Two Family House

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Audience Member Well acted and well worth your time. The cast provides depth to their characters and the story, though slow, is engaging. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Frances H Love Kelly MacDonald! And she's terrific in this charming little flick set in 1950s Staten Island. It's not just a vintage American slice of life, but also a gentle morality tale about the search for the American Dream and the nature of prejudice. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/12/13 Full Review Audience Member Well-acted but slow-moving and obvious. Rated 3/5 Stars •  Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Audience Member Absolutely delightful in every way! I will definitely watch it again. Masterful performances. Unique and charming story, well told. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A Staten Island tough buys a house that he wants to turn into a bar, but first he must contend with the Irish immigrant residents. This film begins slowly. For at least the first act and a good portion of the second act, Buddy is a cliche; he's a New Yorker with an assortment of meathead friends and a vocabulary that doesn't extend beyond what one might hear during fifth grade recess. He has the usual catalog of get-rich-quick schemes, and if you've seen Matt Dillon's character in Mr. Wonderful, you've heard all this before. But midway through the second act, it becomes clear that writer/director Raymond DeFelitta means to have Buddy stand in for the American Dream. The film's metaphors become clear: the racism against the Irish immigrant family, the racism against Mary's half-black child, the enormous financial hardship with which the families must contend are all facets of American history and the struggle of everyday American families. And by the end, the good people maintain peace and form a connection. It's sweet and maybe a little maudlin, but I think it works. The performance by Michael Rispoli snuck up on me, just as the complexities of Buddy's character; I thought he was fair, but he mined Buddy for depth by the end of the film. The same goes for Kelly McDonald. Overall, there is a lot to like about this film if you don't give up on it. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/26/23 Full Review Audience Member Moves along at a slow pace so you can enjoy every minute of it. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Two Family House

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