Product Details

• Actors: James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart
• Directors: Jake Scott
• Format: AC-3, Blu-ray, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French
• Dubbed: French
• Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
• Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony
• DVD Release Date: February 1, 2011
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003Y5H4WA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,896 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Welcome to the Rileys [Blu-ray]" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Terrific performances by two veteran actors buoy Welcome to the Rileys, an entertaining and surprisingly quirky look at a dark subject. Doug and Lois Riley (James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo) have a home in Indianapolis, a set of engraved headstones already waiting for them in the local cemetery, and a marriage that's been crumbling since their daughter died in a car crash at age 15; Doug has found some solace in an affair with a waitress at a local diner, but even that proves to be a mixed blessing at best. On a business trip to New Orleans, he wanders into a strip club and meets Mallory (Kristen Stewart), a broke, foul-mouthed stripper-cum-prostitute who takes his carnal intentions for granted. But there aren't any--Doug wants a daughter, not a whore, and in a credibility-defying sequence of events, he immediately moves into her squalid apartment (paying her a hundred bucks a day for the privilege), decides to sell his plumbing supply business, and phones his wife to tell her he's not coming home "for a while." Lois's reaction? She piles into Doug's Cadillac and tools down to N'Awlins, informing her hubby that if he's living with Mallory (or Allison, or whatever her name is), then she will too. The struggle of parents trying to cope with the death of a child is not a fresh topic, but from Ordinary People in 1980 to much more recent films like Rabbit Hole, Creation, and The Lovely Bones, it has usually been treated with a much heavier hand than the one wielded by director Jake Scott here; the scene in which Lois struggles to figure out the Caddy's many bells and whistles is played for laughs, and her encounter with a would-be suitor while en route to New Orleans, while poignant, is refreshingly unsentimental. Gandolfini (in a role that may be the furthest he's yet gotten from Tony Soprano) and Leo are excellent, and although Stewart seems to be trying just a bit too hard to distance herself from the Twilight franchise, she's a young actress with a bright future. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Golden Globe® winner James Gandolfini, (The Sopranos) is Doug Riley, a man at the crossroads. Ever since the tragic death of his teenage daughter, he's led a life of quiet desperation... and now, something has to give. On a business trip to New Orleans, he encounters Mallory (Kristen Stewart, the Twilight films) -- a raw, angry runaway living a dangerous life as a stripper. Moved by emotions he barely understands, Riley abandons his old life to save hers. The tenuous balance is threatened when his wife Lois (Academy Award® nominee Melissa Leo, Best Actress, Frozen River, 2008) shakes off the fears that have kept her homebound for years. Now three lost souls seek hope and forgiveness in each other... and together, they discover a rare gift of connection that feels like family.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Loss of a Child: Aftermath, Consequences, and Coping February 8, 2011

By Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

WELCOME TO THE RILEYS is a little sign on the garage doors of Doug and Lois Riley in Indianapolis, Indiana. It also serves as the title of this fine little film written by Ken Hixon and directed by Jake Scott that examines how the loss of a 15-year-old daughter Emily in an automobile accident has resulted in the crumbling of the parent's marriage and relationship. Doug (James Gandolfini) has an affair with younger waitress Vivian (Eisa Davis) while Lois (Melissa Leo) becomes so isolated in her agoraphobic state and psychotropic mediations that she is no longer available to Doug. A crisis occurs when Vivian dies in cardiac arrest and in Doug's honest grief he visits her grave only to find that Lois has unilaterally purchased a headstone with Doug's and Lois' names on it beside the grave of their departed Emily, a fact that enrages Doug.

Doug goes to New Orleans on a convention and there encounters stripper/prostitute Mallory (Kristen Stewart), a 16 year old unkempt, foul mouthed runaway from Florida: Mallory sees the kind Doug as a john but Doug's interest is in her plight, not her business offerings. Doug obviously responds to Mallory as though she were his lost daughter, moving into her filthy apartment, trying to improve her view of life. Doug phones Lois that he is going to stay in New Orleans a while, a message that gives Lois the courage to actually leave her home and drive to New Orleans: during Lois' somewhat comedic trip she stops for food and a strange man comes on to her - something that awakens her self esteem before she reaches New Orleans. Once Lois arrives at her destination she is proud of overcoming her agoraphobia and Doug is happy to see the healing Lois. Together they stay with Mallory, facing the fact that for both of them Mallory represents the chance to restore their love for the daughter they've lost. How the three cope is the remaining of the film.

The three leads offer polished performances - some of the finest work we have seen from both Gandolfini and Leo who together make this film better than the sum of its parts. Kristen Stewart immerses herself in Mallory and though she still remains a rather monochromatic actress, this role offers her the ability to stretch her acting chops: she is convincing as the victim of the dregs of society and makes us care about a character who seems to have few redeeming qualities. This trio of actors plays well as a small ensemble and the result is a film that has been far too overlooked by the general public. Recommended. Grady Harp, February 11

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A hidden treasure--a must see! February 28, 2011

By Gwen Hankins

Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase

My daughter who is totally a fan of Kristen Stewart had heard about this movie, but had never seen the movie. As a 47-year-old woman I appreciated Kristen Stewart's acting ability, but wasn't much interested in seeing another "teen movie" (this film is for adults). I decided to watch "Welcome to the Riley's" for some mother-daughter time with my own daughter. I am so glad she knew about this movie.
James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo as Mr. and Mrs. Riley are masters at the craft of acting. They never missed a beat despite the tough topic covered. They were incredibly believable. I forgot I was watching a movie. Their relationship, its breakdown is raw and ordinary and then incredibly inspiring.
Kristen Stewart carried the character of Mallory as a teenage runaway, stripper and prostitute without insulting reality- in fact the whole movie was that way. This easily could have been a cheesy, do-gooder movie but this is one that took ordinary and responsible and amazing- and made it greater than the sum of its parts.
I rarely rate a movie 5 out of 5; this movie is such. As a side point, I hope this movie reminds people in the US that it's not just children across the globe that are suffering, we have a lot of work to do here.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars not perfect, but solid performances and that New Orleans backdrop make for a rather good movie March 3, 2011

By Matthew G. Sherwin HALL OF FAMETOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Welcome to The Rileys drew me in more and more as the movie progressed; at first I thought it was a bit too slow but when the pace picked up with the backdrop of New Orleans I was rather impressed by what it had to say. The casting couldn't have been better; Melissa Leo gives an outstanding performance as a guilty housewife punishing herself for a long-ago car accident that took her daughter's life; and James Gandolfini turns in a masterful performance as her husband Doug who just can't seem to get past his grief and personal demons. The choreography and the cinematography enhance the movie and the musical score does a great job of making the film even better, too.

Lois Riley (Melissa Leo) and her husband Doug (James Gandolfini) are still most unhappy even though it's been eight years since the death of their daughter in a car accident. Lois hasn't left the house since the car accident; indeed, Lois has been so depressed that she already has headstones for her and Doug next to their late daughter's grave, a fact that gives Doug the creeps. Doug also has a long standing affair with a waitress named Vivian (Eisa Davis). However, when Vivian suddenly dies of a heart attack Doug is very upset and sadder still; and he suffers in silence because he doesn't know that Lois knew about him and Vivian for quite some while already.

Doug goes to a business convention in New Orleans; and being still upset about Vivian's death (he had wanted to take her there for her birthday) and also feeling out of place in a city very different from where he lives with his wife, Doug leaves the convention early one day and wanders into a strip joint where he meets an underage call girl who goes by several different names including Mallory (Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame). Doug and Mallory begin a most unconventional relationship; she reminds Doug of his daughter. So, what does Doug do? He phones Lois to tell her he's staying in New Orleans indefinitely without giving Lois any reason; he moves in with Mallory paying her $100 a day to stay with her in her very rundown apartment in a home that was abandoned after Hurricane Katrina and Doug tries desperately to get Mallory to grow up with a combination of love and confrontation that Mallory needs.

Meanwhile, Lois decides to finally leave their home after nearly eight years of staying indoors--she's determined to drive to New Orleans and find Doug there by calling him on his cell phone. Of course, the rest of what transpires gives us a very solid story line and some fine entertainment.

I could tell you more; but there won't be any spoilers here even though it may seem like I've told you much too much already! Suffice it to say the rest of the plot should hold your attention very well. In addition, look for very good performances by Tiffany Coty as Tara and Lance E. Nichols in an all-too-brief appearance as Hamilton 'Ham' Watkins, another businessman at the convention.

The DVD also comes with an extra about the making of the film.

I recommend this film for anyone interested in gritty family drama or drama in general; and of course fans of the actors in this movie would do well to add this to their collections.