Dartherer I really don't get the hype.

Senteur As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Jenni Devyn Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Erik Stuborn Well, well, in this movie are so many coincidences meeting together to be credible, but apparently is one of those movies that Americans love (just look at that score on IMDb, which seems a bit undeserved).***BIG spoiler***A dysfunctional family —that really is not so— in the midst of a lot of happy coincidences that lead them to... well, to the usual place. Four members family, boy, girl, mom, dad; beautiful (and kind of exotic) urban landscape, nice house, everything seems to be wrong but —don't worry, because, as you expected...— it will be fixed, magically.***END of the BIG spoiler***Sometimes wants to be a comedy, but I do not laugh at all, sometimes intended to have the realistic touch of family drama, but fails.To spend an hour and a half lightly, after suspension of disbelief.

Suradit A great plot and story line with all the members of the Rizzo family harboring their little secrets from each other and coexisting in simmering contempt for one another largely because of their unwillingness to expose their vulnerabilities and secret lives.One of those secrets, in the person of Tony, an inmate at a prison facility where Vince works, is portrayed initially as somewhat of a loser with a chip on his shoulder. He could be released on conditional parole if he had some family member willing to take him in. It turns out that he is the son of Vince Rizzo, conceived in a fling with a woman many years ago. Vince abandoned the woman & child and his connection to Tony, his son, is not known to anyone but Vince. Vince decides to get Tony paroled into his custody and brings him home to his stunned family on the flimsy pretext that Tony can help him install a bathroom in an out-building.In many ways Tony appears to be the sanest member of the household. In time the family members either directly confess their little secrets to him or inadvertently expose them to him and he acts as a catalyst that eventually brings the family together, following often hilarious and/or touching, planned or inadvertent interactions.Probably the funniest situation involved Vince's son, Vince Jr, played by Ezra Miller. Vince Jr. was coping rather ineptly with a fairly uncommon fetish. Tony realizes the nature of Vince Jr.'s desire and non- judgmentally engineers its resolution. While all the actors handled their roles excellently, I felt that Steven Strait as Tony and Ezra Miller as Vince Jr. stole the show.My only complaint was that Vince's acting lessons and try-out for a part in a movie were dragged out longer than needed. Attending acting lessons, nervously joining the seemingly endless queue of other actors hoping for the part and his stilted, clumsy first audition attempt were more tedious than amusing, especially when compared to all the other funny and fast- paced subplots.A truly enjoyable movie that might have been even better with some footage left on the cutting room floor.

punishmentpark Okay, the story feels fabricated, and the way everything comes together at the end just as much. So, if that's not for you, you can skip this. I ended up really enjoying the way things came together (as much as things fell apart at the same time) in the dead-end spot of a street on City Island.Of course, you'll need the right actors to pull it off, and Andy Garcia lead this bunch perfectly, although I found the audition scene (and the one in a million chance of the results, but that's what 'fabricated' entails) not totally convincing - it is always risky to put a great actor in the role of a wanna-be actor.Also, the storyline involving the son being into feeding big women didn't feel important within the whole. But all these minor faults didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying this.

The Squeerelist City Island is a pretty neutral movie that deals with secrets and lies within families. By neutral I mean that I wasn't bored watching it and found it quite entertaining but the plot didn't pin me to my seat either. There is a fistful of good actors : namely Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies and Ezra Miller. The latter being the most interesting one and the reason why I watched City Island in the first place... OK, Andy Garcia in the role of the wannabe-actor is not so bad either. The characters are very relatable as they have common jobs or activities and their fair share of problems. The Rizzo family has secrets like any other and thinks that keeping them hidden from their relatives will prevent a major crisis. Obviously, they'll discover that their secrets are the root of their family issues. I liked that City Island treated several topics like past mistakes, aspirations, and uncommon desires. I enjoyed discovering another part of New York City that isn't usually shown. It's a nice part of the Northern suburbs that is revealed : definitely another perspective of the Bronx.1 reason to watch it : a light story good enough to relax after work. Read it here: http://squeerelist.blogspot.com/2013/05/city-island- 2009.html