Click Here For Our Interview with Andy Garcia

When I review a film that I’ve enjoyed, I try not to heap too much praise on it for fear of alienating my audience and forcing them into the exact opposite reaction that I had. If you tell them you love it and it’s perfect they aren’t going to believe you; so you have to down play how much pleasure you get from certain films.

Well, that’s not going to happen here because I loved this movie! I enjoyed this film so much I went to two press screenings of it and will probably go see it again while it’s in theaters. It’s an incredibly heartfelt hysterical comedy about a dysfunctional family that is so off the wall they end up being completely representative of families everywhere; especially mine.

Andy Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, a proud City Island native and head of the Rizzo clan. He’s a correctional officer who has secret aspirations to be an actor; just like his idol, Marlon Brando. While the rest of the members of the Rizzo family are all very different from him they do all share one thing in common with their father, secrets. Everyone is hiding something for one reason or another. The beauty of this movie is seeing how those secrets affect their lives and how diligently they try to keep them from each other. The final climactic scene is nothing short of brilliant as it plays with a huge amount of humor but also has an undercurrent of deep emotion that makes the entire film come together. By the end, the audience cares so much about these people that it goes from funny to down right hysterical.

You couldn’t ask for a better, more believable cast than what’s been assembled here in City Island. Julianna Margulies is perfect as the under appreciated wife and mother whose suspicions get the better of her leading to some interesting choices that reach almost ‘Greek’ proportions. Dominik Garcia-Lorido (real life daughter of Andy Garcia) is of course convincing as Vince’s daughter but beyond that she fits the setting so well that you truly believe the entire cast is actually family. Her chemistry with wise cracking little brother Vinnie Jr. played by up and comer Ezra Miller is spot on; even though his cutting remarks were painfully funny, she played it exactly the way an older sister would, by showing complete and utter pure annoyance. Ezra never shied away from letting lose with adlibbing lines which helped in bringing a real authenticity to his scenes particularly the epic dinner scenes that have to be seen in their entirety to be fully appreciated.

Then we have the one outsider of the group, the man who found prison less confusing and more stable than life in the Rizzo house, Tony Nardella played by Steven

Strait. I’ve never been able to say enough nice things about this guy. From the first time I saw him on screen I knew he had the presence and the acting chops to become super successful in this business and City Island once again drives that point home. His comic timing is dead on and unlike a lot of the attractive young actors working today, when he’s in a scene with someone else he’s actually listening to them. It’s never all about him and that comes through on screen. This is a great feather in his cap and will undoubtedly lead to more and more quality work from the adorable Mr. Strait.

Now sadly, the only time that the movie loses steam is when we are removed from the family and go into the city to Emily Mortimer‘s character. She’s a wonderful actress and does a great job, but the truth is I never wanted to be away from the Rizzo’s. Each of them has their side stories but none overshadows any of the others with the exception of this one. When we leave City Island and the scenes are just Andy and Emily that spark of reality is slightly lost. I found myself always wanting to go back to the family. So, if the only negative I can find in the film is that I wanted more of the main cast, then I think that’s a good sign.

City Island was an independently produced film that thankfully was picked up by a great studio (Overture Films) at last years Tribeca Film Festival and because of their dedication and belief in it, it’s getting its due release. You have to see this film in order to truly appreciate it. You will be under-whelmed by any trailers or scenes that you come across online and any review (including this one) will fail to do it justice, so you really just have to go out and see it in theaters!

If you don’t enjoy this one, then there’s something wrong with your brain.

Movie Grade: A-

Synopsis:

When prison guard and aspiring actor, Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) is asked to reveal his biggest secret during his drama class, he inadvertently sets off a chain of events that turns his mundane suburban life into total chaos. Vince takes great pains covering up his half-truths from his family, but soon it becomes clear that everyone — his hot-tempered wife (Julianna Margulies), college student daughter (Dominik Garcia-Lorido), long-lost ex-con son (Steven Strait), charismatic acting partner (Emily Mortimer) and even his drama coach (Alan Arkin) — all have secrets of their own. Everyone’s furtive deceptions collide with hilarious results. Set on City Island, a quaint fishing community on the outskirts of the Bronx, this smart and charming comedy explores the absurd secrets and vices people choose to keep from their loved ones…and the realization that the

truth is easier to cope with than well-intentioned white lies.

City Island is a funny and touching family tale about the secrets of the past catching up with the lies of the present, and accepting that nobody’s perfect – least of all your loved ones.