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CITY ISLAND

"Truth Is Stranger Than Family"

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What You Need To Know:

CITY ISLAND is a farcical family comedy/drama about a quirky, yet charming dysfunctional Italian Catholic family, which wrestles with life’s issues yet keep deep secrets from each other. The patriarch, Vince, keeps a hidden hobby. His wife Joyce has feelings for another man. The daughter secretly works at a strip club. And, the teenage son surfs the Internet to satisfy his voyeuristic obsession of clothed “large women.” While everyone has something to hide, it’s deliciously entertaining to witness the unraveling of the Rizzo family until all that is left are the vulnerable, flawed, yet genuinely human characters realize how much they love each other.

CITY ISLAND is well written and evenly directed by Raymond De Felitta. Andy Garcia’s performance as Vince resonates with a masculine strength yet a vulnerable warmth. CITY ISLAND is a feel good movie with some mature themes and some content issues that require strong caution. The movie stresses some profoundly important messages of the importance of honesty, forgiveness and commitment to family. There is too much foul language and some crude sexual references. The overall tone, however, remains positive and comedic. Moviegoers should still exercise strong caution.

Content:

(BB, C, LLL, V, S, N, A, DD, M) Strong moral worldview with positive Christian, redemptive elements where marriage, family, forgiveness and repentance are valued; 36 obscenities and 18 profanities; minor acts of violence all in a comedic context include brief scuffles between characters where a guy is kicked in the crotch, another is hit in the jaw, and a female is slapped and wrestled into a car against her will, and character threatens another with a butcher knife; married woman begins to kiss unmarried man and fondle, but they stop because they realize it’s not right and some discussion of sex that is often crude, plus college age woman secretly works in strip club; bikini clad strip dancers in background of scene, much cleavage shown and people comment on cleavage, upper male nudity, woman on TV is nude but large “Xs” cover private parts; drinking of alcohol; smoking of cigarettes and positive reference marijuana; and, secrets inside family, stealing a car but returning it, man has tattoos, and teenage son has obsession with watching obese women (clothed) eat.

More Detail:

CITY ISLAND is a farcical family comedy/drama about a quirky, yet charming dysfunctional Italian American Catholic family, the Rizzos.

The patriarch, Vince (played by Andy Garcia) and his mind-of-her-own wife Joyce (played by Julianna Margulies) both seem to be grappling with the “is-this-all-there-is-to-life” question in their own peculiar way. Their teenage son Vince Jr. secretly surfs the Internet to satisfy his voyeuristic obsession of clothed “large women” and their eating habits. The college-age daughter Vivian secretly works in a strip club.

With the energy and passion of an Italian opera on the surface, the real drama of the Rizzo family is tightly wound around their collective ability to keep their deepest, darkest secrets from each other. However, the teapot begins to whistle from the pressure when an outsider is brought into the household. Vince brings home the tattooed parolee hunk Tony from his job where he works as a correction officer. And, the reason for him doing so is so deeply personal to Vince – it also remains a secret to his family.

Rounding out the cast is the beautiful and charming Emily Mortimer as a struggling actress, and the acting teacher, played by Alan Arkin, who adds some spice to the movie.

While everyone has something to hide in CITY ISLAND, it’s deliciously entertaining to be that fly on the wall and witness the unraveling of the Rizzo family until all that is left are the vulnerable, flawed, yet genuinely human characters whom we have come to love as much as they realize how much they love each other. The movie is well written and evenly directed by Raymond De Felitta. Garcia’s performance resonates with a masculine strength yet a vulnerable warmth that reaffirms our hope that a family man still has a respectable place in today’s society.

CITY ISLAND is a feel good movie with some mature themes and some content issues that require strong caution. The movie stresses some profoundly important messages of the importance of honesty, forgiveness and commitment to family.

There is too much foul language and some crude sexual references, however. Even so, the overall tone remains positive and comedic. Moviegoers still will need to exercise strong caution.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.