Riff Raff review – star-stuffed crime comedy with Bill Murray, Jennifer Coolidge and Ed Harris

Part gangster revenge, part family reunion, Murray’s semi-retired mobster is back in the murder business, while Coolidge gatecrashes ex-husband Harris’ New Year’s EveThis odd duck of a movie is part bloody gangster revenge drama and part family home-for-the-holidays comedy; it is brutally commingled as if thrown together by a high-speed collision. Predictably, the result is a bit of a mess, but there are redeeming features that make it much more watchable than many early reports might have suggested.For instance, the film contains arguably Bill Murray’s best semi-dramatic performance in years, on a par with his melancholy, haunted and yet still droll-dry turns in Rushmore and Lost in Translation. Here he plays Leftie, an east coast mobster, once a bit of a capo but now semi-retired ever since he handed over the reins of the family business to his son Johnnie (Michael Angelo Covino). Something explained only later has brought Leftie back into the killing people business, with assistance from nerdy murderer-in-training Lonnie (Pete Davidson). The two of them are heading up to Maine to find their mark, which necessitates a few practice kills along the way; these make Leftie sad but not so sad he would consider not killing. Continue reading...

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