Mystic Pizza
| Mystic Pizza | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Donald Petrie |
| Produced by | Mark Levinson |
| Written by | Amy Holden Jones Perry Howze Randy Howze Alfred Uhry |
| Starring | Annabeth Gish Julia Roberts Lili Taylor Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio William R. Moses Adam Storke Conchata Ferrell |
| Music by | David McHugh |
| Cinematography | Tim Suhrstedt |
| Editing by | Don Brochu Marion Rothman |
| Distributed by | The Samuel Goldwyn Company |
| Release date(s) | October 21, 1988 |
| Running time | 104 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $12,793,213 |
Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American coming of age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor.[1] Vincent D'Onofrio, William R. Moses, Adam Storke, and Conchata Ferrell co-star. In his screen debut, Matt Damon has a small part—his sole line in the film being, "Mom, do you want my green stuff?" while eating lobster.
The title of the film was based on a pizza shop that caught the eye of Hollywood screen writer, Amy Holden Jones.[2] The restaurant is also named Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut, and has been popular among both locals and tourists since 1973.[3]
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[edit] Plot
The film is about the coming of age of two sisters and their friend through the romantic lives of the three main characters: Kat Araujo (Annabeth Gish), Daisy Araujo (Julia Roberts), and Jojo Barbosa (Lili Taylor), who are waitresses at Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut. In the film, Mystic is represented as a fishing town with a large Portuguese American population.
The film also touches on an Old World work ethic. Kat and Daisy are sisters and rivals: Kat studies astronomy, works at a local planetarium, as well as the restaurant, and has been accepted to attend Yale University on a partial scholarship. Daisy just wants to find love through lust while trying to get out of Mystic. Kat is the apple of her Portuguese mother's eye, while Daisy is not: she is promiscuous and is not as goal-oriented as her younger sister.
There is also a dynamic between Kat's Anglo-American employer and the resulting relationship between them. The class distinctions and variant European heritages are explored in various scenes of the film.
[edit] Cast
- Annabeth Gish as Kat Araujo
- Julia Roberts as Daisy Araujo
- Lili Taylor as Jojo Barboza
- Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio as Bill
- William R. Moses as Tim Travers
- Adam Storke as Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr.
- Conchata Ferrell as Leona
- Joanna Merlin as Mrs. Araujo
- Porscha Radcliffe as Phoebe Travers
- Arthur Walsh as Manny
- John Fiore as Jake
- Matt Damon as Steamer
[edit] Critical response
The film opened on October 21, 1988, to mostly favorable reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88% at its VHS release.[4] The film received "two thumbs up" from popular film critics Siskel and Ebert,[5] giving particular praise to the three female leads, including Gish, whom Ebert likened to a "young Katharine Hepburn."[6] He also noted that the film "may someday become known for the movie stars it showcased back before they became stars."
[edit] Home media
On January 13, 2009, Mystic Pizza and Say Anything... were released as double feature on DVD.[7]
[edit] References in popular culture
- In the 30 Rock season two premiere episode, "SeinfeldVision," the character Jenna Maroney returns from summer break having starred in Mystic Pizza: The Musical. Her noticeable weight gain is attributed to eating 32 slices of pizza a week for the show.
- In one sub-plot of the Broken Lizard film, Puddle Cruiser, the main characters watch the film believing that Julia Roberts gets naked in it.
- Pepperidge Farm Goldfish snacks are packaged with biographical details of mascot Finn, including his favorite film, Optimistic Pizza.
- In Cougar Town, Laurie compares herself to Julia Roberts from Mystic Pizza when she visits the country club.
- In the episode "Run Away, Little Boy" of Gilmore Girls, Paris (played by Liza Weil) compares the "whole small town, 'we don't let a clock run our lives' thing" from Stars Hollow with Mystic Pizza.
- In the Facebook game "Café World", there is a dish that players can cook called "Mystical Pizza".
- In The Lonely Island song "No homo", it is mentioned that knowing all the lines of Mystic Pizza is not homo.
- In the TV series Parks and Recreation, the character Ron Swanson only knows Julia Roberts as "the toothy girl from Mystic Pizza".
[edit] References
- ^ Variety film review; 12 October 1988
- ^ http://www.epixhd.com/mystic-pizza/
- ^ http://www.mysticpizza.com/about_us.aspx
- ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mystic_pizza/
- ^ http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/atm/reviews.html?sec=1&subsec=48
- ^ "Mystic Pizza". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19881021/REVIEWS/810210303/1023.
- ^ "Mystic Pizza/Say Anything Double Feature (2009)". http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810047826/details. Retrieved February 19, 2009.
[edit] External links
- Mystic Pizza at the Internet Movie Database
- Mystic Pizza at AllRovi
- Mystic Pizza at Box Office Mojo
- Mystic Pizza at Rotten Tomatoes
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