Andy Garcia, big-screen cutup?
“City Island,” the new indie film doing brisk business in select theaters nationwide, casts the actor as a prison guard who longs to become an actor.
It’s the kind of comedic showcase few actors get these days, let alone one known more for his burning intensity, not his pratfalls.
But Garcia nails the role all the same, making “City Island” one of the year’s freshest films and a nice counter-balance to the summer blockbuster blitz.
Garcia plays Vince Rizzo, a prison guard who sneaks away each week to take acting lessons. He can’t bear to share his dreams with his wife, Joyce (Julianna Margulies), so he pretends he’s out playing poker.
It’s actually the lesser of two lies he tells her.
A long-ago romance led to a love child, a young man named Tony (Steve Strait) who ends up in Vince’s prison.
Yes, the coincidence alarm sounds early and often in “City Island.”
Vince convinces Joyce to let Tony live in there home, under the guise he’s just a young man starting out in life.
The lies, secrets and deceptions spread throughout the family, from Vince’s chubby chasing son to a daughter who strips for a living after being bounced out of college.
The film’s farcical elements line up proudly, and as much as you’ll wince at how they congeal you’ll admire the chutzpah displayed in bringing them to life. It’s refreshing to see actors embracing accents, no excuses, and Garcia sounds authentic as a lifer from The Bronx who mocks those who seek out City Island after the fact.
Vince’s acting ambitions stitch the various storylines together, and his major film audition is a comic highlight. Garcia shows a side of his acting chops we rarely see, and one suddenly wishes he’ll find more comic scripts landing on his desk.
“City Island” delivers a rich family portrait, one with original blue-collar characters who deliver enough laughs to make up for the film’s flaws.
(Photo: Andy Garcia plays a prison guard who dreams up acting – and getting his dysfunctional family in order in “City Island.”)
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I wish him the best success. I read an interview about him once and I distinctly remember the interviewer (who was a lady) commenting that he stood up when she entered the room. She was really touched by how gentlemanly he was. We need more like him in Hollywood.