City Island

Pretty good film about a 3rd generation City Islander who is a corrections officer (García), an aspiring actor who will not tell his family he smokes (he hides in the upstairs bathroom, sticking his head out the dormer window, and reads whilst smoking) or that he is taking acting classes. His wife also sneaks cigarettes. His daughter is a pole dancer -- that is, she ad lost her scholarship, and is pole dancing to make money to get back to school. His son is a typically gruff, nearly-anti-social teenager who surfs the web for porn.

In prison Vince comes across a young man whom he comes to recognize as a son he created but never knew (it's a long story). In acting class he is paired with Molly (Emily Mortimer), who has her own dark secret. Why she has an English accent is never cleared up, but she spurs Vince on to go for a casting call.

The movie works, if one wants it to, and believes it works. It has its good moments, its weaknesses, and great shots of New York.