Review of Welcome to the Rileys (2010) by Ryan O — 20 Feb 2011

Welcome to the Rileys is a fairly decent drama that has its high points and its low points. At times it tends to meander to the point of feeling - "ok, ok, get on with it.".

The performance from Melissa Leo as Lois Riley is quite outstanding. She seems to be on a hot streak these days - coming off of The Fighter and Frozen River -- and now this flick. James Gandolfini is also good, except - I just can't get past the fact I'm watching Tony Soprano. That's unfortunate, because he is a good actor. The Sopranos may be his biggest downfall, unless he can find that break-out role that will make me forget about Tony Soprano.

I really wanted to rate this one higher, but I just can't bring myself to it. Its good, and I'll cautiously recommend it, but it just seems a little off and I can't put my finger on it.

My recommendation, wait till a pay-tv-cable channel. Renting it might be ok, but this is a fairly dark film that will not please everyone.