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City Island (film)
Encyclopedia
City Island is a 2009 American comedy-drama
film directed and written by Raymond De Felitta
and starring Andy García
, Julianna Margulies
and Alan Arkin
. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
in New York City on April 26, 2009. The title refers to the Bronx's
City Island, where the film is set.
, Vince Rizzo (Andy García
), a prison guard, is the father of a dysfunctional family whose members all have secrets. Vince discovers that his secret illegitimate son
is now the 24-year-old prison inmate Tony Nardella (Steven Strait
) who is being held in the same prison where he works. Without revealing this truth to his family, Vince consequently gets Tony out of prison and employs him as hired help at his own home in order to become closer with his unknowing son. Vince has also been secretly taking acting lessons, taught by Michael Malakov (Alan Arkin
), and begins to form a platonic bond
with Molly (Emily Mortimer
), another aspiring actor.
Meanwhile, Vince's 20-year-old daughter, Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido
, the real life daughter of Andy García, her onscreen father), has not told her family that she has been suspended from college, lost her scholarship, gotten breast implants, and has become a stripper to try and pay for her next semester; their youngest teenage child, Vinnie (Ezra Miller
), has a secret sexual fetish for feeding women, feederism, and fantasizes about their obese next-door neighbor; and Vince's wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies
), thinking she has lost all marital intimacy, sexually pursues Tony without realizing that he is her stepson.
Vince successfully auditions for a part in a Martin Scorsese
film, while his wife and Tony seek each other's sexual attention. Vince, Jr. befriends his obese neighbor, who helps to bring him closer to an overweight girl who he has been attracted to at school.
Tensions rise as the family's many dysfunctions come to a head. Tony, finally deciding to escape the insanity of the Rizzo household, steals their car only to find Vivian working at the strip club he visits. Just before the group is nearly torn apart in a violent outburst, Vince reveals the truth about everything, with Tony discovering in amazement that the dysfunctional family he sought to escape is actually his own. Vivian and the others admit their faults and Vince acknowledges the family's problems with the desire to work them out. The finally relieved group reunites in forgiveness toward one another, welcoming the overwhelmed Tony as a new member of their bizarre but loving family.
, with the consensus "Raymond De Felitta combines warmth, humanity, and a natural sense of humor, and is abetted by Andy Garcia and an excellent ensemble cast." On Metacritic
, which uses an average of the critics' reviews, the film has a 66/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
As for box office, the film was a minor success, grossing $6,671,036 domestically and $7,875,862 worldwide based on a $6 million budget.
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film directed and written by Raymond De Felitta
Raymond De Felitta
Raymond De Felitta is an American independent filmmaker, writer and musician from New York City.-Film career:De Felitta graduated from the American Film Institute's directing program, class of 1990. That same year he was nominated for an Academy Award for Live Action Short Film at the 63rd Academy...
and starring Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
, Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
and Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Film Festival is a film festival founded in 2002 by Jane Rosenthal, Robert De Niro and Craig Hatkoff in a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the consequent loss of vitality in the TriBeCa neighborhood in Lower Manhattan.The mission of the festival...
in New York City on April 26, 2009. The title refers to the Bronx's
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
City Island, where the film is set.
Plot
Living on City Island, in the BronxThe Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, Vince Rizzo (Andy García
Andy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
), a prison guard, is the father of a dysfunctional family whose members all have secrets. Vince discovers that his secret illegitimate son
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
is now the 24-year-old prison inmate Tony Nardella (Steven Strait
Steven Strait
Steven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
) who is being held in the same prison where he works. Without revealing this truth to his family, Vince consequently gets Tony out of prison and employs him as hired help at his own home in order to become closer with his unknowing son. Vince has also been secretly taking acting lessons, taught by Michael Malakov (Alan Arkin
Alan Arkin
Alan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
), and begins to form a platonic bond
Platonic love
Platonic love is a chaste and strong type of love that is non-sexual.-Amor Platonicus:The term amor platonicus was coined as early as the 15th century by the Florentine scholar Marsilio Ficino. Platonic love in this original sense of the term is examined in Plato's dialogue the Symposium, which has...
with Molly (Emily Mortimer
Emily Mortimer
Emily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
), another aspiring actor.
Meanwhile, Vince's 20-year-old daughter, Vivian (Dominik Garcia-Lorido
Dominik Garcia-Lorido
Dominik Cristina García-Lorido is an American actress known for playing roles in The Lost City as Mercedes Fellove and City Island as Vivian Rizzo who is the daughter of the character played by actor Andy García, also her real life father.-Early life:García-Lorido was born to Cuban-born American...
, the real life daughter of Andy García, her onscreen father), has not told her family that she has been suspended from college, lost her scholarship, gotten breast implants, and has become a stripper to try and pay for her next semester; their youngest teenage child, Vinnie (Ezra Miller
Ezra Miller
- Early life :Miller was born in New Jersey. His mother, Marta, is a modern dancer. His father, Robert S. Miller, was senior vice president and managing director of Walt Disney Company's adult book publishing division, Hyperion Books. He has two older sisters, Saiya and Caitlin.Miller was trained...
), has a secret sexual fetish for feeding women, feederism, and fantasizes about their obese next-door neighbor; and Vince's wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies
Julianna Margulies
Julianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
), thinking she has lost all marital intimacy, sexually pursues Tony without realizing that he is her stepson.
Vince successfully auditions for a part in a Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
film, while his wife and Tony seek each other's sexual attention. Vince, Jr. befriends his obese neighbor, who helps to bring him closer to an overweight girl who he has been attracted to at school.
Tensions rise as the family's many dysfunctions come to a head. Tony, finally deciding to escape the insanity of the Rizzo household, steals their car only to find Vivian working at the strip club he visits. Just before the group is nearly torn apart in a violent outburst, Vince reveals the truth about everything, with Tony discovering in amazement that the dysfunctional family he sought to escape is actually his own. Vivian and the others admit their faults and Vince acknowledges the family's problems with the desire to work them out. The finally relieved group reunites in forgiveness toward one another, welcoming the overwhelmed Tony as a new member of their bizarre but loving family.
Cast
- Andy GarcíaAndy GarcíaAndrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
as Vince Rizzo - Julianna MarguliesJulianna MarguliesJulianna Luisa Margulies is an American actress and producer.After several small television roles, Margulies achieved success in her regular role as Nurse Carol Hathaway on NBC's long-running medical drama ER, for which she won an Emmy Award...
as Joyce Rizzo - Steven StraitSteven StraitSteven Strait is an American actor, fashion model, and rock singer.-Early life and modeling:Strait was born and raised in Greenwich Village, New York City, New York. He is of Dutch and Italian heritage. He attended Xavier High School and took classes at the Stella Adler Studio of Acting...
as Tony Nardella - Emily MortimerEmily MortimerEmily Kathleen A. Mortimer is an English actress. She began performing on stage, and has since appeared in several film and television roles, including Scream 3, Match Point, Lars and the Real Girl, and Shutter Island....
as Molly Charlesworth - Ezra MillerEzra Miller- Early life :Miller was born in New Jersey. His mother, Marta, is a modern dancer. His father, Robert S. Miller, was senior vice president and managing director of Walt Disney Company's adult book publishing division, Hyperion Books. He has two older sisters, Saiya and Caitlin.Miller was trained...
as Vincent "Vinnie" Rizzo, Jr. - Dominik Garcia-LoridoDominik Garcia-LoridoDominik Cristina García-Lorido is an American actress known for playing roles in The Lost City as Mercedes Fellove and City Island as Vivian Rizzo who is the daughter of the character played by actor Andy García, also her real life father.-Early life:García-Lorido was born to Cuban-born American...
as Vivian Rizzo - Alan ArkinAlan ArkinAlan Wolf Arkin is an American actor, director, musician and singer. He is known for starring in such films as Wait Until Dark, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Catch-22, The In-Laws, Edward Scissorhands, Glengarry Glen Ross, Marley & Me, and...
as Michael Malakov - Carrie Baker Reynolds as Denise
- Hope Glendon-Ross as Cheryl
Reception
City Island received generally positive reviews, holding an 81% "fresh" rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, with the consensus "Raymond De Felitta combines warmth, humanity, and a natural sense of humor, and is abetted by Andy Garcia and an excellent ensemble cast." On Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which uses an average of the critics' reviews, the film has a 66/100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
As for box office, the film was a minor success, grossing $6,671,036 domestically and $7,875,862 worldwide based on a $6 million budget.