A retired hit man’s life is turned upside down when his ex-wife and son arrive unannounced during the holidays because they are on the run from his former mob associates. A film by Dito Montiel, starring Jennifer Coolidge, Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Lewis Pullman, Miles J. Harvey, Emanuela Postacchini, Michael Angelo Covino, Pete Davidson, and Bill Murray.

Marina (Emanuela Postacchini) and Rocco (Lewis Pullman) exit the Italian restaurant Da Noi, acting visibly uneasy, as if they’re on the run. The film doesn’t reveal what exactly went down earlier, but their tense demeanor makes it clear something terrible happened. They hurriedly climb into the car and speed away.

Meanwhile, Lonnie (Pete Davidson) shows up at Leftie’s (Bill Murray) apartment and delivers the news about a bloodbath at Da Noi. Once again, the film dances around the crucial details of what actually happened. Based on the context, I’m guessing Leftie either owns the restaurant or someone close to him was killed there.

The scene shift to a secluded mountain cabin, where Vincent (Ed Harris) spends Christmas with his wife Sandy (Gabrielle Union) and her teenage son DJ (Miles J. Harvey). After DJ is heartbroken from being dumped by his girlfriend Brittany, Vincent attempts to console him by sharing a painful piece of family history. He reveals the truth about DJ’s biological father, a man who was once engaged to Sandy but died in a car accident after cheating with another woman on the night of his death.

That night, Vincent grows visibly agitated when his son Rocco arrives unannounced at the cabin with his pregnant wife Marina. Their surprise visit creates an uncomfortable and awkward situation, made worse by Rocco bringing along his mother Ruth (Jennifer Coolidge), Vincent’s ex-wife.

The film spends its first hour establishing character backgrounds how Rocco first met Marina by chance, the connection between them and Leftie’s son Johnnie (Michael Angelo Covino), and Vincent’s marriage to Sandy. While some of these stories engage, others drag, bloating the runtime unnecessarily. The plot reaches its predictable turn when Rocco finally reveals to Vincent what I could see coming from miles away that he killed someone. Rocco tells Vincent that he killed Johnnie to protect Marina and their unborn child.

From there, the narrative deteriorates with unconvincing plot points and flat jokes that fail to land. Rather than enhancing the story, these developments only raise more questions, making everything more complicated but not more compelling.

After Vincent decides to help Rocco, assuring him that Leftie only knows about his townhouse and not the cabin which is under a different name, Leftie and Lonnie show up at Vincent’s empty home trying to track him down. Their search gets solved absurdly easily when the nosy neighbor couple, Janet (Brooke Dillman) and Garrison (P.J. Byrne), spot them inside and naively assume they’re Vincent’s friends. Not only do they reveal that Vincent’s family is spending Christmas at their mountain cabin, but they even hand over a ridiculously detailed topographical map with its exact location. Seriously, do these people not use phones anymore?

Garrison and Janet are so annoyingly chatty that I fully expected Leftie to kill them on the spot which would’ve at least made the scene darkly funny. Instead, the movie drags it out, with Leftie later ordering Lonnie to go back and finish them off.

Directed by Dito Montiel and written by John Pollono, RIFF RAFF aspires to be a genre-blending dark comedy crime thriller. Unfortunately, the film struggles to hit its mark, falling short of both its comedic and suspenseful potential. While the concept promises an intriguing mix of tones, the execution fails to deliver the sharp darkness or genuine laughs the premise suggests.

Despite the limited material they’re working with, the stellar cast elevates the film through their performances. The comedic highlights emerge more from the actors’ individual talents than from the script itself. Bill Murray’s signature deadpan delivery and Jennifer Coolidge’s delightfully over-the-top characterization stand out.

What really bothered me was the overuse of flashbacks to explain simple or unimportant backstories, it completely ruined the suspense thriller’s pacing. I didn’t watch the trailer before seeing the film, but it was obvious early on that Rocco was on the run because he’d killed someone.

I also don’t get is why the movie drags out this “mystery” for nearly an hour, with almost nothing happening in between. And if you did see the trailer, it straight-up spoils that Rocco killed Leftie’s son. So what’s the point of hiding that fact in the actual film? It just feels like forced suspense that doesn’t pay off.

RIFF RAFF premiered at Toronto International Film Festival on 9 September 2024. The film was theatrically released in the United States on 28 February 2025, by Roadside Attractions and Grindstone Entertainment Group.