Mystic Pizza (1988)

User Rating:

5.9/10   

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers (WGA):

Amy Holden Jones (story)
Amy Holden Jones (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A romantic comedy with the works.

Plot:

Three teenage girls come of age while working at a pizza parlor in Mystic Connecticut.

Plot Keywords:

Sister | Pizza | Commitment | Marriage | New England

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Annabeth Gish	...	Kat Arujo
Julia Roberts	...	Daisy Arujo
Lili Taylor	...	Jojo
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Bill (as Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio)
William R. Moses	...	Tim Travers
Adam Storke	...	Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr.
Conchata Ferrell	...	Leona
Joanna Merlin	...	Mrs. Arujo
Porscha Radcliffe	...	Phoebe Travers
Arthur Walsh	...	Manny
John Fiore	...	Jake
Gene Amoroso	...	Mr. Barboza
Sheila Ferrini	...	Mrs. Barboza
Janet Zarish	...	Nicole Travers
Louis Turenne	...	Hector Freshette

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | Singapore:NC-16 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Canada:14A | Sweden:Btl | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Company:

Night Life Inc.

Trivia:

This movie marks Matt Damon's feature film debut. Ben Affleck also auditioned for the role.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: In the scene where Kat has brought her mom pizza down at the docks Mrs. Araujo asks, "Hey, Sylvio, you got a job for my smart kid?" Sylvio shakes a dead octopus at her and replies something along the lines of, "Yeah, right here" but is smiling broadly the whole time and does not move his lips.

Quotes:

[giving a pizza to Kat]
Daisy: Say hello to Mom for me.
Katherine: No, I'll be late for my interview.
Daisy: Well, then you better hurry!
Katherine: I've been three times this week.
Daisy: Four, and you go to Heaven.
[Kat leaves]
Daisy: Kat, such a good girl. Where did we go wrong with her sister Daisy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Really Hate My Job (2007)

Soundtrack:

JOYRIDE

2 out of 3 ain't bad

Mystic Pizza is a pleasant-but-slow slice-of-life comedy-drama. It centers on the lives of 3 young waitresses in a Pizza Parlor in blue-collar Mystic, CT. The parlor's owner is a hard-scrabble-with-heart-of-gold Portuguese "princess" buoyantly portrayed by Conchata Farrell. She makes the scene where the food critic tastes her pizza the most memorable in the movie.

As for the girls, two of the three stories work well. Lili Taylor is a revelation as the fun-loving JoJo coming to terms with the cliche her life is and how to come to terms with the love she feels for stalwart-but-limited Bill, winningly portrayed by Vincent D'Onofrio (now of Law and Order: CI). These two light up the screen with humor and awkward aplomb. Julia Roberts puts her raw-but-winning talent on display as the blue-collar Daisy, a student-teacher in the school of hard-knocks.

The one unfortunate element is that the movie spends far too much time on a nowhere relationship between Annibelle Gish and preppy husband-away-from his wife portrayed by the affable but feckless William R. (aka Billy) Moses. This story just makes the movie drag.

But overall, Mystic Pizza is a kind of young-woman-oriented Diner, amiable, fun, and chock-full of young talent.