‘Riff Raff’: Star-Studded Mob Comedy Is an Unfortunate Misfire

Sandra Miska

Bill Murray is no stranger to flawed characters, but the seasoned actor and comedian plays against type as a full-on villain in Dito Montiel’s misfired dark comedy “Riff Raff.” Murray co-stars as Leftie, a mobster bent on revenge. Along for the ride is Lonnie (Pete Davidson), a young man who is relatively polite and easygoing for someone in his line of work. But the focus of the film is on the family of Vincent (Ed Harris), a former associate of Leftie’s whose violent past is finally catching up to him.

When we first meet Vincent, he has long left the mob life to play family man in Maine with his younger, straightlaced wife, Sandy (Gabrielle Union), and D.J. (Miles J. Harvey), Sandy’s teen son from her first marriage whom Vincent has raised as his own. D.J. is a polite, Ivy League-bound young man who stays out of trouble, albeit a little awkward, and despite Vincent being rough around the edges, the three of them seem to work well as a family unit. As nice and rosy as this may sound, the former goodfella actually left his first family in the dust in the wake of his transition out of the underworld. Oldest son Rocco (Lewis Pullman) is still caught up with his dad’s former associates, and turns up at his house in the middle of the night with his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini) and his mother Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge). He had to drug the latter to get her to come along to her ex-husband’s, and a rocky reunion ensues.

Rocco is on the run from Leftie and Lonnie due to an altercation that we eventually learn the full extent of through flashback. While that dynamic duo is on his tail, his family is forced to work out their differences at Vincent and Sandy’s home, which is located in a woodsy area. Not surprisingly, Sandy, whom Ruth calls “Clair Huxtable” behind her back, is not thrilled about the situation, but does her best to play hostess. 

As messy as she is, Ruth has a right to be bitter, as Vincent failed her son and turned around to raise someone else’s the right way. However, she goes back and forth between being righteously angry and horny for her ex. “Riff Raff” is filmed with tonal shifts like this, and director Dito Montiel and writerJohn Pollono have a hard time focusing when it comes to telling the story. For example, D.J. is the narrator, but most of the scenes are outside of his POV. Another drawback is the fact that the filmmakers rely too much on tired cliches, like having the mob guys tackle existentialism. Leftie may have little qualms about killing the poor folks who unwittingly get caught up in his path, but he’ll talk about his feelings afterwards.

“Riff Raff” finally gets interesting in the third act, right before Leftie and Lonnie arrive at Vincent’s doorstep. With this reunion comes real stakes and tension, as well as a twist. Unfortunately, it is not enough to make up for the film’s shortcomings, which includes a lack of chemistry between the actors. Leftie may almost never miss his mark, but this film sure does.

“Riff Raff” releases Feb. 28 in theaters nationwide.