Film Review: WELCOME TO THE RILEYS (2010)

Director: Jake Scott
Writer: Ken Hixon
Running Time: 107 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Drama
UK Release Date: 18^th November 2011

Watched on Sky+ Friday 27^th July 2012.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

Another film recommended to me but I’m not quite sure from whom, where or when. If I was a gambling man I’d bet the person who recommended it was a fan of the ‘Twilight’ movies because Kristen Stewart is in this one. Another possible reason could be that it was directed by Ridley Scott’s son, which in my book makes it worth a look. No matter the reason, it was an interesting film with both good and bad points, but more of that after this very brief summary.

Doug and Lois Riley have grown apart since their teenage daughter died in a car accident eight years ago. Lois has become a recluse, refusing to leave the house and Doug has been having an affair with a waitress, but now that is over. He goes on a business to New Orleans where he meets a young stripper, Mallory. The pair begins an uneasy, but platonic relationship; he even moves in with her. He tells Lois over the phone that he will be staying in New Orleans for a while. She doesn’t want to throw away thirty years of marriage and plucks up the courage to drive there. What will she find and how will she react to Mallory (and vice versa)? Well, you probably guess I’m not going to tell you here.

A well made film with some interesting performances, chiefly coming from James Gandolfini as Douglas Lloyd ‘Doug’ Riley, Kristen Stewart as Allison alias Mallory and Melissa Leo as Lois Riley. All three did a really good job with a script that I did find a little predictable. Kristen Stewart, probably wanting to do something very different to that other part she’s famous for, did a decent job, although some of it did look a little forced. I have always rated her as an actress but with this I felt she didn’t make me believe in the character. I thought Melissa Leo did a great job as Lois, I really felt for her when relating the story of how her daughter died. James Gandolfini was excellent as Doug; he was plays this kind of part really well.

A quite slow paced film which may put some people off, I did find the opening third quite hard to get through. After that it did pick up and I could see some nice ‘Scott family touches’ beginning to appear. With a better script I could see this becoming a bit of a hit, however, it did fail to hit the mark (for me), despite the best efforts of cast and crew. A touching drama with some good performances and some nice touches here and there. Not quite enough to earn my recommendation but still maybe worth a look.

My Score 6.4/10

IMDb Score: 7.0/10 (based on 10,400 votes at the time of going to press).
http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt1183923/

MetaScore: 50/100: (Based on 29 critic reviews provided by Metacritic.com at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Tomatometer’ Score: 54/100 (based on 76 reviews counted at the time of going to press).

Rotten Tomatoes ‘Audience’ Score: 59/100 ‘Liked It’ (based on 16,270 user ratings counted at the time of going to press).
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/welcome_to_the_rileys/

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FAVOURITE QUOTES:
Douglas Lloyd 'Doug' Riley: [approaches Mallory] Excuse me. I'm not a cop. I'm from Indianapolis, Indiana and I run a wholesale plumbing supply business. I'm here for a convention.
[hands her a business card]
Mallory: Okay, I'm sorry about that. I just got cops on the brain, you know? I can't help it. They've been snooping around the club and they towed my car for unpaid parking tickets.

Douglas Lloyd 'Doug' Riley: [to Lois] Come on inside.
Lois Riley: The person you want me to meet lives in here?
Douglas Lloyd 'Doug' Riley: Her name is Mallory. Now, her real name is Allison. She's got a lot of names because she works in a strip club.
Lois Riley: She's a stripper?
Douglas Lloyd 'Doug' Riley: You'll understand once you meet her.
Lois Riley: Understand what? That you've lost your mind? Jesus, Doug.

Lois Riley: She's not Emily.
Douglas Lloyd 'Doug' Riley: I know that.

LINKS:
(Note: All were working at the time of going to press)
Trailer: