City Island

I didn't know much of what I was getting into as I started CITY ISLAND. I only knew snippets of the story, such as Garcia's son likes fat chicks and his daughter is a stripper... a few other things. I didn't even know it was rated PG-13, so I was half-expecting an R-rated dark comedy that was going to throw this dysfunctional family into a sick and twisted abyss of eternal shame and irrevocable damages.
But then, about 20 minutes into it, I started to catch on that this is NOT one of those comedies at all. I had to switch off my mood for VERY BAD THINGS and instead take it at face value. This is a lighthearted comedy that delves into several themes which in the hands of other writers/directors would have made this a tough and twisted picture from open to close. Instead, CITY ISLAND is the kind of movie you should watch when you feel like laughing at a dysfunctional family and still not feel bad about life by the time the credits roll.
I found many parts of this movie to be hilarious, and I'm not usually one to accept a huge knock off of realism for the sake of "happy-happy-joy-joy", but I had a lot of fun with this flick and didn't mind the hilariously over the top and wink-of-the-eye, tongue in the cheek nod to the non-seriousness of it all once the final family argument concluded.

Overall, CITY ISLAND was funny and - yes, I'm gonna say it *gulp* - cute movie. I recommend it to fans of messed up family dramas, and/or just feel like catching some absurd fetishes and scenarios that don't choose to take the completely tasteless route. In fact, it might even be a better movie if warned beforehand of the unrealistic, cheesy nature. This worked for me. Some of the moments were real comedy gold.

Rating: 8/10