I blame Pulp Fiction. Wonderful as Pulp Fiction was to behold, it left several scars in the form of poor imitation. All great movies do this, of course. Thanks to the genius of Godfather and Godfather II, the world since will never cease making mediocre mob films in an effort to imitate. Pulp Fiction gave us a colorful hitman tandem. And ever since, apparently, all we need to be entertained is a two-man team of colorful hitmen.
How does Bill Murray and Pete Davidson sound?
Admittedly, I like both those guys, so this sounded pretty good. The reality? The execution? Less.
Most of the action in Riff Raff takes place in a remote cabin retreat where the mismatch of players can come and go. It just occurred to me now that this material is probably based on a play, given the limited sites. I hate it when I can tell.
The deal is that Vincent (Ed Harris) is a former mobster who has tried valiantly to escape his past. His current wife, Sandy (Gabrielle Union), and college-bound son, DJ (Miles J. Harvey), know nothing of this. However, one morning, his trainwreck of an ex-wife, Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge), and their son Rocco, (Lewis Pullman), show up. Rocco and pregnant fiancé appear to be on the run. It’s only a matter of time before the hitmen show up to straighten everything out.
So far, this all sounds fun, right? Secret pasts, thrilling chases, impending violence, and 
two hitters delivered from SNL, how could this be bad? Wellllllll … I kinda soured on Riff Raff the second Lonnie (Davidson) and Lefty (Murray) shoot a convenience store clerk because they were too cavalier with their names. I suppose we have to establish somewhere that these guys are dangerous, but this doesn’t work.
And then there was the unnecessary rivalry between Sandy and Ruth. How many decades to you need before ex-wives can get along? Well, gee, I suppose dialogue has to come from somewhere. There are too many enjoyable people in this cast for the film to be a disaster, and the audience will anticipate the arrival of the hitters, but until that moment, this film feels like a waste of time with a bunch of mediocre people expressing mediocre problems. Oh, and then when you get to the climax, I can but conclude guns don’t work in the Riff Raff universe. With all the talent on screen, the film just should have been better .. or at least funnier.
There was once a cabin in the woods
A focal point for NYC hoods
And it’s going down
When hitmen leave town
But it ain’t exactly the Crips and the Bloods
Rated R, 103 Minutes
Director: Dito Montiel
Writer: John Pollono
Genre: Films that leave you empty
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: People who love wise guy wise guys
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: “I was hoping for White Lotus”
