Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American coming-of-age film directed by Donald Petrie, and stars Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts and Lili Taylor.
Although the film did not perform as well as expected at the box office, it gained a large cult following since its release and received relatively positive reviews by film critics, who praised the performances by the three lead actresses. It marked Matt Damon's film debut.
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 Arujo (Annabeth Gish), Daisy Arujo (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 the planetarium in the famous Whaling Museum of The Mystic Seaport, 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 because her mother feels she is more wild and is not as goal-oriented as her younger sister.
Daisy meets a handsome young man named Charles (Adam Storke) at a bar, and the two are immediately attracted to each other, and begin a relationship, much to her mother's dismay, believing that the relationship will prevent her making something of herself like Kat. However, at a family dinner, his relatives unintentionally make insensitive comments about her ethnicity, and Charles overreacts. Daisy breaks up with him, believing that his family's remarks were harmless and that he was simply using her to show up his parents.
There is also chemistry between Kat and her Anglo-American employer, Tim (William R. Moses), a father who has hired her to look after his young daughter, Phoebe, while his wife is away. A relationship develops between them, and they eventually make love, but it results in heartache for Kat when the wife returns and her illusion of an actual relationship with Tim is shattered. Daisy and Kat bond when Kat is devastated after Tim's and her evening together and Daisy comforts her baby sister.
Jojo is trying to have sex with her boyfriend Bill (Vincent D'Onofrio), whom she attempted to marry at the beginning of the movie, but fainted after deciding she couldn't go through with it. However, Bill refuses to have sex with her until they are married, which is something she still isn't ready for. Seeing how she tries to look for every chance to have sex with him, Bill believes that Jojo doesn't love him like he does her, and is only after him for sex, and breaks up with her.
After all those events, at work, a famous TV food critic, nicknamed "The Fireside Gourmet" (Louis Turenne), comes to the pizzeria to sample a pizza. Not showing any emotion towards the pizza that he eats, he leaves after eating only a few bites, leaving the girls in suspense. However, a few days later, the critic gives the pizzeria his highest rating, calling it "superb."
In the end, Kat receives her last paycheck from Tim (which she tears up and throws away), and never sees him again. Jojo finally agrees to marry Bill, and at their wedding, Daisy and Charles reconcile. The film ends with the three girls together overlooking the water from the balcony of the restaurant, reminiscing about their time together.
Cast
- Annabeth Gish as Katherine "Kat" Arujo
- Julia Roberts as Daisy Arujo
- Lili Taylor as Jojo Barbosa
- Vincent D'Onofrio as Bill Montijo
- William R. Moses as Tim Travers
- Adam Storke as Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr.
- Conchata Ferrell as Leona
- Joanna Merlin as Mrs. Arujo
- Porscha Radcliffe as Phoebe Travers
- Louis Turenne as Hector "The Fireside Gourmet" Freshette
- Janet Zarish as Nicole "Nikki" Travers
- Arthur Walsh as Manny
- John Cunningham as Charles Gordon Windsor, Sr.
- Ann Flood as Polly Windsor
- Suzanne Shepherd as Aunt Tweedy
- Gene Amoroso as Mr. Barbosa
- Sheila Ferrini as Mrs. Barbosa
- John Fiore as Jake
- Lauren O'Brien as Serena
- Matt Damon as Steamer
- Jack Ringstad as Uncle Ned
- Jody Raymond as Teresa
Production and filming locations
The title of the film was based on a pizza shop that caught the eye of Hollywood screenwriter Amy Holden Jones. That restaurant, also named Mystic Pizza and located in Mystic, Connecticut, has been popular among both locals and tourists since 1973. Despite being set in Mystic, most of the filming locations were in neighboring towns. The building used for the pizza restaurant was a converted home in Stonington Borough at 70 Water St. After the film's release, the real-life Mystic Pizza building in downtown Mystic was renovated to resemble the movie set. The Windsor family home, the wedding reception restaurant, the Peg Leg Pub pool hall, and the fishing docks are also in Stonington Borough. The famous hitchhiking incident takes place on North Main Street in Stonington Town. The Arujo home is in Pawcatuck; the lobster business where Mrs. Arujo works and the wedding church are in Noank. Tim Travers' home and the Windsors' country club are in Watch Hill, Rhode Island. The most notable scenes that take place in Mystic are at the Mystic Seaport planetarium and at the drawbridge, where Jojo gets angry that Bill changed the name of his boat. As with most movies, not all locations are geographically correct. For example, fishing boats rarely pass through the drawbridge, as the fishing docks have direct access to the sea from the Stonington peninsula.
Critical response
The film opened on October 21, 1988, to mostly favorable reviews, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 77% for its VHS release. The film received "two thumbs up" from popular film critics Siskel and Ebert, giving particular praise to the three female leads, including Gish, whom Ebert likened to a "young Katharine Hepburn". He also noted that the film "may someday become known for the movie stars it showcased back before they became stars."
Home media
On January 13, 2009, Mystic Pizza and Say Anything... were released as a double feature on DVD. On April 5, 2011, Mystic Pizza was released on Blu-ray.
References
External links
- Mystic Pizza on IMDb
- Mystic Pizza at AllMovie
- Mystic Pizza at Box Office Mojo
- Mystic Pizza at Rotten Tomatoes