Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 09/30/2008 Run time: 616 minutes Rating: Nr
British comedian Eddie Izzard (Glorious, Dressed to Kill brings his raffish charisma to The Riches, a sneaky satirical drama about a family of con artists who lie their way into a wealthy gated community. Wayne and Dahlia Malloy (Izzard and Minnie Driver, Grosse Pointe Blank) are travelers--a kind of American gypsies--who get in trouble with their clan and have to hit the road with their three kids (Shannon Woodward, Noel Fisher, and Aidan Mitchell). When a confrontation with other travelers causes a deadly car accident, the Malloys take over the dead couple's brand-new home--a mansion bought over the Internet--and assume the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Rich. The premise stretches plausibility, but that's part of the fun; any successful con game forces the mark to accept something absurd, because why would anyone tell such a preposterous lie? The pleasure of trickery drives the show. Wayne weasels his way into a job as lawyer to an obnoxious real estate developer; Dahlia persuades a private school to admit her kids after the admission deadline; and the kids find their skills serve them well in the surface-obsessed suburban world. But over the course of the thirteen-episode season, the Malloys' wily architecture of lies grows increasingly precarious, constantly threatened by fear of exposure and vengeful travelers. The final episode builds to a nerve-wracking crisis as someone who actually knows the dead couple comes to visit. Ironically, some of the most compelling moments are flashes of honesty--in an early episode, oldest son Cael realizes that the traveler girl he loves has set him up, and the two stare at each other across a diner table, wordlessly brokenhearted. The entire cast is great--Woodward shines as smart, conflicted daughter Di Di, and Margo Martindale (Paris, je t'aime, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) routinely steals scenes as the Rich's unhappy neighbor. But The Riches rests on Izzard's shoulders; though Driver's acting chops are more polished (and her Southern accent is more consistent), Izzard captures the soul of a man who lives by his wits, a man who navigates the world with a wink and a stream of beguiling words. The Riches - Season 1 includes a couple of chatty commentaries and flimsy featurettes, but the best extra is a series of short webisodes of Izzard teaching Woodward and Fisher assorted cons; the family chemistry is delightful. --Bret Fetzer
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