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Friday, April 2, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW
City Island
Will The Real Fake Mr. Brando Please Stand Up?


From left, clockwise: Steven Strait, Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Julianna Margulies, Ezra Miller and Andy Garcia in "City Island", which opened today in additional U.S. cities. 
Anchor Bay

By Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW  THE POPCORN REEL
Friday, April 2, 2010

Farcical and funny, "City Island" showcases a Ralph Kramden-like head of household  named Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) who has secrets to keep.  He's a prison guard on City Island, a suburban New York City enclave near The Bronx.  Vince moonlights as an aspiring actor.  He also shepherds one of his prisoners, Tony (Steven Strait) in and around his house.

As written by Raymond DeFelitta, "City Island" works very well to a point.  Its theatrical tempo would be best served on stage.  The actors wind up, rear back and let go, drawing in the audience for a thoroughly enjoyable ride.  For sure, this perky if predictable comedy has mileage.  That's thanks largely to the director's caustic, crakling dialogue and the talents of Mr. Garcia, whose Vince has his share of neuroses.  Mr. Garcia is great in a send-up of actors' anxieties and insecurities.  He parodies well with a sharply-rendered satirical take on the acting process and profession, in ways not entirely dissimilar from the way "The Player" took on the mores of Hollywood and writers.

Mr. DeFelitta crafts a hilarious and busy film in which some characters get to do things that are integral to his story, while other characters are ancillary to it.  There's the big mistake of a subplot involving an obese next-door neighbor that is purely gratuitous.  "City Island" remains great entertainment without it. 

Another irrelevance is Molly (Emily Mortimer, as an acting school colleague) -- a supportive student to Vince.  Ms. Mortimer exhibits a flightiness and an odd disconnection to the story that markedly alters the energy and tone of "City Island".  Conceit invades as "City Island" expects to conjure something between Vince and Molly, but a noticeable chemistry lacks.  The film prospers without their uninteresting engagements.  Molly's resolution in the story feels like an epilogue from another film.  It's unconvincing, forced into a film which neither needs nor benefits from it.

In "City Island" secrets don't only live with Vince.  Others in the Rizzo family have things to hide, including Vivian, an Amy Fisher look-a-like character (Dominik García-Lorido).  Julianna Margulies is fun to watch as Joyce, Vince's wife.  Ms. Margulies, star of the CBS-TV drama "The Good Wife", throws a knowing spitball at her television character with her big screen role in Mr. DeFelitta's comedy.  It's a completely different turn altogether.


With: Ezra Miller, Alan Arkin, Jee Young Han, Sharon Angela.

"City Island" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association of America for sexual content, smoking and language.  The film's running time is one hour and 40 minutes.

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Read more movie reviews and stories from Omar here.

Read Omar's "Far-Flung Correspondent" reports for America's pre-eminent Film Critic Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times - here



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