Erik Stuborn
Well, well, in this movie are so many coincidences meeting together to be credible, but apparently is one of those movies that Americans love (just look at that score on IMDb, which seems a bit undeserved).***BIG spoiler***A dysfunctional family —that really is not so— in the midst of a lot of happy coincidences that lead them to... well, to the usual place. Four members family, boy, girl, mom, dad; beautiful (and kind of exotic) urban landscape, nice house, everything seems to be wrong but —don't worry, because, as you expected...— it will be fixed, magically.***END of the BIG spoiler***Sometimes wants to be a comedy, but I do not laugh at all, sometimes intended to have the realistic touch of family drama, but fails.To spend an hour and a half lightly, after suspension of disbelief.
SnoopyStyle
The Rizzos family lives on City Island, in the Bronx. The people on the island are divided into the mussel suckers who comes from somewhere else and clam diggers who are born and bred on the island. Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) is a clam digger, a prison guard, and the father of the dysfunctional family full of secrets. He discovers that prison inmate Tony Nardella (Steven Strait) is actually his illegitimate son. His younger son Vinnie (Ezra Miller) has a fetish feeding fat girls. His daughter Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) is secretly stripping after getting suspended from college. His wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies) is afraid that their marriage is growing cold. He's actually spending time at an acting workshop taught by Michael Malakov (Alan Arkin). He begins a friendship with fellow acting student Molly (Emily Mortimer). He decides to take Tony on for the next 30 days to build a bathroom in his home.This is an indie about a combative secretive family. It's not really breaking new grounds. It's not that bad either. The actors are generally good. There are a few fun quirky moments. Although I hoped for more. The movie opens with a big production of this unique and special place called City Island. The problem is that I don't see the uniqueness. It would probably help to have relatives other than the immediate family. The movie claims that Vince is born and bred there. It would give the community more of a close-knit feel if he has various wacky relatives on the island.
Bene Cumb
It is nice when events and persons depicted are not bluntly nice and exemplary, but realistic even at the expense of some exaggeration. I mean, such people do exists, perhaps they do not belong into one family... Nevertheless, witty screenplay and great (Andy Garcia as Vince Rizzo, Emily Mortimer as Molly Charlesworth, Ezra Miller as Vincent "Vinnie" Rizzo, Jr.) and good (Julianna Margulies as Joyce Rizzo Steven Strait as Tony Nardella, Dominik Garcia-Lorido as Vivian Rizzo Alan Arkin as Michael Malakov etc) performances make this comedy drama interesting to follow and with frequent giggling. The Bronx's City Island, where the movie is set, has a kind of supporting part itself, but the name as title is not very inviting as does not even hint about what to expect - especially for non-US viewers. In my opinion, the movie deserves more praise and attention it has obtained so far.A good viewing experience - next to Hesher that I saw recently. Both well recommended!
Chris L
City Island is a relatively paradoxical movie.The comedy aspect is enjoyable with flying dialogues, good quid pro quos and pretty funny scenes. But the drama aspect is bland and unfolds badly. This part could have used a stronger development to make it more interesting, and this would have made a great comedy-drama mix. The sincerity that emerges from the script is touching though. The movie is dynamic and not lengthy at all.Nothing to complain about the actors, their performances were pretty good overall, special mention to Andy Garcia.The direction wasn't particularly extraordinary but has no big flaw.
AD
