City Island is a nice little comedy about a crazy, stereotypical Italian family who live on City Island in the Bronx. Father Vince (Andy Garcia) is a prison guard who has a secret dream of becoming an actor. His loving wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies) is a very loving wife and a good partner for him. They have two kids, Vivian and Vince, Jr., who both can't wait to get away from their parents' house. She is supposed to be in college, but has dropped out and is now working as a stripper; he is a super arch and wise high school senior who is a screw-off and has a sex fetish for fat girls.
One day, when Vince is at work at the prison, he meets a new inmate who he realizes is Tony, his out-of-wedlock son from a previous relationship. He takes the young man in, under the pretense of rehabilitating him in his own house. From there Tony finds out about all the secrets that all the family members have.
This is a very nice and light story. The script by writer/director Raymond De Felitta is easy enough and rather elegantly reveals all the secrets of the family to Tony. He is a interesting cypher of a character - and not the typical con-cum-good-guy that we see so much in movies. He is a person that all the family members feel comfortable talking to, thinking he is far enough away from them that they can confide in him their stories.
The acting is nice throughout, though Garcia lays the eye-talian Bronx accent on a bit thick, I think. Young Ezra Miller as Vince, Jr. (who was previously the boyfriend of Hank's daughter on Californication) is very good, if a bit too wisely written. He seems a bit older than his age. I think this is a script problem more than an acting problem. His delivery is very good and well timed.
There is not a heck of a lot of depth here, however. I guess you could say it's about what keeps a family together (respect to not ask about secrets; the naive delusion that one's loved ones tell them everything), but that's a pretty tired idea, I think. This is a small picture and has a nice, sweet ending - but it is not much of a challenge.
Stars: 2 of 4
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