DJ is her own child, and you know how moms are towards their new spouses.
Vincent also has a son named Rocco (Lewis Pullman) with a pregnant Italian girlfriend named Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), and they both bring his biological mother Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge) to their vacation home. Vincent and Ruth aren’t married; they just conceived Rocco while they were dating, and their relationship went down the tube. Important distinction.
DJ and Rocco are brothers from different mothers (“I’m your brother from another mother,” says Rocco), and they were raised differently by Vincent. But inside of acting like Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in “Step Brothers,” they both share a strong bond. And DJ does take my “Don’t be a dick” philosophy very well by telling Vincent that. I need to find more movie characters who say that so we can start a protest against movie dicks. But we need to move on with this review.
Now, you’re asking me: “What is the family crisis?”
The family is also targeted by the mobster Leftie (Bill Murray) and his dimwitted associate Lonnie (Pete Davidson), both of whom want revenge on Vincent and Rocco, and then just happened to run into Ruth and her delicious baked ziti. Do you think Leftie and Lonnie got lessons from Vincent and Jules from “Pulp Fiction?” I doubt it, considering their age difference and mannerisms. And they don’t wear black suits or talk about cheeseburgers. Besides I think Lonnie has an issue with meat.
The jokes don’t always land, but they are handled with some energy and charismatic performances by Murray, Davidson, and Coolidge. And the drama is mostly consistent, especially the scenes between Harris, Pullman, Murray, and Harvey, and especially the flashback sequences with Leftie’s son (Michael Covino from “The Climb”). And when we do get to the third act, the emotions and bullets deliver.
Small time films can be inspired by bigger films, and writer John Pollen (“Stronger,” “Small Engine Repair”) and director Dito Montiel (“A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints”) both seem to be handling themselves within the crime comedy genre. “Riff Raff” is not a perfect film, because of its few flaws, but it does deliver the goods with the right attitude.
