There's a lot of drams that are made to be "award bait". Which means, it will get a lot of nominations, which will increase it's visibility and make money. But, there are a lot of movies made for that reason, that don't come out right and end up getting no awards and making no money. "Welcome to the Rileys" is one of those flicks. It stars James Gandolfini and Melissa Leo as a middle aged married couple who have grown apart. Doug(Gandolfini) has a business trip to New Orleans, and while there he meets a 17 year old stripper(Kristen Stewart). He doesn't want a relationship with her or sex, he just wants to help her the way a father would help a daughter. Lois(Leo) is agoraphobic but finds the will to come to New Orleans to be with Doug. From there conflicts with Stewart and some secrets come out. The performances are all just ok. Gandolfini is the best, but he just seems to be going through the motions. Stewart does the exact same thing here as all her movies. Lip biting, playing with her hair, and pouting. She has that all down pat. The movie drags and doesn't really give much of a conclusion. Worth a watch? I a copy for free, and I'd say that would be the only reason to watch it. I'm sure there are some people who like this, but it didn't work for me at all really.

A middle-aged man, still mourning the death of his daughter, flees his Indiana life to care for a damaged young prostitute. I'm sorry to say this, but I can't think of a better way to evaluate Kristen Stewart: she just shouldn't act; she should wait tables or answer phones in an office. When she plays Bella or Snow White, I complain that her face is dead and that there's no energy behind her acting. Now, she plays a manic prostitute, a character who requires energy and life, but she's just horrid. I agree with Super Reviewer Alice Shen who says, "her speech, especially the cursing is pretty self-conscious. She only half-says 'cooter,' 'pussy,' 'fuck.'" Absolutely. And this self-consciousness permeates the rest of Stewart's performance. The film is saved by James Gandolfini who gives one of the best performances of his career. His vulnerability is a trait Stewart could learn from. He creates a real, touching character, and it's a joy to watch Melissa Leo, who is also quite good, play off Gandolfini. I like the story as well. It's not the tired "man saved by a good woman" trope that was overplayed long before I was born; rather, it's a man trying to save a bad woman in order to save himself. The film portrays middle-class America as both a hell from which Doug can't escape, but it's also what he tries to recreate with Mallory; I think many people who live in suburbia can identify with that contradiction. Overall, I hope that someone can stop Kristen Stewart from making movies, but this film was nevertheless worth making.