Visitors Review

(2012-05-25 19:16)

4.5 stars. Somewhat preposterous plot, but a heart of gold and VERY well acted.

Compelling new releases have been somewhat hard to come by at the Multiplex lately, so out of mild desperation for entertainment more than anything, my wife and I went to see CITY ISLAND. What a wonderful treat this movie is! It's so full of heart and messages of affirmation that we immediately told others about it. If by some chance it drifts into a theater near you...check it out.CITY ISLAND introduces us to the Rizzo family. Father Vince (Andy Garcia) is a prison guard. His wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies) is an office manager. They have two teenage kids, college student Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorida) and high schooler Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller). They live on the amazing City Island, a place I've never heard of (but I came home and found it on a map of the NYC area.) It's an island just off the "coast" of the Bronx...a sort of fishing village in the middle of a major metropolitan area. The Rizzo's are solidly middle class, but because their family has owned this house for 3 generations, they live right on a beach with a view of the city! The island is truly a character in the film, and one day, I'd love to drive through it.Each Rizzo has a secret. Vivian has lost her scholarship and rather than tell her parents, she's working a pole dancer to earn money to pay for her own return to school. Junior is a super-smart kid (he's like the precocious son on UNITED STATES OF TARA) with a fetish for feeding huge quantities of food to very large women. Wife Joyce is mostly just unhappy, because she feels distant from her husband. That distance is no doubt created by Vince's big secret. He tells his wife he's going to "poker games" when in fact, he's going into the city to take acting lessons. He feels deep shame over this secret desire, and of course, his wife picks up those vibes and assumes Vince is actually having an affair. And he only spills his secrets to a classmate (Emily Mortimer), a lovely, wacky, fragile Englishwoman with secrets of her own. The two of them are drawn together deeply, but not as lovers but as co-conspirators and as two individuals deeply drawn to acting.This would all be complicated enough...but Vince has another secret that comes home to roost. Decades before, even before he'd met Joyce, he had a child out of wedlock and abandoned the mother and child. Then one day, his now grown son ends up as an inmate at the prison. Vince offers to take this stranger Tony (Steven Strait) out of prison to live with him at his home, because the only thing keeping Tony in jail was the lack of anyone willing to vouch for him. But Vince is so secretive, he tells NO ONE (except Emily Mortimer) that Tony is his son. Naturally Vince's family wonders just what the heck has gotten into Vince...bringing this strange ex-con to live in their home.You might gather just from the paragraph above that CITY ISLAND relies on coincidence. It is, in fact, packed with coincidence...and I've heard other say that the plot resembles a Greek tragedy in its entanglements and coincidences. HUGE, massive misunderstandings and hurt feelings ensue.But the film has a splendid, optimistic heart. We root for ALL the characters in the film, big and small. Each person has traits that drive the viewer crazy, but each has a warm center and generally good intentions. The plot may be lacking in credibility, but it is so skillfully written and so earnestly performed that we joyfully cast aside objections to the ludicrous proceedings and just kick back and enjoy. EVERYONE in the film is good, but I must give special mention to Steven Strait (sadly, known to me only from 10,000 BC) and Andy Garcia. Strait is perfect in this part. We see that he's not really a hardened criminal, but we also see the danger lurking. He's a gentle soul who has been badly mistreated for much of his life. Yet he is also very amusing as we watch him watching this dysfunctional family he has joined. And Garcia is one of the most winning "heroes" I've seen in awhile. He hides his secrets with no malice...he just assumes he'll be ridiculed for his acting. We can see how he has hidden his "real" self for so many years. And he plays perplexed very well indeed. (I'll also mention that Garcia is working with his own daughter on this film, playing his fictional daughter. It's nepotism...but she certainly is very fine in the role, and desired it.)There is an audition scene that is absolutely hilarious. It probably helps to have been an actor to truly appreciate it...but honestly, I can't imagine anyone not laughing outloud and strongly rooting for poor Vince during this scene. I'd almost say the movie is worth seeing just for that...but fortunately, it's worth seeing for everything else as well.Overlook the preposterous plot and enjoy the warm characters and lovely scenery of CITY ISLAND.

Adrien Rain (2012-05-24 20:03)

Purpose of Ezra Miller's Character (Vince Jr)

Wonderful movie. You laugh easily!But The only thing i wonder is what the purpose of Ezra Miller'scharacter, Vince Jr, was. I mean, the father, the mother and thedaughter had their secrets revealed in a very awkward and funny moment.The son's didn't exploded. In my opinion, the director & writer alreadyhad his movie without him.That's why i'll not give him a straight A. But 8 out of 10 is alreadygood, isn't it?Anyway, it's a good comedy. I strongly recommend y'all to see it, yousure at hell will not regret.

chicagopoetry (2012-05-22 04:48)

Andy Garcia Triumphs

Honestly, I'm not a huge Andy Garcia fan. Some of his personal rightwing political statements have turned me off and I usually find AndyGarcia (as an actor) playing Andy Garcia. But in City Island, wow. Iguess this is what you would call a command performance. He's extremelybelievable and lovable as a sort of dim-witted (in a Rocky Balboa sortof way) prison guard who secretly takes acting classes and develops afriendship with a young woman while also adopting a convicted felon whojust so happens to be his secret long lost son, while trying to keepall of these life's complications from his tough Bronx wife. Thesub-plots involving his daughter being a stripper and his son having afetish for overweight women are admittedly a little bizarre, but AndyGarcia's performance as the gentle soul just trying to do right in theworld keeps this WoodyAllenesque soap opera entertaining as all hell. Ithink this is the only Andy Garcia movie that I ever really liked, andI have to admit it even brought a tear to my eye. I don't know if CityIsland will ever get the credit it deserves, but in my opinion AndyGarcia's performance in City Island is the stuff that Oscars are madeof.

hurstlacey (2012-05-21 19:21)

Worth the price of admission for the audition scene alone

I heartily agree with all the positive comments about the writing andacting, but have to mention the audition scene (with "Martin Scorsese'scasting director") that Andy Garcia plays. It is brilliantly acted andwritten, a must to see for any actor or anyone who loves good acting.There are many wonderful scenes in this film, but this one stands outfor me and I will be thinking of it for days to come. Andy Garcia givesthe performance of a lifetime in this role, and I hope this movie takesoff this summer and becomes one of those sleeper comedies. Everyone inthe theater was howling with laughter in nearly every scene. Make apoint of going, and go with family!

Douglas Young (2012-05-20 02:43)

A dysfunctional family living in the Bronx's City Island

(Synopsis) Meet the Rizzo family, a dysfunctional family living in theBronx's City Island of New York. Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) is acorrectional officer who has a secret dream of becoming an actor. Vincehas kept this secret from his good wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies),for many years telling her a lie that he is off to another poker game,but she imagines that he is really having an affair. Joyce has not beenintimate with her husband for over a year, and it is no surprise thatshe thinks Vince is having an affair. Their daughter Vivian (DominikGarcia-Lorido) lost her college scholarship and has not told herparents. She is secretly working as a stripper and saving money to getback into college before they find out. Their teenage son Vince Jr.(Ezra Miller) also has a secret of having an online fetish for watchingplus-sized women. The Rizzo family's inability to listen andcommunicate with each other will lead to a dire misunderstanding.(My Comment) "City Island" is funny, poignant, and an emotional comedythat shows what can happen in life when you keep secrets, tell lies,and don't communicate with your loved ones. In the first 30 minutes, Iwasn't very sure that the movie was going anywhere, because all thefamily characters were a little weird. It got much better and by theend everything came together. The characters may have been odd, butthey were amusing and lovable. Andy Garcia was brilliant at playing thefather and want-to-be thespian. He was also the producer, and he casthis real-life daughter to play his daughter Vivian in the movie. Thisfamily story twists and turns, which in the end prove that secrets ofthe past will catch up with you in the present. I don't know when or ifthe movie will get a wide release, because it is a low budget film, butif you get a chance, go see it. "City Island" is the sleeper movie ofthe year. (Anchor Bay Films, Run Time 1:40, Rated PG-13) (8/10)

MLDinTN (2012-05-19 05:45)

a family with secrets, nothing distinguishable

I've seen several films about dysfunctional families with secrets andthis movie offers nothing new to the mix. It stars Andy Garcia, asprison guard Vince, whom is secretly taking acting classes. Him and hiswife seem to argue a lot. His son't secret is that he likes fat womenand watching them eat. That was the best part of the film because it isso quirky, the only laughs of the movie. His daughter has been kickedout of college and is working as a stripper to earn enough money to goback to school. Then there is Vince's secret son, a prisoner he bailsout. He brings the son, Tony, home and employs him to build a bathroom.So as you can see, there's a lot of secrets, but it's nothing new orgreat.FINAL VERDICT: It was OK, but I don't think I'll recommend it, too manyother movies out there.

(2012-05-14 21:49)

Just plain fun

If you haven't seen much of Andy Garcia's work (which I hadn't) "City Island" is a film for you. He is terrific as Vince Rizzo (a corrections officer, not a prison guard...please!) whose secret passion for acting coupled with a chance meeting with an inmate brings a cast of characters together that weren't necessarily out of central casting. The Rizzo family fights, makes up, fights again and all of this is made possible by Garcia and a first-rate supporting cast. The fact that Vince's teenage son has a passion for ultra fat New York women adds to the dysfunctional wonderment of the Rizzo family."City Island" was recommended to me by a friend and it turned out even more loveable than I had anticipated. I highly recommend this film for its true emotional delivery and terrific performances by its cast members.

FilmRap (2012-05-14 03:22)

Extremely well done with a palette of emotions from laughter to tears

It would not surprise us, if a year from now, Andy Garcia and JuliannaMargulies are up for leading actor and supporting actress awards alongwith Raymond De Felitta for this screenplay which he directed and maybeeven with the picture itself being nominated for one of those shinnytrophies. We are presented with what seems to be a light- hearted storyabout a working class somewhat quirky family living on City Islandwhich is actually part of the Bronx in New York City. Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia ) and his family live in the house his grandfather builtand he works in a Westchester Prison as a corrections officer. JuliannaMargulies plays his wife Joyce Rizzo, with a perfect Bronx accent andattitude in stark contrast to the radiant, cool and collected "GoodWife" whom you may have seen her in the television series of that name.They have two children, a daughter who is supposed to be away atcollege but ends up pole dancing in a club, played very well by AndyGarcia's real life daughter actress Dominik Garcia-Lorido and a son(Ezra Miller ) who has an appetite for things on the large side. Thebiggest hidden secret comes from the Garcia character who has a side tohim which gives this veteran actor an opportunity to show the fullspectrum of emotion from anger to tenderness. His character as do theothers show growth and change as well as revealing their innerfeelings. Alan Arkin plays a character that he knows as well as anyonecould and not surprisingly nails that role. There is a measured,exaggerated quality to all the people in the movie which allows somegood comedic moments A climatic scene with the entire family includingtwo additional characters played by Steven Strait and Emily Mortimerall interact for at least several minutes and is orchestrated extremelywell with a palette of emotions from laughter to tears which sums upthe experience we believe you will have with this outstanding movie.

drklabs (2012-05-14 04:30)

Delightfull Island !!!!!!!!!!

This is the kind of movie that will make you laugh and will make youcry, its a cascade of feelings, will make you have your sensations back,thank to the excellent cast(i couldn't imagine better cast for thiskind of movie all actors take 5/5 stars and i mean All),you don'teasily find movies on this days with so many actors playing in a movieand acting all of them excellent (all actors in the movie are for Oscarnomination they are really so believable that you will not understandif this is a movie or your neighbor family.Thanks also to the excellentdirection and to the refreshing story plot that it is not only good butamazing watch it with all friends family members etc and you wontregret you will end up applauding.Best entertaining movie i havewatched in many years i started to feel human again after watching itso human...Andy you are the last of the real actors i think, wish manyyounger actors got your talent but ... The kid in this movie has a lotof future guys at Hollywood don't waste his talent push him front.Toall crew of this movie ...thank you for giving us the pleasure to watchthis movie delight.

(2012-05-13 16:58)

City Island

This review is from: City Island (DVD) Excellent movie. Incredible ensemble performances, in particular from Andy Garcia. I highly recommend it.Loved the realistic storyline - great family story. The City Island scenery was great too.

Bret R (2012-05-13 21:30)

CGI-Less

It is very refreshing to go see a movie that is more about the story and acting than the over done visuals that are so common in movies today. There was no 3D either. What there was, was a great and entertaining, funny and overall enjoyable movie. We laughed ALOT during this movie and I can't wait for it to come out on DVD. I will have to own this one. I do have to mention, that I happened on this movie by accident. Lucky me.

stevengansrow (2012-05-13 09:44)

loved this movie!

i must say was surprised that the film was as good.as it was i love Andy Garcia i wont lie the main reason i went andwatched the movie was because of Steven strait. i love him id watch anymovie of his even if it bombed( he'so beautiful!!). but i was happy tosay that this movie was not the case loved every one and every min.thecast Dominik García-Lorido, Julianna Margulies, Emily Mortimer, EzraMillera did an amazing job kudos. this film might not be every one cupsof tea so i say just have an open mind and just go with it.by the wayjust got to mention Steven looks delicious I'm sorry i had to say it.but any way getting past the hotness the film is very good and maybe idon't know much about film but it had a little of everything. very funny and heart warming i tell you just give it a try you wont bedisappointed.

alsation72 (2012-05-12 03:32)

Tries way too hard to be 'quirky'

Its almost as though someone has tried to emulate all the facets of"The Royal Tenenbaums", but here the quirky characters are somehowstale and contrived.The story revolves around Andy Garcia's character, a prison guard and apretty awful human being. When he bangs into the back of a stationarycar he bullies the victim with no shame. In the past he had left awoman who was pregnant with his baby, and when this son turns up in hisprison the real drama starts.Although many people hail this film as some ingenious piece, it is waytoo saccharine and the coincidences far too unlikely. The son in thefamily, for example, has a fetish about obese women eating; and wow thewoman across the road just happens to web-cast herself on the internetdoing just that. The story unfolds with enough yelling to make Moonstruck seem sedatebut ultimately it comes across as a corny little outing. Don't botherwith it.

Hunt Bryston (2012-05-11 21:14)

Funny plot, great acting, marred by sappy shtick at the end

It's always a pleasure to see great actors doing their stuff, even ifthe vehicle leaves something to be desired. Andy Garcia and JuliannaMargulies put their heart and soul into this project, with prettyconvincing Bronx accents and characters. Those of you who find theconstant screaming unrealistic - you don't know too many families fromthe boroughs. The plot was funny and moving, although you could seemost of the punchlines and dramatic moments coming from a mile away.What really bugged me was the degeneration of the movie into the mostobvious, predictable, sappy shtick during the last 20 minutes. Thatpart was apparently written as a play rather than a film. It wascalculated to evoke a strong audience reaction, and it worked, judgingfrom the people around me in the theater. It would have been moreappropriate for a crowd-pleasing scene in a Broadway comedy. OK forthat kind of thing, but it was a jarring jolt from interesting totedious for me.

meeza (2012-05-10 18:44)

Island Deluxe!!!

This movie "City Island" will take any city by storm! Writer-DirectorRaymond De Fellita's engaging & entertainment gem has been transportedto my fantastical island of quality film-fare. Cuban-American thespianicon Andy Garcia stars as Vince Rizzo, a New York prison guard (I meancorrectional officer) who resides in a New York suburban island called…see movie title. Vince has always aspired to be an actor but he hasnever told his family of his "wanna-be" thespian affairs. JuliannaMargulies plays Vincent's "good wife" (just had to do it, it was toogood) Joyce; in reality Joyce is not too good and has smoking passionsof her own, but nevertheless she is the fervent mother of the Rizzoclan. Ezra Miller plays Vince Jr., the Rizzo teenage kid that has somehefty passions of his own that are unknown to his family. DominikGarcia-Lorido, Andy's real-life daughter, plays daughter Vivian; acollege student whose financial tuition difficulties have stripped herof all her money so she decides to be a stripper, of course notproviding that naked truth to her family. And then we get a strait manenter the picture, that would be in the form of Steven Strait whoportrays Tony Nardella, a convict prisoner who Vince takes under hiswing to the Rizzo residence because of a deep secret; to be strait withyou he just might be Vince's lovechild. Emily Mortimer plays Molly, alonely acting student who Vince befriends. And we even get another AlanArkin sighting in a dysfunctional family film, which is always awelcome. Arkin plays Vince & Molly's acting teacher. All this Rizzosecret madness is wrapped up into a convoluted, but yet, engagingnarrative that you will most certainly adore. All the performances arefirst-rate! But the acting-god father of the group is definitelyhighlighted by Andy Garcia's charismatic & whimsical starringperformance as Vince Rizzo. He belongs in Oscar Island at next year'sAcademy Awards with a Best Actor nomination. Marguiles was marvelous asJoyce, and Strait was straight as an arrow with his thespian work asTony. And of course, much felicidades goes out to Writer-DirectorRaymond De Fellita for his comedic-delicious functional script on adysfunctional New York family and his functional direction of theside-splitting narrative. So my friends, grab on to your cinematicpassport and get on that pleasurable movie cruise to "City Island".***** Excellent

(2012-05-10 05:45)

Secrets and Lies in the Bronx

A wonderfully offbeat comedy-drama, "City Island" (2009) features a memorable ensemble cast in top form. There are more genuine laughs than a slew of glorified Hollywood sitcoms. Kudos to writer-director Raymond De Felitta for this quirky look at familial dysfunction. Andy Garcia's audition scene is worth the price of admission.

(2012-05-05 15:49)

Funny and Surprising

It would be hard to imagine a more dysfunctional family. The husband (Vince) and wife (Joyce) have tired of each other, both hide their smoking from each other, and both seemingly are inevitably headed towards affairs. Meanwhile, Vince - a correctional officer, hides his lifelong interest in acting by claiming to be out playing poker. The daughter is supposedly away attending college on a scholarship - actually she was kicked out for having pot and has taken up stripping to earn money to return to work. The son is infatuated with very fat women, especially the lady across the street. Then Vince finds his abandoned son in jail, and takes him home on parole. It's a recipe for laughs and tension.

amc-38 (2012-05-04 18:38)

One of those "must see" films

I have been catching up on a lot of movies over the past year, thanksto Netflix streaming . . . and this film ranks among the best.Never mind some of the disdainful discussion about "feel good" films!Must great films leave viewers not feeling good?The greatness here is a captivating, entrancing, and beguilingwell-crafted and original story; terrific directing and editing;memorable performances; and an ability to stimulate in the viewer abroad range of emotions.The only problem is that the marketing and distribution of this filmdemonstrates extreme incompetency. If done competently, it could havebeen a box office hit, and Andy Garcia's performance would beremembered now--a half-year later in the awards season. Shame onTimeWarner!!!And shame on the awards paradigm where short-term memories and shortattention spans too often cannot deal with films that were releasedearlier that the last quarter of the year.

TruthSpeaks (2012-05-02 01:07)

Not Good Enough

Is this movie worth ten bucks? Is it worth driving to the theater andparking the car? Does it live up to the reviews quoted in the ad? No toall three.The principle problem is the writing, followed by the directing and anunconvincing performance by an acclaimed actor. Some of the charactersare hard to understand or like.The movie is about an Italian American family living on a river islandnear New York City. They live together on a small house lot butsupposedly know nothing about each other. That didn't seem likely. Thefather is a prison guard who secretly wants to be an actor. Even thoughthe character was played by Andy Garcia, an acclaimed actor, thiswasn't convincing they way it played out. It's hard to like thischaracter when he spends a lot of time having an emotional affair witha ditsy actress whose behavior doesn't make sense.Several leaden lines are repeated hypnotically through through themovie. The Andy Garcia says his character's name and that he is a"corrections officer" like it is supposed to be some kind of thing.Also something like, "every city needs and island, every person needs aplace for quiet contemplation" keeps getting repeated. It doesn't havethat much to do with this movie. Whoever wrote this isn't WilliamShakespeare.One good thing about the movie was its setting, City Island. A formerfishing village in the Bronx River, it looks like a New England fishingvillage surrounded by silver gray water and boats at anchor. Anotherbright spot is actor Steven Strait who played a long lost relative.He's handsome, charismatic, and a good actor.Overall, I'd wait until this movie comes on TV so you can Tivo it andskip the bad parts.

Jack Gattanella (2012-05-01 09:17)

a wacky comedy about an Italian family and their LIES! (in capital letters)

I wonder how many, if any, real Italian comedies writer/directorRaymond De Felitta has seen. I mean the ones where the characters areall very emotional, both in their anger, their fears, their sadness,their joy, and what they may hide or how they brag. City Islandreflects an Italian family, the Rizzos, who are functionallydysfunctional in a manner that doesn't lessen these people as actualpeople. True, each one is given something of a sitcom set-up or quirk(i.e. the daughter is part of the "stripper myth" that a girl can payher way through college after losing her scholarship by stripteasing;the son has a thing for fat girls, and the father is a secret actor inhis spare time). But everyone is well-rounded, we know that they aregood-hearted and care for one another, and laugh at how easily they'reable to go from 1 to 10 on the I'll-tear-your-head-off-for-saying-thatscale.The film works because it is, in part, genuinely funny. We see how thecharacters react when confronted with their hidden selves, or whatthey're hiding; a dinner table scene where Vince, who has brought homehis son, who is also an ex-con he has never seen until know, hides fromthe family he's his son and that he's an ex-con, while the daughterhides/becomes awkward when her skimpy top reveals something else aboutherself (watch that glance Vince has at her daughter's chest, it's abig laugh). Vince has the most to hide, for some good and silly reasons(he doesn't want to reveal his aspirations for acting, even when acheery British girl pushes him to audition for the latest DeNiro/Scorsese movie), but others have something to hide as well.Comparatively to daughter and mother, the son Tony's fetish of feedingas sexual contact is actually not that bad. It's funny to see hisfetish, but not in a mocking tone; De Felitta finds the human noteshere, the awkward realization a classmate of Tony's has when she seeshim with a hefty woman in a supermarket picking out food.The big question comes as to what Vince is really doing when he's goingout for his "Card" games (it's really an acting class, led by a veryamusing Alan Arkin who states simply "No pauses, no more pauses!"), andhow his wife, antsy and almost typical Italian housewife Joyce (veryfunny and sexy Julianna Marguiles) will react, especially with such ahot number as this mysterious guy supposedly helping Vince make a newtoilet in the backyard. De Felitta keeps the tension and humor risingin what is basically all in one day and night (though in the secondhalf of the film) and the acting and writing is splendid here. So thatby the time the big explosive climax on the sidewalk at night happens,we know everything will unravel, and it will be dramatic and hilarious,sometimes within the same sentence! It's rare to have that combinationbut this film has it.It also helps that Andy Garcia gives a surprising performance. He'soften seen in films as a tough guy or without much of a sense of humor(see him in the Oceans Eleven movies as the one character), but here heshows how real he can be as a father of a family with a lot of problemsand no real good reason why he can't just come out to say what he needsto, except of course for the truth being stranger than fiction. At thesame time that he can be level-headed and down to earth with EmilyMortimer's Molly (a breath of fresh air following a less thansatisfying turn in Harry Brown), Garcia leads the pack with the comedyin the film. When he goes into the audition and a) does a Marlon Brandoimitation that brings the house down, and b) makes up an "improv" as ifhe were acting tough in his prison guard position, we see in the rightrole Garcia can be one of the funniest actors out there.Another plus: City Island, it's one-mile stretch of land filled withpeople tagged as either muscle-suckers or clam diggers, looks greathere, if somewhat (though spot-on) a little suburban enclave. 7.5/10