I think what bothers me about Riff Raff (2024) is that it could have been great—but instead it settles for average.

The premise is solid: Vincent (Ed Harris), an ex-con trying to live a quiet life in Yarmouth, Maine, finds his peace shattered when his estranged family reunites at a snowy cabin. Crime and dysfunction spill back into his life. This is the kind of setup that should write itself.

And the cast—what a lineup: Ed Harris, Jennifer Coolidge, Bill Murray, Pete Davidson, Gabrielle Union, Lewis Pullman. When does that ever happen? By sheer gravity, this should have been one of the funniest and most magnetic films of 2024.

To its credit, the movie does have sparks. Coolidge is flat-out hilarious as Ruth, the boozy ex-wife who keeps slinking toward Vincent in scenes that teeter between seductive and repulsive.

Murray, playing a grizzled heavy named “Lefty” (or “Leftie,” depending which press release you read), brings menace in the most deadpan way possible—and when he bounces dialogue off Pete Davidson’s polite-but-deadly enforcer, it’s an oddball highlight. Their screen time is brief, but they walk away with the energy of the film.

But then there’s DJ (Miles J. Harvey), Vincent’s stepson. Supposed to be smart and scrappy, but written like a Reddit poster who won’t stop whining about being “friend-zoned.” Whole stretches of the movie sag under this subplot, and it gets repetitive. Instead of adding tension, DJ drains it.

And pacing—good grief. This family spends what feels like hours in a lakeside cottage just circling each other, waiting for the shoe to drop. Yes, Montiel throws in some flashbacks that liven things up—but mostly it’s stalling until the inevitable showdown. The finale lands, but the road there is paved with dead time.

That’s the frustration. Strip away the marquee cast, and you’re left with a middling crime dramedy that wouldn’t stand out in the TIFF lineup. But with this cast? With Harris, Coolidge, Murray, and Davidson all showing up in the same film? You expect more than “meh.”

And that’s the story of Dito Montiel lately. His debut, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, was electric. Since then, he’s made films that flirt with greatness but never stick the landing. Riff Raff is no different. The elements are all here—dark comedy, crime family tension, heavyweight cast—but instead of singing, it just idles.

A lost opportunity. And that’s the worst kind of movie to sit through.

Where to watch:

Prime video: https://www.primevideo.com/detail/0LNSIR1LHKOCZ24NX2GWSF7JT0/

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