Two Family House (2000)

A dreamer finds that his wife and friends are binding him to his mediocre existence.

Director:

Raymond De Felitta

Writer:

Raymond De Felitta

Stars:

Michael Rispoli, Kelly Macdonald, Kathrine Narducci

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michael Rispoli	...	Buddy Visalo
Kelly Macdonald	...	Mary O'Neary
Kathrine Narducci	...	Estelle Visalo
Kevin Conway	...	Jim O'Neary
Matt Servitto	...	Chipmunk
Michele Santopietro	...	Laura
Louis Guss	...	Donato
Rosemary De Angelis	...	Marie (as Rosemary Deangelis)
Anthony Arkin	...	Danny
Saul Stein	...	Anthony
Vincent Pastore	...	Angelo
Sharon Angela	...	Gloria
Ivy Jones	...	Tina
Victor Arnold	...	Mr. Cicco
Richard B. Shull	...	Mr. Brancaccio

Storyline

An unseen narrator looks back to 1956, on Staten Island, when Buddy, an Italian guy with big dreams, buys a house planning to live upstairs with his wife Estelle and run a bar downstairs. The first problem is Estelle's lack of confidence in Buddy. Then, Irish tenants upstairs refuse to move and won't pay rent; plus, the woman upstairs is about to have a baby. The next problem is the baby: once he's born, it's clear his father was Black. The Irish guy splits; Buddy evicts mother and child, then feels guilt and sets her up in a flat while she sorts out an adoption. Estelle's lack of faith, the Irish lass's spirit, Buddy's dream, racial prejudice, and the baby's fate play out.

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Plot Keywords:

baby | bar | racial prejudice | guilt | tenant | 

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Taglines:

The only way to find out what you love is to risk everything you have.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Filbert Steps Productions

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 August 2002 (Spain)

Also Known As:

Casa pentru doua familii

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$30,316 (USA) (6 October 2000)

Gross:

$1,015,055 (USA) (29 December 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Filbert Steps Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Goofs

During one shot, the Bayonne Bridge is shown with the Goethals Bridge beyond it, on the right. Adjacent to it, the B&O Arthur Kill Vertical Lift Bridge is shown. This wasn't built until 1959, replacing an older swing bridge.

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Crazy Credits

Special thanks to ... the people of Bentley Avenue, Jersey City, NJ, ... the people of Port Richmond & Stapleton neighborhoods, Staten Island, NY, ... the crew of The Highlander ...

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Connections

References Arthur Godfrey and His Friends (1949)

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Soundtracks

"Calypso Italiano"
(2000)
Written by Christopher Guardino (as C. Guardino) and Raymond De Felitta (as R. DeFelitta)
Published by Empty Dawn Music, Other Chips Music

User Reviews

Charming Look at Life After War Time in NYC

It seemed strange to see the decidedly outer-borough "Two Family House" at an expensive Manhattan movie theater, until during the opening credits two old ladies sat in front of me, put their coats on the two seats between them, and proceeded to loudly comment on the proceedings to each other throughout the whole movie.

Much like the friends of the protagonists do in this very sweet yet honest depiction of post-WWII life on Staten Island when an off-islander disrupts the quotidian.

While it drags a bit here and there, and the voice-over narration sometimes re-states the already visually obvious, the very New York characters (including one played by "Pussy" of "The Sopranos") are real people in real situations and realistic traps. This is less schmaltzy than Barry Levinson's Baltimore nostalgia-fests.

Filmed in Staten Island, Jersey City and Bayonne, the settings are accompanied by lovely period music by the John Pizzarelli Trio (who also does a cameo appearance as Julius LaRosa).

This is one of those small, charming indie movies that seems to be a labor of love, like a jewel of a short story.

(originally written 10/14/2000)