Andy Garcia

Garcia’s character, Vince Rizzo, and his family, consisting of domineering wife (Julianna Margulies), daughter-who-unbeknownst-to-the-rest-of-the-family-is-a-stripper (Dominik García-Lorido), and son-with-a-sexual-hang-up (Ezra Miller), are all dissatisfied and a bit lost in their lives (who isn’t?). Vince is so petrified by his wife’s constant haranguing, he can’t even tell her of his acting aspirations, much less the acting class he must sneak off to regularly. On top of this, his acting teacher, played by Alan Arkin, is of the old, old school of acting, and believes that Marlon Brando was a mumbler who didn’t know how to act, i.e., read the lines cleanly. This is obviously anathema to Vince, who not only loves Brando, but is of the loud Bronx school of self-expression himself. When Vince goes to a Martin Scorsese casting call, he must deal with both sides of the acting coin.

And speaking of acting methods, I initially bridled when hit not only with the gale force of the Bronx accents, but also the sheer lung capacity with which they were delivered. However, as I grew accustomed to it, it seemed much more natural to the environment and to the characters involved. If they had all been genteel, or even just plain old New Yorkers, they really wouldn’t have fit the milieu or the striving of the Bronx lower-middle-class.

As someone I know said recently, all the really good films these days are so depressing. Well perhaps so, but herein lies a remedy: City Island – a well-acted charmer, sure to please. – [DVD] [Blu-Ray]

Comedy/Drama

Rated PG-13

DVD Release Date: 8/26/10

Sunshine Cleaning

But back to the plot: Rose needs money, and Mac tells her of an opportunity to make good money cleaning up crime scenes. She and Norah partner in this endeavor and as the film unfolds, there is the discovery of meaning in other people’s losses, and the working through of their own losses. Along the way they meet two finely developed characters. One is a woman who works in a blood donor clinic (Mary Lynn Rajskub), and the other is the owner of a supply store, Winston (subtle and yet exquisitely detailed acting from Clifton Collins Jr.). All the actors make excellent contributions to this movie. Jason Spevack is particularly awesome as Oscar. I loved Amy Adams in Junebug, but her acting was a little over-the-top. Here she nails her role with a rich and nuanced performance. Same for Emily Blount.

So that’s Sunshine Cleaning. You should see it. The humor is at times dark, and the darkness is not always humorous, but I’m definitely adding Sunshine Cleaning to my favorites of 2009. The Special Features include a couple of real-life crime scene cleanup workers giving us the skinny on the profession. – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama

Rated R

DVD Release Date: 8/25/09

Like so many comedies nowadays, the film earns lots of easy laughs in the first half, as Wilson and Aniston adjust to their pet’s wild ways, and then segues into a squishy-sad-serious second half that pulls mercilessly at your heartstrings. I’m not exaggerating. If you cry at Hallmark Card commercials, you will weep buckets by the time this thing is over.

Having said that, Wilson and Aniston are enormously likeable here. Wilson works his shaggy-dog charm to nice effect and Aniston shows off her sharp comic timing. The pair even handles said somber moments well enough. Aniston, especially, makes you feel for her character when she suffers a medical tragedy, and Wilson has a tender tear-jerker of a scene with Marley near the end.

Oscar winner Alan Arkin lends funny support as Wilson’s Florida newspaper editor, though he’s not nearly as hilarious as he was in Grosse Point Blank, and Grey’s Anatomy hunk Eric Dane does a decent job as Wilson’s globe-trotting newspaper buddy who uses Marley, and even Wilson’s kids, to score with hot women.

In the end, it all comes down to the dog and kids will love watching Marley, whom Aniston initially dubs “clearance puppy,” wreak havoc. He chases birds at the beach, tears up the garage, chews up pillows and couches, knocks down blinds, eats Aniston’s necklace and gets kicked out of an obedience class after humping the leg of the instructor (a still-funny Kathleen Turner). Not to mention being referred to as “evil with a dog face.” – [DVD]

Comedy/Drama/Family/Romance

Rated PG

DVD Release Date: 3/31/09