Welcome To The Rileys (2010- 110mins) J. Gandolfini, K. Stewart, M. Leo

James Gandolfini plays Doug Riley, a man who can’t seem to avoid death and loss in his life. It’s left him a hollow shell of himself and even the simple things he once loved don’t quite do it for him anymore. This all started with the loss of his teenage daughter in a car accident, and continues on and on in his life. A great metaphor for how he has routines himself through the years is when he hears how many years he has been coming to the same diner after his weekly poker game. His wife Lois (Leo) is slightly worse off then he is, turning into an agoraphobic after the accident. Their lives have turned into one of slightly more then roommates in life and it appears dull and sad. Doug ends up going to a convention in New Orleans where he meets an exotic dancer at a seedy club named Malory (Stewart). Doug ends up becoming friends with the girl and they form a type of bond a-kin to a father daughter type bond over the course of the movie.

That’s the basic premise of the movie but of course it’s not all that simple. Each character is flawed and the three of them come together and have a sort of growing and co-dependance. I really enjoyed this journey and the ending was a good wrap up. (Semi-Spoiler—>) I like how it’s a good wrap up but more of a realistic ending. It works well with the story and you feel good about the whole thing. It doesn’t go down a too predictable track and doesn’t go totally out into left field. Well done Jake Scott, It could lead to some more good movies from Jake Scott, the director who, until now has mostly done music based documentaries.

As for the actors in this…. First we get Gandolfini in a semi-sad sack role. He’s done some of this before but he evolves well as the movie does, which I give him some great credit for. He never over does it with anger or volume which could lead the character into different parallels. Instead he’s a man who knows what he has lost, knows what he is trying to attain and yet learns more of what he actually wants in life. Stewart, while good in the film doesn’t break any molds that she has. She plays the same type of character a lot. I am not saying she is Bella all the time, but I am saying she always has this certain edge to her with the normal stubbornness, and never with any inkling of giving in or morphing to her characters. I would like to see her do something with a bit more softness or vulnerability, the bad ass chick she always plays has been done by her, it’s time to grow.  Melissa Leo however, is on a roll. She continues to make her name skyrocket to the heights of great supporting actresses. She is brilliant in The Rileys, playing a woman who goes from completely broken and bringing her on a long road back to semi-normalcy and yet never loses the character’s personality in the transformation. She is never too strong needing more screen time and never too meek blending into the background. She deserves the  nomination she got this year (for a different movie) and we could see her talent get rewarded with the golden statue.

Verdict—> While not flashy, not a whole lot of action, and maybe a little slow at times, Welcome to the Rileys is a good movie. It won’t get a whole lot of recognition out there but I think it’s well made and most people will ultimately like it. Not a huge “date” movie for the dating crowd but it is for those who like movies, a decent double feature movie, or a good adult movie. Recommended by the GeekJock!

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