(S01E01) If there's anything close to a certainty in this wacky world of 3,000 channels, it's this: When a new show premieres on FX, chances are it's going to be pretty damned good. Even the less-than-stellar shows are more daring, creative, and entertaining than most of what you might see on a broadcast or basic cable network. And The Riches is no exception; in fact, it is one of the most well-done new shows of the year. The pilot, which aired earlier tonight, was nearly as riveting as that of The Nine, wich was almost universally lauded before the fall season started. But unlike The Nine, The Riches knows where it's going. And it looks like it's going to be a pretty fun ride.
Eddie Izzard plays Wayne Malloy, the patriarch of a family of Irish Travelers, who roam from town to town assuming identities and ripping of innocent people, or "Buffers," in their terms. We find that out right away when Wayne and two of his three kids -- Dehliah (Shannon Woodward) and Sam (Aidan Mitchell) -- invade a high school reunion; the kids steal everyone's wallets while Wayne distracts them by becoming the life of the party. The oldest Malloy child, Cael (Noel Fisher), awaits to spirit them away in the family home / getaway RV.
After some difficulty, they swing by the penitentiary to pick up Dahlia, played by Minnie Driver. Dahlia missed her kids and husband during her two years in the joint, and we find out later that she got snagged for a crime for which Wayne should have taken the fall. Anyway, after Dahlia reunites with her Traveler clan, a dustup occurs between Wayne and his cousin-in-law Dale (Todd Stashwick), who has taken control of the clan's affairs. Wayne steals the family's money and takes the Malloys on a trip to parts unknown, essentially breaking from Dahlia's family in one fell swoop.
On the road, they get involved in an accident that kills the occupants of a BMW. Wayne decides to take the family's ID and the keys to their new house in a wealthy Baton Rouge subdivision, where no one has ever met the dead couple. Once they move in, Wayne realizes that assuming the role of the dead couple -- the Riches -- not only helps them hide from Dale, who wants Wayne's hide, but will also allow his family to get off the road and finally live the American Dream, in their own perverse way. After initially objecting, Dahlia agrees to stay. And so begins the Malloys' life as the Riches.
Izzard and Driver are what make this show work; although Izzard isn't particularly adept at maintaining an American, much less a southern, accent, it doesn't matter; we can feel his love for his wife and his seething rage that he has to be subservient to an inbred schmuck like Dale. We also feel his need for something more. Driver, on the other hand, is one of the few Brits around who can affect an American accent quite flawlessly, but that's not why I like her here. The pain she suffered while she was in jail, which we see via her simultaneous addictions to cough medicine and meth, is etched all over her face. And, unlike her husband, she's a sympathetic crook; she regrets that the Riches had to die for them to be able to hide out in luxury. Being a "death buffer" is hard to deal with, but she's willing to try, her devotion to her family is that strong. The chemistry between the two stars, whether the Malloys are in a post-jail coitus session or fighting tooth and nail, is palpable.
We don't know much about the kids just yet, outside of the fact that Cael seems to be the one most in control, Dehliah knows more about the family's skeletons than she lets on, and Sam likes to wear girls' clothes. But I'm sure we'll learn more as the weeks go on.
The pilot actually showed less humor than I initially expected, but there were flashes. You don't have Eddie Izzard on a show and expect him to be completely serious. The scene at the reunion showed Izzard at his schmoozy finest, and the scene where he goes golfing with his neighbor Jim (Bruce French) and hustles obnoxious executive Hugh Panetta (Gregg Henry, last seen as Mitchum Huntzberger on Gilmore Girls), shows Izzard's sly side.
Questions abound: will the Malloys be outed? How does a bumpkin like Wayne know how to play golf so well? Will Jim's wife Nina (Margo Martindale) be the one to find out the ruse, or will she be too doped up to care? When will Dale catch up to them?
Like most FX shows, there's an overabundance of bad language -- the entire cast seems to be enamored with the word "shit" -- some violence, and flashes of nudity (unfortunately, it was Izzard's butt we saw instead of Driver's). But it didn't distract me from concentrating on the Malloy's adventure. Have the writers -- among them first-time show-runner Dimitry Lipkin -- gotten me to sympathize with this family of grifters yet? No. But I'm interested in wanting to find out more, and any pilot that does that gets high marks in my book.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-13-2007 @ 1:26AM
Kurt Schmidt said...
I really enjoyed this show and I see a lot of potential. It's not surprising to see a son with a penchant for cross-dressing. I see this as a way Eddie Izzard can get some of his personal messages out. I've been a big fan of Eddie for a long time and I'm glad to see him choose an interesting vehicle for his talents. I'll be watching!
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3-13-2007 @ 1:33AM
BigTed said...
This show was both more serious and less fun than I expected it to be, but it made up for the lack of humor with surprising depth. I didn't believe either Izzard or Driver as the sleazy characters they're playing, but her darkness and his rage still made for good drama.
More than anything, it reminded me of "Big Love." There are a lot of similarities -- both shows are about families who have escaped from a corrupt, cultish background that still has a hold on them, and who are trying to fit in with the "normal" community even though they know they'll always be different. But "The Riches," while good in its own way, doesn't have the complexity of "Big Love," so I hope over time it makes up for it by lightening up a little. (I'd like more scenes like the one in which they scammed the reunion, and not too many of Dahlia stumbling around on drugs.) In any case, it was a decent pilot, and I'm ready to watch more episodes.
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3-13-2007 @ 1:48AM
Anna said...
The Redneck Mafia made me laugh out loud. And the inbred guy whose sister wanted to marry him off to Dehliah - those scenes got me into the show right off the bat.
I'm pretty psyched for this show, especially after this episode. And now that the other show I watched at 10 pm on Mondays has broken my heart, I'll definitely be making room in my schedule. And to think I only found out about it this weekend!
I don't really have anything to say - Izzard had a horrible time with the accent, but I didn't care because I was into the show. And I like the kids, and that the family actually cares about each other. Sure, they're screwed up, but who isn't? This show has an interesting concept, and since I don't get HBO and can't watch "Big Love" - which I've seen this show compared to several times - I'll take this.
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3-13-2007 @ 1:58AM
jonathan said...
i was on and off on watching it, does anyone know of a place where you can watch it for free? legally? i know myspace has episodes of 24 and other fox stuff for free, i was hoping fx did as well?
thanks in advance!
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3-13-2007 @ 2:26AM
VSJ said...
I am really disappointed with the pilot episode of The Riches as I had expected the show to fun and cheeky, not a dark and serious disfunctional drama.
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3-13-2007 @ 3:29AM
Wendy said...
I am an old Eddy Izzard fan for the last 6 years! I just saw the pilot and fell in love all over again for differnt reasons. The love between him and Minnie Driver's charecter was exciting, Thanks, I will be watching.
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3-13-2007 @ 2:58PM
Wendy said...
I fell in love with Eddy all over again (we have had a 6 year one way relationship, my part being on a video tape all worn out in my VCR of "Dress to Kill") and with Minnie Driver in this roll. They are desperate! I DO understand this.. you have a spare room? and I won't write on the new walls.
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3-13-2007 @ 4:12AM
Diana said...
I believe it's Mitchum Huntzberger, not Mitchell.
I really didn't know what to think of The Riches. I thought the cough medicine addiction was corny but did enjoy the chemistry Izzard and Driver had. I don't think Izzard's accent is something I'll be able to ignore past this episode.
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3-13-2007 @ 7:26AM
edd said...
Download it off torrents
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3-13-2007 @ 7:38AM
Bill said...
My work computer is video-unfriendly, so I don't know if it still works, but prior to the pilot airing, the link from this tvsquad post had the pilot (free and legal):
http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/03/10/the-riches-pilot-available-online/
As for the show, I thought it was mostly setup. I was drawn in in the sense that I'm interested to see what happens next, but I can't say that the episode itself was particularly entertaining. I'm definitely in for the next few episodes, but it'll have to do something soon to keep me hooked beyond that.
http://popculturejunk.blogspot.com/
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3-13-2007 @ 8:46AM
Joel Keller said...
Diana, you're right. I thought I had typed "Mitchum," but there it was in plain type as "Mitchell." That's what happens to my brain late at night. I fixed it.
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3-13-2007 @ 8:49AM
RSL said...
@ Joel: I really enjoyed the show but I wanted to comment on "Like most FX shows, there's an overabundance of bad language" Have you talked to anyone outside your whitebread American cubicle world lately? We all use words like "shit" and "damn" all the [insert big boy expletive here] time. All too often, Hollywood makes the choice to "Christian up" the language of dialogue and it suffers. Cusswords are part of our rich linguistic heritage. Get the [bring that expletive on back] over it. ;)
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3-13-2007 @ 9:04AM
Joel Keller said...
RSL, I use that language all the time (read some of my reviews and other posts to get a taste). But sometimes I wonder if FX shows use the word "shit" so much just to point it out to people: "Look! We're saying shit! On basic cable!" It's one thing to use realistic language and another to swear for swearing's sake.
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3-13-2007 @ 10:14AM
Jameson said...
Joel, I couldn't agree less. I thought the pilot was meandering and - despite its edgy subject matter - rather bland. I kept expecting some real character moments to kick in at any moment. Maybe this will happen now that they've decided to stay in Edenfalls; it's certainly worth watching next week to find out. To me, the considerable talents of Izzard and Driver were woefully underused except for a few crucial moments. From the marketing, I expected a sassier, wittier show. So far, they have failed to deliver.
Also, I thought Wayne Malloy sounded a lot like Eddie Izzard. Are we certain he's meant to be another southern "bumpkin"? I understood him to be an outsider from the region - as well as Dahlia's family - and assumed he hailed from Britain just like Izzard.
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3-13-2007 @ 10:44AM
RSL said...
@ Joel: Point taken. I apparently misunderstood the tone of the sentence I was quoting. As a frequent dropper of the F-bomb myself, I find it annoying and unrealistic when people _don't_ use it on teevee.
I'm glad you didn't take my little diatribe too harshly either. I was hoping that little wink at the end might let you know I was speaking with good, if slightly bitchy, intentions.
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3-13-2007 @ 12:13PM
khamel said...
i thought it was a great episode.
but i think the only thing the girl knows is that her mom is a junkie. a family this close couldn't possibly have that big of a skeleton closet.
im not a fan of minnie driver or her accent so im going to have to see if i can get over my dislike for her and watch this show through. im sure it will get atleast a season if not more. the next bunch of episodes look a little more sitcomy bit with an edge (cliche, i know).
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3-13-2007 @ 2:14PM
drbob said...
I don't know how many of you "yankees' have ever been in the New Orleans, Baton Rouge, SE Louisiana area, but they have a very different accent in that part of the south. It can be mistaken for a New England accent, Emeril Lagasse. So, the heavy southern drawl is not the accent that would be dominant for Izzard to use.
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3-13-2007 @ 2:01PM
rvkey said...
I liked the show. And as you said I'm always expecting greatness from FX. I like all of the characters, but I couldn't get over two things: (1) Izzard's accent and (2) the size of that poor woman's head. I know it' been parodied before, maybe that's why I can't get that Famlily Guy image out of my head when I see her.
How do we know it is meth she's addicted to and not heroin? Did they mention it? And are there really such people as Irish Wanderers/Travelers?
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3-13-2007 @ 3:24PM
rvkey said...
drbob,
I'm from Louisiana and I completely understand what your saying. But I don't think he's trying to do a "Southern" accent. I think he's trying to do an American accent. It's the same one he used in his act "Dressed to Kill". IT works for short periods of time but he just can't seem to keep it going. I'm just gonna try to get over it because I think I'm gonna like this show. Don't know if I can get over Minni's mega head though. :)
Also, his youngest son is a "trahn-ves-tee ex-eck-oo-teev" (tranvesite executive). HA!
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3-13-2007 @ 3:43PM
Brian said...
Pretty good pilot, even after being annoyed and innundated with the ads for this show constantly on FX the last three months. I also am not a fan of Driver, but so far I like her in this role. She is the driving force in the show so far -- not Izzard. She has shown pain and depth that the other characters haven't been able to show yet.
The child actors look promising as well, and being con artist kids they will have the toughest time stopping their immoral ways to be "buffers". They grew up having stealing and crime be their way of life and it will interesting to see if they can just suddenly stop and stay out of trouble.
I will definitely tune in next week! I'll stick with this and see where it is headed. I agree that so far this show seems to have focused on its path, and usually that is a good sign of its writing abilities.
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