Riff Raff is a masterwork of typecasting: there's Jennifer Coolidge as a sloppy drunk, Ed Harris as a gruff patriarch who balances caring with menace, Bill Murray as an eye-rolling cynic, and Pete Davidson as a doofus man-boy.
Everyone is operating firmly within their wheelhouse in this dark crime comedy about a reformed criminal whose violent past comes back to haunt him during a new year's getaway to a remote country home in Maine. There's Harris and Gabrielle Union as the happy couple, Lewis Pullman as the fuckup son who disturbs the peace alongside his chaotic mom (Coolidge), and Murray and Davidson as the gangsters on their tail.
Amidst the strong performances from those familiar faces, it's remarkable that the film's standout is its least familiar face: Miles J. Harvey plays DJ, the nerdy stepson, who is likeable despite his slightly incel outlook on "females" and getting "friendzoned." He's the naïve straight man in this violent family situation, and his fish-out-of-water confusion is the grounding force as the tension around him escalates.
The small cast mostly sticks within a single location, making this a smart and streamlined film in which everyone has clear motivations, and the twists are smart without being too heady. It's the comedy here that really sticks out, since I had a total blast watching Riff Raff even though I wasn't particularly invested in its message about family loyalty.
Director Dito Montiel isn't rewriting the playbook, but he's given audiences a perfectly executed crime caper that's familiar in all the right ways.
The 2024 Toronto International Film Festival runs September 5–15. Get information about tickets and screening at TIFF's website.