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Melissa Leo, James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart

WELCOME TO THE RILEYS is a powerful drama about finding hope in the most unusual of places. Once a happily married and loving couple, Doug and Lois Riley (James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo) have grown ... read more read more...apart since losing their teenage daughter eight years prior. Leaving his agoraphobic wife behind to go on a business trip to New Orleans, Doug meets a 17-year-old runaway (Kristen Stewart) and the two form a platonic bond. For Lois and Doug, what initially appears to be the final straw that will derail their relationship, turns out to be the inspiration they need to renew their marriage. -- (C) Samuel Goldwyn

Flixster Users

59% liked it

15,988 ratings

Critics

54% liked it

76 critics

R, 1 hr. 50 min.

Directed by: Jake Scott

Release Date: October 29, 2010

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DVD Release Date: February 1, 2011

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Flixster Reviews (654)

  • itsjustme2004
    October 23, 2011
    itsjustme2004
    Well done. Good cast. Slow paced. I think that I would have preferred a more concrete ending, however. I do get how they all lived a lot more "well-adjusted" ever after, though. I guess I wanted more than just that. I have a teenage daughter. Maybe that made me see this movie dif... read moreferently...
  • Saxia
    October 1, 2011
    Saxia
    I love these kind of movies. It's about people drifting apart and coming together again. Don't expect an original movie, just enjoy.
  • romy861
    August 13, 2011
    romy861
    I read a few bad reviews on this which almost put me off watching it - glad I didn't listen,
    This movie is about an older married couple who have lost their teenage daughter in a car accident. The wife has become so depressed she can't leave the house any more and the husband is... read more acting out by having affairs behind her back
    Out of town for a work conference one night, he meets Mallory (Kristen Stewart), who is a 16 year old runaway working as a stripper and prostitute. Seeing something in her that reminds him of his daughter, he decides to hang around for a while.
    Kristen Stewart is really excellent here, I am surprised by the reviews saying she is awful. I really found her quite convincing and tragic.
    You never find out Mallory's story, but I guess it is not important in the end. This is really a story about three broken people rebuilding their lives. The ending is open to your own interpretation, but to me it was a positive one.
    Not exactly happy viewing, so it won't appeal to all, but to me at least, I found this worth the hour and a half!
  • aliceinpunderland
    June 5, 2011
    aliceinpunderland
    Surprisingly moving. The premise of a middle-aged man befriending a young prostitute because she reminds him of his dead daughter seems disingenuous at first, but the script is careful in avoiding sexual motivation on Doug's part and truly paints his motivations as paternal. Ja... read moremes Gandolfini is rather forceful in the scene in which he yells at Mallory to get her act together and stop saying "fuck" so much.

    Melissa Leo as Lois, the broken wife, provides some comic relief - oddly enough - in her get-out-of-the-house montage, and her reunion with Doug in New Orleans is sweet and cathartic.

    Kristen Stewart is once again good but not great. Her screaming, fighting, crying is fine; her silent stare still penetrates; but her speech, especially the cursing is pretty self-conscious. She only half-says "cooter," "pussy," "fuck."
  • stevenecarrier
    April 7, 2011
    stevenecarrier
    Something didn't work for me with "Welcome to the Rileys." While you can tell everyone involved treated the material with the utmost respect, I believe that the story is just too odd to be relatable. Granted, I can say I have never seen a film quite like this, a grieving married ... read morecouple befriend a prostitute to improve her life and to find redemption themselves, but that doesn't make it good per say. James Gandolfini is a bit out of his range here as the oddly protective father figure. Melissa Leo is quite good as the psychologically damaged mother. Kristen Stewart is way out of her range as a foul mouthed, wayward, New Orleans stripper/prostitute, but thankfully she eases into the role as the film progresses. Some will find "Welcome to the Rileys" profound and affecting and others, like myself, will just find it a bit of odd, curious filmmaking. Nothing quite added up for me, but I can't dismiss it altogether for at least trying something new.
  • cosmo313
    March 24, 2011
    cosmo313
    It's small, quiet indie dramas like this that remind me that not all entertainment has to be purely escapist to be entertaining.

    This is a story of very broken people with fractured souls who find themselves coming together to find redemption and regain a proper place in the w... read moreorld. In broad terms, these characters aren't entirely original, but the actors playing them breath new life into them with some very strong and nuanced performances. I have said many times that Kristen Stewart actually can act, and she once again proves it here. She's a little wooden, but the stiltedness fits the character. Her turn as the troubled runaway stripper (who might be a minor) who's lost her way is probably the most raw and gutsy thing Stewart has done so far. It's gritty without being gratituous, and quite believable too. The same goes for the two veterans she's going toe to toe with. Leo and Gandolfini never get enough credit for the great work they do, especially in stuff like this. Well, Leo did finally win an Oscar, but you get my point.

    The films may not be extremely realistic and believable, but it is definitely plausible. People deal with grief, demons, and various issues in odd ways, and the film shows just some of these. The whole thing could have turned into some sort of melodrama or quirky dramedy, but it's played straight, and probably all the better for it. The film is a little rough, like mainly the screenplay, but all things considered, it is a good film that is worth a look. Jake Scott (son of Ridley) makes a good case for why he is probably someone to look out for.
  • 5oclockcoffee
    February 25, 2011
    5oclockcoffee
    Welcome to the Rileys is much better than I expected. Of course it falls in some clichés and some scenes were not necessary (the opening scene, the car burning), but I liked it a lot. I like how the characters are forced to face themselves and how things change in different level... read mores to each one of them. I like how Lois and Doug's relationship comes to a point where "you can leave me if you have to, but I'll never leave you" makes real sense, not longer being just random words.

    Some people got bothered with James Gandolfini's accent, others with the fact that Doug smokes in the garage, others with the whole situation (not everything is about sex, guys) and others with Kristen Stewart's "lack" of acting or with Kristen herself. After watching it I was asking myself if we don't demand too much of an actor. Do we have an inexhaustible source of expressions, ourselves? Ok, we're not actors, this is their job, but is it really possible to incorporate a character to the point that the actor is not visible anymore? I only have a few names in mind.
    Kristen Stewart doesn't do an outstanding job, but her acting is as good as some others Oscar or whatever nominated. She seems more comfortable in the skin of outsider characters and, in my opinion, she goes much better with them.

    I never watch the final credits, but the last song caught me in such a way that I did it. Going Up The Country, played by the rockabilly band "Kitty, Daisy and Lewis" was the only one who remind me of New Orleans's music spirit. The soundtrack, that mostly features Marc Streitenfeld's instrumental songs, also has Odetta singing Go Down Sunshine, but I just can't remember in which scene it's played.



  • imrealgod
    February 19, 2011
    imrealgod
    Too good to be adorable, but it'd be unfair to absolutely pan it down. Quite watchable, but I won't recommend it. Also made me realize that Kristen Stewart can suck in other roles too besides Bella. I thought that her acting couldn't get worse than what it was in the Twilight ser... read moreies. But she courageously took the challenge and hit a new low. Hope one day she'd eventually get it right.
  • LWOODS04
    February 9, 2011
    LWOODS04
    Cast: James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart, Melissa Leo, Lance E. Nichols, David Jensen, Kathy Lamkin, Joe Chrest, Tiffany Coty, Ally Sheedy, Eisa Davis

    Director: Jake Scott

    Summary: Devastated by their daughter's death eight years ago, Doug (James Gandolfini) and his guilt-... read moreridden wife, Lois (Melissa Leo), lead depressing lives without much meaning. But by forming an unconventional relationship with teen call girl Mallory (Kristen Stewart), the couple begins to rediscover hope.

    My Thoughts: "The story is sad, depressing, and dark. It never really lightens up. The story is flawed as well. But the performances and these character's are so honest and raw that it doesn't hurt the film too much. James Gandolfini, Melissa Leo, and Kristen Stewart, all give great performances. I was surprised at just how raunchy Kristen Stewart's character was. She shows herself as the mess the character is. Dirty, gritty, foul mouthed, and trying hard to be tough. But then you see how broken she is, and how hard it is for her to come to an understanding that this man (Doug) doesn't want anything from her, just to help her. In a way it's like Doug has set his eye's on trying to save this young girl because he failed to save his own daughter. Although this was the Riley's story, I would love to see a film based on Stewart's character Allison/Mallory to see what happened in her life that has landed her in the life she's leading. I also felt the ending of the film was unsatisfying. Mostly because it left me wondering what happened to Allison/Mallory. It's a slow burning film that probably won't be for everyone."
  • LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    February 6, 2011
    LorenzoVonMatterhorn
    "I can't come home right now. I know I'm not dead yet."

    On a business trip to New Orleans, a damaged man seeks salvation by caring for a wayward young woman.

    REVIEW

    Welcome to the Rileys is not... read more a great film, just a small, sometimes good one that depicts a forlorn couple befriending a 16 year old hooker in what might be a hope of bringing back their 15 year old daughter killed in an accident.

    Doug (James Gandolfini) is a married businessman who loses his lover and figuratively has lost his wife Lois (Melissa Leo) probably as long ago as their daughter has been dead. On a business trip to sin city New Orleans he hooks up with hooker Mallory (Kristen Stewart) and takes care of her. No, they never make it even though she offers as a matter of business; he is far too concerned with her welfare to cross any imaginary social lines. Although their dialogue is sparse and their emotional range limited, Gandolfini carries the scenes with a slowly solid care that rings authentic. On the other hand, Stewart does her usual Twilight scowling and brooding all the time while looking at least 21, certainly not 16. Her "f-bombs" and "cooters" can't erase the image of the virtuous Bella.

    When Lois drives to New Orleans to see her estranged husband, the drama comes alive as she comes to terms with her husband's eccentric behavior and catches the child care fever that has revived him. I like the idea that not very exciting people can be resurrected by the smallest acts of love, and I favored from the beginning that he would not engage in sexual activity with Mallory, giving an original variation on the old reform-the-prostitute motif.

    Director Jake Scott, from the famous Ridley and Tony lineage, gives an authentic sense of New Orleans, seedier than you would expect and less rambunctious than you usually see. What you do see is redemption at a slow pace, a couple of great actors, and variations on some old themes sometimes moving and always interesting.

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Critic Reviews

Steven Rea
December 2, 2010
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer

It's as if Tony Soprano and Bella Swan had landed the two leads in somebody's amateur theater company, and this is what the lucky audience gets. Full Review

Roger Moore
December 1, 2010
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Well cast and nicely acted, it's another piece of the puzzle of what Kristen Stewart's career might look like after "Twilight" turns dark. Full Review

Michael O'Sullivan
November 24, 2010
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

"Welcome to the Rileys"? Thanks, but no thanks. Full Review

Cary Darling
November 24, 2010
Cary Darling, Dallas Morning News

Welcome to the Rileys is a reminder that good, or at least intriguing, things can come in what seem to be predictable packages. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
November 12, 2010
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

Terrific acting by James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo -- and a noble effort from Kristen Stewart -- goes a long way toward salvaging it. Full Review

Peter Rainer
November 1, 2010
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor

Doug's mission -- to reclaim Mallory's innocence and his own fatherhood -- is too deranged for the squeaky-clean treatment it receives here. Full Review

Stephen Whitty
October 29, 2010
Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger

The kind of movie performers often hail as a "labor of love." And audiences just find labored. Full Review

Joe Neumaier
October 29, 2010
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News

If Welcome to the Rileys were a thicker-skinned movie -- if it were the movie it thinks it is -- so much of the outcome wouldn't be telegraphed the minute you read the premise. Full Review

Joe Morgenstern
October 29, 2010
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal

Ms. Leo finds a way to be affecting in spite of it all. It's as if her later scenes had been lifted from another movie. An enjoyable one. Full Review

Lou Lumenick
October 29, 2010
Lou Lumenick, New York Post

Audiences tend to avoid Kristen Stewart's non-Twilight movies like vampires fleeing daylight. Believe me, it's their loss. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Mallory: Woah. Did somebody open a can of tuna fish?
    • Mallory: Oh, you're not a cop!? Oh, okay, show me your cock then, huh? Yeah.
    • Doug Riley: Stop that!
    • Mallory: Prove you're not a cop!
    • Doug Riley: I'm not a cop!
    • Mallory: Take this fucking back, cause that's about how close you're gonna get to my pussy tonight. Fuck nuts!
    • Doug Riley: Are you alright?
    • Mallory: Mmm. Yeah. I just can't stand on the street without the cops coming by me like I'm a fucking crackwhore.
    • Doug Riley: What happened?
    • Mallory: I came here with this guy and, uh, he kept trying to stick it up my fucking ass. And I was like 'Yo, pencil dick, back the fuck up,' and he wouldn't. I went to piss and I came back out, my wallet is sitting on the bed, and all my shit is everywhere, and his car is gone, and all I got is fucking shoes. And like... I'm out 900 bucks.
    • Mallory: My mom died in a car accident.
    • Mallory: That's basically forever.
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