Welcome To The Rileys [2010]

Here’s the thing about Kirsten Stewart’s acting: she’s either horrible at it (hint: “Twilight”) or overdoing it. I admire her effort in “Welcome To The Rileys” but I just couldn’t buy her performance as a stripper/hooker. James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo are both very good, but they are misdirected. They play a husband and wife living in Indianapolis. Leo’s character, Lois, is a traumatized, sad and lonely woman who has been married to Mr Riley for almost 30 years. We learn that she hasn’t left her house since their teenage daughter died in an accident some years ago. Her Husband goes away on a business trip, meets a young hooker (Stewart) who instantly reminds him of his daughter. He decides to stick around for a while and take care of the troubled young girl who apparently has very little self respect (the amount of bad language she uses and how dirty she looks would make a pirate look clean).

“Welcome To The Rileys” was supposed to be a family drama that deals with loss, grief and eventually letting go. I used the word “supposed” because I never felt like I was watching one. I thought the story was awfully repetitive and the characters showed very little emotions.  How are we supposed to sympathize with them when we’re not given a chance to get inside their heads? And when Mr Riley and his wife finally have their reunion in New Orleans, there is zero emotional impact. Do you want to see a family drama done well? Watch “Rabbit Hole” instead. It deals with grief and redemption aswell, but note just how better directed, acted and paced that film is compared to this uneven and overlong drama.

Rating: 2/4