Mystic Pizza (1988)

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Great watch from beginning to end. Roberts, Taylor and Gish shine in this film with lovely supporting performances from Conchata Ferrell etc. The film deviates away from the whole 'brat pack' style of 80s coming of age films which is refreshing (no disrespect to Breakfast Club and Pretty in Pink etc.) and creates a new perspective of 3 young teenage girls growing up in a small town and having their own inner unique hopes and anxieties for their futures making this film as relevant it is today as it was 30 years ago for young teenagers both female and male alike.

I have always thought Mystic Pizza was a very good, light hearted film. It's extremely well acted, the script is solid and witty, the cinematography is just heavenly (those Autumn colours are sensational!), and the story itself is heart warning and poignant. There comes a time in every young person's life when they have to figure out which direction they want to head, how they are going to get there and whether or not they will stay in the environment that reared them or branch out, beginning a new life. However, despite the uncertainty that plagues teens and twenty-somethings, there is one universal bond that will seal all cracks and that is friendship, which is the core of Mystic Pizza.This unbreakable duo of friends consists of a then unknown, yet incredibly very striking Julia Roberts. She gives a bright, charismatic performance as the wayward and confused Daisy. Her care free nature is a strong contrast to the level headed, smart and introverted Kat, played by the absolutely gorgeous Annabeth Gish. Last, but certainly not least, is the tempestuous and indecisive Jojo. There's also the men in their lives, the handsome upper-class WASP Charles, who is a little bit of a snob, the unavailable dad Tim (William R. Moses) who has his wandering eyes set on the sensitive, intellectual Kat and Bill (Vincent D'Onofrio), the long suffering husband-to-be of Jojo. The wonderful thing about this film is it never judges its female characters for their promiscuity, nor does it reduce them to crowd-appeasing stereotypes when it depicts their uncertainty or reluctance in picking a "suitable" partner, nor does it imply that they really need one. See the resolution of Kat's brief fling with the father of the girl she babysits. They don't run off, living happily ever after, and Kat, clearly changed by the event, doesn't fall into the lap of the next man who shows her attention. Genre clichés are nicely avoided and what's important here, ultimately, is friendship not love or a man. Mystic Pizza is definitely one of the better coming-of-age, small town friendship films, worthy of a lot more than the fairly dismal 6.1/10 rating it currently has.

Three teenagers learn a lot about life and love one summer in this romantic comedy-drama film entitled,Mystic Pizza.This is also considered a coming of age film based on a pizza shop and a restaurant in Mystic, Connecticut that has been popular among both locals and tourists since 1973.It stars Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor together with Vincent D'Onofrio, William R. Moses, Adam Storke, and Conchata Ferrell.Matt Damon,in his screen debut,has a small part in this film.The story focuses on the coming of age of two sisters and their friend through the romantic lives of the three main characters: Kat Araujo, Daisy Araujo, and Jojo Barbosa, who are waitresses at Mystic Pizza.They are three working-class women just out of high school. Kat wants to study astronomy at Yale; when she starts baby-sitting for Tim, a wealthy Yale graduate summering in Mystic, she finds herself falling in love with him, even though he's married and nearly twice her age. Daisy, who isn't sure what she wants from life, starts going with Charlie, a recent law school dropout, though she starts to think that it may be more to rebel against her family than out of genuine affection. And Jojo is attracted to Bill, but she doesn't want to get married since she's already left him at the altar once; when Bill announces that he's no longer willing to have sex without marriage, she has to decide if his affections are worth a lifetime commitment.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 scenesThis is one of the most charming coming of age films ever shown as it was honest and sincere especially with issues in love and sex faced by the three major characters in the film. Aside from that,it's laced with humor and well-acted, and the beautiful Julia Roberts,who shows strong potential for becoming a major star in her first substantial role.The only thing about it is that this film is somewhat dated for present viewers for it was made particularly with characterizations for film that were made during the 1980's,the decade it was released.

I don't know why I like cheese pizza, but I sure like the taste. Maybe it's the sight of all that cheese, hot and melted, over the red spaghetti sauce. Maybe it's the scent that tickles my nose, and causes a smile to grace my face.The first time I tried it, it was dinnertime and I was seven years old. I had just seen what a pizza was, and the cheese pizza instantly caught my eye. Immediately, I knew that the cheese pizza would be my favorite food for life.Carefully, I hefted a small slice of the pizza onto my red paper plate and waited for a bit for it to cool down. After all, I didn't want to burn my mouth.Then when I was sure it was cool enough, I picked up a little bit of the pizza and dug in.It was fantastic! One of the best foods I'd ever tried. A gleeful smile spread out across my face as I savored the cheesiness of the flavor, the sauce underneath it, and best of all, the way it tasted really great.I will never forget that taste as long as I live.*********/10 -- -1 because I almost burned my mouth!