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

When Mary was shopping for groceries to make dinner for Buddy, on the shelf was "Victoria Vodka Sauce". Vodka Sauce was not available in the 1950s.

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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

"There's No Tomorrow"
(1949)
Written by Leo Corday (as L. Corday), Leon Carr (as L. Carr), Al Hoffman (as A. Hoffman)
Music based on "O Sole Mio" by Eduardo Di Capua (1898) (uncredited)
Performed by Andrew Poretz
Published by Fred Ahlert Music, Music Sales Corp., Sis' n Bro Music Company

User Reviews

Great Movie

I just saw this movie on IFC and I loved it!! It has a great story line and the character were well developed and I could really relate to them. I'm glad I came across this, I hope to see it again soon. The story is well developed and I like how the ending turned out. I feel like it is another classic love story, and I'm not one to really like "mushy" films, but this is one is really a classic. I could just feel the main character and his dreams and wanting to 'break out'. I hope I can find the film on DVD or VHS. I like how the story touched on racial issues in the 1950's. I wonder if this is based on a book, because it has alot of focus on characters.