City Island (2010) PG-13

Everyone has secrets in this silly, family drama set in City Island, NY. Unknown Writer/Director Raymond De Felitta finally has a feature film to be proud of. He was nominated for an Oscar way back in 1991 for a short film, and basically disappeared after that. This film stars the delightful Andy Garcia (Ocean's Eleven, Smokin' Aces) as Vince Rizzo, the father of two. His wife Joyce is played by television actress Julianna Margulies (ER, The Good Wife). Their kids, Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) and Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) are rebellious beyond belief. Dominik is Andy's daughter in real life, as well. Their family seems to have hit a bit of a snag.

Vince is a correctional officer at a local prison. A new inmate (Steven Strait) arrives, and he turns out to be Vince's son from a former girlfriend. He gets released and has nowhere to go, so Vince takes Tony (Strait) home to stay with the Rizzo's. Even Tony doesn't realize the truth yet. Joyce is extremely upset with the situation but eventually warms up to young Tony. We soon find out that everyone has a secret or two. Vince leaves at night to go play poker, but he's actually taking an acting class. Which he's very embarrassed about. Joyce believes he's sleeping around. Vivian is at home on spring break. Vince and Joyce think she's still a college student, but she's actually a stripper who was kicked out school. Vince Jr. is a young highschooler who has an awkward obsession with obese women. Vince, Joyce and Vince Jr. all smoke, but they keep it from each other. You get the picture here, they obviously don't trust each other.

Alan Arkin (Little Miss Sunshine, Get Smart) has a small role as Vince's acting coach who despises Marlon Brando. He teams up Vince with the beautiful Molly (Emily Mortimer) in class. They become friends and she's the first person he tells about his estranged son. She also has a deep, dark secret that she won't share with Vince. Things start to get a little hairy when shirtless, super-hunk Tony begins to woo the girls of the house. Meanwhile, Vince continues to pursue his acting dream and takes an audition in a phenomenal scene. Things begin to crumble at the Rizzo residence as the truth gets distorted. Will the whole truth come out, and will things get patched up? I'm don't want to ruin anything so I will leave it at that.

Garcia and Margulies are both at their very best, and the supporting characters are effective. There's really great chemistry between all the players. There's a hilarious dinner table scene and car accident to remember. The script is interesting and relatable. This film is funny, charming, deep, and silly simultaneously. This film can hit close to home because everyone has secrets. People bottle things up inside, and it ruins relationships and lives. It's a shame films like these get shunned at the box office, while people flock to see Vampires Suck and Charlie St. Cloud. I highly recommend this indie gem.
B

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Top Horror Films

Now on DVD

Top 25 Films of the 1990's