Film Review: Welcome to the Rileys

He cant't bring himself up to tell her, that her hair really does smell bad.

Welcome to the Rileys (2010)

Overall Score: 75%

Certified: Trumpeter Swan

Score Breakdown:

Performance: 85% Plot: 75% Script: 65% Visuals: 75% Music: 70%

Kristen Stewart is a slut. Literally. Well, in this movie actually. Here, she is playing her role as a 16-year-old prostitute. That is why I want to watch this movie at first. Not because I'm a pervert, but because Kristen's role. I love Kristen Stewart, to be frank. She reminds me of the awkward-cute-cynical Jesse Eisenberg with the brown hair, the serious brooding eyes, and their quirky, awkward,  stutter talk style (have they dated before? I forgot). 

"Stewart's intense, courageous performance as a 16-year-old New Orleans prostitute is really something special." - Lou Lumenick, New York Post.

Bottom line is: Kristen Stewart is awesome. She sucked playing the love-struck Bella Swan (even though I still couldn't hate her there) in The Twilight Saga, but so so so good at playing real people. Take Into the Wild (2007), Adventureland (2009), or the biopic The Runaways (2010). 

"There are many things to admire about this movie, but the main one is that it doesn't compromise." - Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle.

This movie is pretty similar with Rabbit Hole (2010) that stars Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman. About a couple that lives in a constant depression after a tragedy knocks on walks on their door. About coping with disasters. Their relationship is dying, the wife, Lois (Melissa Leo) becomes stressed out and never leaves the house while the husband is coping by having an affair. Doug (James Gandolfini), the husband has to go to a job conference outside town and eventually wanting to leave his wife too. Everything changes when he meets up with a stripper, named Mallory (her real name in the movie; she uses a lot of names).

From Kristen's slutty role and James depressed character I thought the story was easy to guess, but it's more of a closed book. It's realistic yet a little bit random and out of nowhere. Melissa Leo may screw up by saying 'the F word' on this year's Oscar's (love it), but she didn't this time. James Gandolfini also put up good acting of a very nice, super kind human being in this movie being the hairless Santa Claus he is but more...human. Kristen Stewart performance is electric. She's like this time bomb that is so amazing because of it being dangerous. The trio would hold up for the 'Most Dysfunctional Yet Touching Relationships of The Year'. 

""Welcome to the Rileys"? Thanks, but no thanks." - Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post. 

The script is a little bit boring and very typical drama movie script. There are no certain quotes or dialogues or saying that have me reach out for my notepad and pen to start writing it down. The music does do the trick but didn't really move me. I can see why people are giving negative review too. But, where's the love, people? I think the movie is quite typical and there's much more material that could've been dugged up, but it gives out a really strong message and that is why I think it won over me.  

"The pleasures of Welcome to the Rileys are in the simplest human message of all. Take an interest in somebody who needs help and the life you save may be your own." - Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel.

The message is clear. It's very gentle and humane, telling us how kindness and humanity do good thing to the world. This movie is one of the ways of how people would apply the slogan for Giordano, "World Without Strangers". 

+R