The Riches – Season 1
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 101 March 2008
(1 votes, average: 6 out of 10)
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A get rich quick scheme with a difference!
The Lowdown: The Malloys have spent their lives roaming the country, pulling scams with a travelling band of modern gypsies. Dahlia’s two-year imprisonment prompts a midlife crisis in Wayne, but upon her release they are presented with a golden opportunity to ‘steal the American dream’ and leave their grubby existence behind them…
Review: Star/executive producer Izzard has dabbled in acting for years, only coming to prominence in America recently with his superfluous stints alongside the swollen casts of Ocean’s 12/Ocean’s 13. The Riches gives Izzard something much meatier to sink his teeth into, and he impresses as Malloy patriarch Wayne, an inventive conman who has married into one of the most dangerous travelling families in the Deep South. Anyone expecting Izzard to play for laughs will be disappointed, but (ropey transatlantic accent aside) Wayne is a plausible, involving central character. Similarly impressive is Minnie Driver as Dahlia, his half-feral ex-jailbird wife who finds herself struggling to shake off her prison-fuelled substance addiction. After a tragic car accident the Malloy clan assume the identities of the deceased Riches, an affluent family who are preparing to move into a gated community in Louisiana. The ensuing drama comes from their scam-happy attempts to integrate themselves into polite society, whilst Dahlia’s vicious cousin Dale tries to hunt them down to reclaim some stolen loot.
The special features are slightly underwhelming with only the two audio commentaries offering anything of interest. The ‘webisodes’ are pleasant but insubstantial, and the Fox Channel featurettes are unnecessarily brisk. The Riches has rubbed up against the TV schedules and let loose an invigorating gypsy stink-burp. It may be a well-acted, enticing new offering, but it struggles to rise above the cream of the TV crop. It’s good, but maybe not good enough…
FILM: 6 EXTRAS: 5
DVD Info:
Certificate: 15
Starring: Eddie Izzard, Minnie Driver, Noel Fisher, Shannon Marie Woodward
Directed By: Various, 2007
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0
Visuals: 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 641mins
Price: £34.99
Film supplied by: Taylor Herring
Special Features:
Episode Selection
Audio Commentaries On Episodes ‘Pilot’ & ‘Waiting For Dogot’ With Eddie Izzard & Creator Dmitry Lipkin
9 x Webisodes
‘Fox Movie Channel Presents ‘Casting Session’’ Featurette
‘Fox Movie Channel Presents ‘World Premiere’’ Featurette
Gag Reel
