Meet the Rizzos

"City Island" is set in City Island, a small fishing community of the Bronx, New York. Generally, in these small communities, everyone knows all your secrets. But this film is centered on the Rizzo family, who all have their own secrets. These secrets don't so much tear them apart but keep them angry and on edge. The good thing is, it's not nearly as dark as it sounds, it's a comedy too.

Overall, this film is well done. Great writing, and great casting. Andy Garcia is masterful as Vincent Russo, Emily Mortimer is charming as his fellow actor, Steven Strait is enigmatic as the prison inmate brought home to his family, Dominik Garcia-Lorido is captivating as his daughter, Julianna Margulies is forceful as his maligned wife, and young Ezra Miller, his son, delivered his comedic lines with a seasoned ascorbic tongue.

It definitely fits into the dysfunctional family dramedy genre. The comedy at times is non sequitur and is too weird to be funny, but when it's sweet and honest, it's quite cute. "City Island" is good, above average for it's genre, but you have to be able to withstand family arguments in the Bronx accent to be able to make it through.

Plotted somewhat like a farce but as emotionally resonate as the best comedy-dramas, City Island is most aptly described, simply and literally, as wonderful. The cast is unfailingly strong with producer Andy Garcia giving himself the meatiest role – to great effect. A few too many "dems" and "dose" may lace his New York accent but he is funny, sincere, frustrated and perseverant in a wide panoply of scenes with actors who have either been TV-type cast (Juliana Margulies), indie-film type cast (Emily Mortimer) or not yet had a real chance to really strut their stuff (Steven Straight, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, and a promising Ezra Miller). Alan Arkin pops in with his usual world-weary Weltanshauung but it plays wonderfully here.

Still, you can see good acting in a number of films (though not an ensemble as strong as this). What separates City Island from the comedy-drama mainland is a story that is both fantastical and yet credible. The premise of what befalls this particular prison guard is a little over-the-top, as are the nonstop (funny) family feuds, but it all feels real. The story detours into little tide pools of drama for each character and here, too, every subplot provides laughs – and it all comes together in a tsunami of comedy at the end, true to its farcical roots. But there's a surprisingly strong current of emotion too in a finale that argues secrets are probably best revealed when you feel least safe in doing so.

The best film I've seen to date this year.

It's always a pleasure to see great actors doing their stuff, even if the vehicle leaves something to be desired. Andy Garcia and Julianna Margulies put their heart and soul into this project, with pretty convincing Bronx accents and characters. Those of you who find the constant screaming unrealistic - you don't know too many families from the boroughs. The plot was funny and moving, although you could see most of the punchlines and dramatic moments coming from a mile away. What really bugged me was the degeneration of the movie into the most obvious, predictable, sappy shtick during the last 20 minutes. That part was apparently written as a play rather than a film. It was calculated to evoke a strong audience reaction, and it worked, judging from the people around me in the theater. It would have been more appropriate for a crowd-pleasing scene in a Broadway comedy. OK for that kind of thing, but it was a jarring jolt from interesting to tedious for me.

Well, you maybe won't believe that this movie really IS brilliant if you are only 30 minutes or so in. At least I didn't.

I actually got bored by the multiple - but at first not very promising - story lines going on. But I like Andy Garcia, I like Emily Mortimer and after all it had a very high rating here.

It got better though, and in the last 30 minutes or so, when everything started coming together, I watched almost with my mouth open and sometimes I had to laugh really hard.

And while Andy Garcia is a pretty good actor in general ... BOY is he good in this one !! I predict an Oscar nomination for him this year, no I am SURE he will get nominated for this role!

So, all I am saying is: Just give it a chance and sit through it. You won't regret it and you will end up LOVING it !!!

We stumbled upon this title via Prime and what an incredible surprise. Quirky story, great acting across the board A group of damaged, lying, dysfunctional folks who each have a hidden secret, suspicions, and in the end, all really love each other, or learn to. Just a treat. WATCH IT!