Riff Raff

by Mike McGranaghan

Thirty years after its release, Pulp Fiction is still inspiring movies about mobsters with quirky personalities and their eccentric associates. Riff Raff finds a way to freshen up that formula, marrying it with a style of observational humor reminiscent of the works of Jim Jarmusch. It takes a little time to figure out how all the players are connected. Once you do, the movie offers a caustically funny portrait of people who have painted themselves into a corner and lack the skills to get out in a logical, bloodless manner.

The story takes place almost entirely at the rural Maine vacation home belonging to retired criminal Vincent (Ed Harris). He’s there with his second wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and teenage stepson DJ (Miles J. Harvey). In the middle of the night, Vincent’s adult son Rocco (Lewis Pullman) shows up unexpectedly with his pregnant girlfriend Marina (Emanuela Postacchini) in tow, as well as Vincent’s first wife Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge), the latter of whom has clearly been drugged. All this is highly suspicious, but Rocco insists he just wants a family reunion. Then the truth comes out: he’s hiding from Vincent’s old colleague Lefty (Bill Murray). Accompanying Lefty is a goofy younger killer named Lonnie (Pete Davidson) with zero moral compass.

Riff Raff doesn’t have a traditional plot. Instead, director Dito Montiel (A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) and writer John Pollono (Small Engine Repair) are interested in exploring the dynamics between the members of this group. We view each of them a certain way at the beginning, then from a slightly different perspective by the end, based on what we learn about them from their interactions during this stressful situation. A big pleasure of the film is that you sometimes get a tender moment when you expect an explosive one, and vice versa.

Although there are dramatic scenes, comedy is front and center, from the humorous bickering between Lefty and Lonnie to the anxious lunacy of Ruth. (Coolidge uses her real voice in this picture yet still manages to nail every single joke.) Those gags are overt. There are plenty of more subtle ones that pack a punch simply because they don’t call attention to themselves. Gabrielle Union’s exasperated facial expressions are a high point in that regard, as is Pete Davidson’s deadpan line delivery. Bill Murray nicely puts a sinister spin on his trademark detached comedic persona, much as he did in 1993’s vastly underrated Mad Dog & Glory, making him simultaneously hilarious and menacing.

A percentage of the movie’s charm comes from the way it presents scenarios a lot of viewers can relate to, like Vincent’s frustration over his son who perpetually gets in trouble, DJ’s efforts to bond with his older stepbrother, or Ruth’s apparent jealousy toward her ex-husband’s younger new wife. Throwing in the crime angle allows those arcs to play out with unpredictability. These characters don’t handle matters normally; they don’t necessarily know what normal is. Watching their baser instincts take over provides plenty of amusement.

Riff Raff can feel mildly aimless with a narrative that pinballs back and forth between various arcs. The quality of the performances and the fascinating dysfunction of the central family carry the film, though. If you can imagine a mixture of DNA from Goodfellas and Ordinary People, you know roughly where this idiosyncratic gem is going to take you.

---