An Island Worth Traveling To

“City Island” captures life on the outskirts of the city magically, with authentic accents, gorgeous scenery and local jargon. The snowball effect of the little white lie makes this movie unique by giving every character deceptions and secrets as fuel for the climax. The humor will keep the audience laughing long enough to get a good ab workout, and the storyline is solid.

This family comedy hits every aspect of a lie, so to say that the movie wasn’t fantastic would be lying. This movie lives among the elite underground independents due to its realism, devastating truths and excellent performances.

Vince Rizzo (Andy Garcia) lies to his wife by telling her he’s going to poker games, when in actuality he takes acting classes. He lies to his ex-convict son by never telling him that he’s his father. His daughter is a liar because she’s supposed to be on vacation from school for spring break, when really she’s a stripper in her spare time. Ezra Miller, who plays the youngest son, keeps his sexual satisfaction a secret. Even the supporting characters such as Alan Arkin and Emily Mortimer have hidden agendas that are bound to explode.

The cast was excellent, and all of the actors fit their characters to perfection. Vinnie is the head of the household, being a man’s man and a woman’s headache. Julianna Margulies does a wonderful job as his wife Joyce, who comes across as every man’s migraine.

Ezra Miller shows great skill as Vinnie Jr., the youngest son with a freaky food fetish that would cause any parent heart problems. Dominik Garcia-Lorido stands out not because she is Andy’s daughter both in the movie and in real life, but because she covered her lead as a young lady with the dirty-dancing daughter disorder gracefully. Ironically, the only family member that wouldn’t require others to take medication is the ex-con played by Steven Strait, who moves in with this riotous clan.

Emily Mortimer plays Rizzo’s colleague in acting class and was a downer in “City Island,” but that was due to the script and not her faults as an actress. Her appearances were the boring parts of the film from beginning to end. It may seem cynical, but the only humorous scene with her in it is when she runs away. Every scene was important, but there were quite a few dry spots.

Arkin was brilliant as usual in his rendition of Rizzo’s acting instructor. He brings an essential balance in the movie between inner-city and outskirt living. He reaches outside of the normal routine of grandpa grump as played in “Sunshine Cleaning” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” and instead pursues a new style as a frustrated teacher. Arkin doesn’t appear much in the film, but he sets the precedence for the entire movie in this important, elusive role.

“City Island” will be a career builder and important roust to the résumé for most of the lead actors. Garcia needed no such boost, but his daughter,  got the break by proving her talents with or without being daddy’s little girl. She’s got promise and oomph as an actress. Miller has certainly secured a future in showbiz with his comical impressions and hilarious facial expressions. His attitude and excellent performance enhanced the quality of the script, which really didn’t need much help.

The music matched every scene, and the timing of the soundtrack was exact. The songs were well-picked and twinned the action. The rhythm of life, the mental piano, the jukebox of genre made movie score all As.

Even though the climax to ”City Island” was obvious from the beginning, but was still a pleasant surprise with a well-written plot that made keeping a straight face utterly impossible. This film has a combination of solid scripting and talented actors good enough to give each character life. Though some parts may have been yawn-inducing, it was also completely necessary in order to tie every lie to the plot twist at the end, which provokes laughing, crying, confusion and excitement within a two-minute span.