Welcome to the Rileys
by Ken Murray
WELCOME TO THE RILEYS is a new indie film from director Jake Scott. Jake, the son of acclaimed director Ridley Scott and nephew of Tony, seems to have a style all his own. Both Ridley and Tony are known for CGI, action, epic type films (Alien, Gladiator, Crimson Tide, Days of Thunder), but Jake’s RILEYS is a complete 180 degrees. A dialogue driven, character film and darling of The Sundance Film Festival.
WELCOME TO THE RILEYS tells the story of Doug and Lois Riley played respectively by James Gandolfini ("The Sopranos") and Academy Award nominee Melissa Leo who can also be seen in Conviction, at theaters now. Doug, a plumbing supplies company owner and Lois, the wife who can’t leave her home even to get her mail, lost a teenage daughter in a car accident and their lives haven’t been the same since.
Doug travels to post Katrina New Orleans for a plumbing gathering and meets Mallory, a stripper/prostitute at a gentleman’s club. Mallory, played by Twilight’s Kristen Stewart, is a teen runaway who strips and tricks for money. Mallory reminds Doug of his deceased daughter, and he tries to fix her life. He decides to stay in New Orleans and fix up her apartment but still can’t seem to keep her off the pole and out of hotel rooms with random men.
Fearing she is finally losing her husband after 30 years of marriage, Lois gets over her fears and heads down to New Orleans to see what her husband is up to. There she is introduced to Mallory, and she understands why Doug can’t leave the Big Easy because of Mallory’s similarities to their daughter.
Gandolfini and Leo are both excellent in the film. Doug wanting to be a father to a girl who he knows isn’t his daughter but still has to protect. Lois as the recluse trying to gain her life and marriage back. But the film gets attention because of Kristen Stewart. The teens and tweens love the Twilight franchise, and this role is clearly K-Stew’s attempt to be seen as something completely different. Very little clothing, constant use of the f-bomb and slang words for female body parts is definitely not something tweens will be used to from their Bella.
Unfortunately for Kristen Stewart, the haters of her acting will have more ammunition to play with. For a lot of people, Stewart plays the same role over and over again. A depressed, pouty faced, sad, life sucks type of girl is pretty much what she’s known for the past 5 years. And Mallory is yet again another depressed, pouty faced, sad, life sucks character. When you watch Kristen Stewart, you don’t think you are seeing a character, someone fake and different from the actress. You think you are just watching Kristen Stewart. Sure, there are people who like that (Michael Cera somehow has a big following), but Meryl Streep she is not.
Some people will love WELCOME TO THE RILEYS. Others will wonder why it was even made. The storyline was something that could have been powerful and moving and Jake Scott could have a promising career, but blockbuster this isn’t and not even quite sure if it's a sleeper hit.
