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City Island is popping up at film festivals all over the country and if you are lucky enough to have a theater in your area that runs indie-art-house flicks then keep your eye out for this one. In this age of explosions and agenda driven dramas it is nice to find a quirky comedy that shines a spot light on the American family unit in all its dysfunctional glory. We all have our issues but sometimes when we see them on a grandiose scale it makes them easier to face and to talk about. 
 
Vince (Andy Garcia) and Joyce (Julianna Margulies) Rizzo are a married couple with two kids living the blue collar life in a small community at the edge of New York City. They have a daughter in college and a teenaged son trying to come to terms with his own hormonal issues. The problem is that they never talk to each other. Sure there is a lot of yelling and condescension but they are each living separate lives; fearful of sharing any of their faults, dreams, or concerns with one another. This all leads to funny but realistic moments of deception, assumptions and chaos. 
 
This film is wonderfully written with a pace that fits perfect with the working family. As you watch Vince and Joyce go about their day to day lives you can see that they genuinely love each other but along the way they have forgotten what it means to trust. You automatically engage with them and want to see them work out their issues. Both Garcia and Margulies give A-1 performances and you immediately separate them from their past roles and believe them fully as this bickering Bronx couple. 
 
The supporting cast also lends nicely to this film with genuine style. Emily Mortimer plays Molly; a friend of Vince’s and someone that he can share things with. Mortimer is always grounded and pure in the characters she plays; an attribute that mixes well here. Most of the comedy comes from Ezra Miller who plays Vince Jr. He is sharp and even though his character is given some very strange habits he seems comfortable and at ease. Steven Strait rounds out the cast as the hunky parolee that Vince offers a place to stay. The irony that the ex-con is the only stable one in the mix adds to the humor of the casting. 
 
City Island is rated PG-13 for sexual content, smoking and language. Due to some of the content and sexual themes involving Vince Jr, I would say that most parents would be more comfortable allowing their 16 and up teens to see this. Plus it is more geared for the married folks who like to see other couples who go through the same issues they do. It is refreshing and makes the humor more relatable. I give it 4 out of 5 casting calls. Wonderfully written and beautifully delivered, it was truly a film worth seeing. So says Matt Mungle. 
 
 
Matt Mungle

 
Review copyright 2010 Mungleshow Productions. Used by Permission.