Welcome to the Rileys Movie Review

This one I like the most, so far.


SUNDANCE: Kristen Stewart dons fishnets, g-string and foul mouth for ‘Rileys’

“Twilight” fans are in for a shock. Beautiful, virginal Bella Swan has morphed into a smoking, cussing 16-year-old New Orleans stripper/sex worker marked with bruises and scars named Mallory. Or Alison, actually.

Kristen Stewart, who has drawn legions of devoted followers to her as “Twilight’s” conflicted protagonist, flips that portrayal on its head for “Welcome to the Rileys,” the very R-rated indie drama that premiered Saturday at the Racquet Club Theatre at Sundance. Stewart is raw, feral, feisty and utterly believable in ways that should remind everyone that she has chops well beyond teenaged vampire soap operas.

Tomorrow she stars in the premiere of “The Runaways,” which Apparition has already slotted for a March release. That should seal the deal for any doubters.

Unfortunately, Stewart’s younger fans are unlikely to see “Rileys,” since it features a pot-smoking Stewart tossing off lines about her cooter, handjobs, anal sex and how “I’m not gonna fuck your German shepherd.” Most of this is delivered in stages of undress or in her dancing get-up at the Dixie Divas club, including red Xs taped across her breasts, fishnets, a g-string and five-inch heels.

All of this is couched in a melancholy story about a middle-aged Indianapolis couple played by James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo numbed by the death of their daughter who eventually become entangled with Stewart’s Alison in New Orleans in a misguided effort to “save” her. The film is well-acted, -directed and -written, but suffers from an implausibility in its triggering premise.

Stewart was on-hand after the screening, hooded, arms crossed, and struggled to articulate just how she lived with the character and learned to understand what her life was like. As is often the case with Stewart’s public appearances, her intense efforts to verbalize her thoughts came off as endearing.

Regardless, the excited pre-show chatter and fawning audience members proved that Stewart’s star is unlikely to be tarnished anytime soon.

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