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Mystic Pizza
Movie poster for Mystic Pizza
Directed by	Donald Petrie
Produced by	Mark Levinson Scott M. Rosenfelt
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	Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release date(s)	October 21, 1988
Running time	104 min.
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$6,000,000 (estimated)
Gross revenue	$12,793,213

Mystic Pizza is a 1988 coming-of-age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor. The film's tagline is: "A romantic comedy with the works."

Contents 1 Plot 2 Critical reception 3 Home media 4 References in popular culture 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Plot

The film is about the coming of age of two sisters and their friend, as seen through the romantic lives of the three main characters: Katy, Daisy, and Jojo, who all work as waitresses at Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut. Mystic in the film is represented as a fishing town with a large Portuguese American population, though that description more closely resembles neighboring Stonington, Connecticut, where many scenes were filmed.

The movie also touches on an Old World work ethic. Katy and Daisy are sisters and rivals; the former studies astronomy, works at a local planetarium, as well as the restaurant, and has been accepted to attend Yale University, while the latter just wants to have sex. Katy 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 Katy'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.

Vincent D'Onofrio, William R. Moses and Adam Storke 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. A restaurant named Mystic Pizza in Mystic, Connecticut has become popular among summer tourists due to the film's success.

[edit] Critical reception

The film opened on October 21, 1988 to mostly favorable reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 88% at its DVD release.^[1] The film received "two thumbs up" from popular film critics Siskel and Ebert,^[2] giving particular praise to the three female leads, including Gish, whom Ebert likened to a "young Katharine Hepburn."^[3] 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.^[4]

[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 a later episode, she wins a (fake) award for Best Actress in a Movie based on a Musical based on a Movie.
• 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 movie, Optimistic Pizza.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Mystic Pizza at the Internet Movie Database
• Mystic Pizza at Box Office Mojo
• Mystic Pizza at Allmovie
• Amy Holden Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Mystic Pizza - Zagat Survey

v • d • e Films directed by Donald Petrie 1980s Mystic Pizza (1988) 1990s Opportunity Knocks (1990) · Grumpy Old Men (1993) · The Favor (1994) · Richie Rich (1994) · The Associate (1996) · My Favorite Martian (1999) 2000s Miss Congeniality (2000) · How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003) · Welcome to Mooseport (2004) · Just My Luck (2006)