Riff Raff 2025 Movie Review Trailer

 Despite its highly capable cast that includes Jennifer Coolidge, Gabrielle Union, Ed Harris and Bill Murray, Dito Montiel’s Christmas movie has little in the way of warmth or humor.

Despite running just 103 minutes, Dito Montiel’s family-friendly crime comedy “Riff Raff” is exceptionally long. Its all-star cast performs admirably, in a film that takes its time getting started, reveals and confronts little once it does, and uses none of its story twists to develop its dramatic themes or flat humor. As secrets from the past catch up with a father and son, threatening to detail their idyllic new lives, the film’s established ideas about love and family don’t come into play, but rather simply float out of focus, waiting to be implemented. Unfortunately, they never do.

Director: Dito Montiel
Writer: John Pollono
Stars: Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union

A fleeting, one-shot prologue portrays a climactic moment during which docile teenager DJ (Miles J. Harvey) pulls a gun on a bloodied older man, Vincent (Ed Harris). The former's pleasant voiceover takes us back to a few days earlier, revealing that they are stepson and stepfather. At the beginning of the film, they get along exceptionally well, though during shooting practice at their rural vacation home, one wonders what leads up to the aforementioned climax, but provides little clues along the way.

They have a frank relationship and shamelessly discuss private matters of romance, of which DJ's mother (and Vincent's second wife), Sandy (Gabrielle Union), disapproves. However, this fun family dynamic is disrupted by the sudden late-night arrival of Vincent's eldest son, Rocco (Lewis Pullman), a troublemaker outsider; his sweet, pregnant Italian girlfriend, Marina (Emanuela Postacchini), and his swooning mother, Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge) – i.e. Vincent’s foul-mouthed, unfiltered ex. They claim to have shown up to celebrate the new year with the family, but Vincent immediately suspects Rocco is in some kind of trouble.

Elsewhere, as if to confirm this suspicion, though without confirming exactly how and why, an older, violent mobster, Leftie (Bill Murray) and his young, well-dressed partner Lonnie (Pete Davidson) embark on a road trip in search of a target. Presumably, the person they’re looking for is on this winter getaway, but information comes to us in slow, infrequent waves. Meanwhile, the two halves of Vincent’s family life collide, leading to interactions that are at first amusing, as they all come from a place of pervasive insecurity-driven caricature.

Pullman steps away from his timid “Top Gun: Maverick” persona and takes on the role of a leather-jacketed “bad boy” with a temper and daddy issues, making him a joy to watch. Newcomer Harvey is equally intriguing, as a tiny kid with a big heart and big dreams, about to head off to college. He also happens to be dealing with romantic heartbreak in odd ways — perhaps too logistical, given his scientific leanings. He seems like he could use some older brother advice, just as Rocco could use someone to guide him, if only to prepare him for fatherhood — but lingering tensions get the better of Rocco, and he lashes out at DJ for his overzealousness.

Unfortunately, this is the film’s most interesting dynamic. Generally, as soon as a character is introduced, their entire personality and identity comes into sharp focus right then and there (a testament to the cast and their ability to tap into writer John Pollono’s text), but there’s usually nowhere left for them to go. The one-note joke surrounding Ruth is that she’s drunk and horny, a messy “guy” who Coolidge plays with energy and aplomb, but there’s nothing more to her than that.

Marina, played by Postacchini, manages to throw some life and love lessons at DJ, though these don’t prove useful at any point in the story. Sandy, played by Union, seems to exist only as a “straight man” who contrasts with some of the other, more chaotic characters, but has little spirit of her own. And while Vincent, played by Harris, is verbose enough to command attention, his character only has the appearance of layers. Supposedly, these details are revealed as we learn more about his past (and the two men targeting his family), but while these details help set up potential drama, Montiel never takes advantage of this, revealing Vincent's secrets to his family only when it's time for things to be resolved. Anything resembling a payoff comes too late.

Watch Riff Raff 2025 Movie Trailer