Friday, April 2, 2010
PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES
||HOME
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
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.
FOLLOW
THE POPCORN REEL
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
SUBSCRIBE TO THE POPCORN REEL MOVIE
REVIEWS RSS FEED
PHOTOS |
COMING SOON|
EXAMINER.COM FILM ARTICLES
||HOME