Mystic Pizza

Pizza, that delicious Italian dish has been adapted by people all over the world into their own way to express their interpretation about the way it should taste. It's not surprising that in Mystic, Ct., where there's a large Portuguese population, Leona, the owner of the Mystic Pizza restaurant has created a concoction that is admired by everyone. Don't ask her to reveal her ingredients because she will not tell you.

Daniel Petrie, the director, takes us along for a ride to this coastal town in which Amy Jones' story is set. We meet the three friends that work in the restaurant, Jojo, Daisy and Kat; the last two are sisters. Jojo is intense, but has a problem accepting the fact that Bill, her fiancé, wants to formalize their engagement. In the opening scenes we watch as Jojo faints in the church where she is marrying Bill. Panic strikes and she jilts him.

Daisy, is a beautiful girl who appears to be grounded. When Charlie, the preppy guy finds her at a local bar, it seems he is quite taken by her. Daisy, who should have known better embarks in a love affair with this young which one realizes is doomed from the start. Not only are they from two different worlds, but romances like these are just a passing fancy for wealthy boys. So is the involvement with the wise and intelligent Kat with Tim, the young father with a child who needs a sitter. Kat will be hurt in thinking Tim will want her over the absent wife.

"Mystic Pizza" is about the friendship of the three local girls and their way of looking at life from different angles. Annabeth Gish makes a great appearance in the film with her Kat. Lili Taylor is also good as Jojo. This was a film that presented Julia Roberts that hinted at her success as a movie actress. The rest of the cast plays well in the film. Vincent D'Onofrio, William Moses, Adam Storker and Conchata Farrell do good work under Mr. Petrie's direction. Seen in a small role that if one blinks, one would miss him, is Matt Damon making his first screen appearance.

Simply put, it is easy to get into this movie. The characters are diverse, and each has the chance to tell her part of the story, so there is plenty for the audience to relate to. It is very refreshing that the characters have individual values and standards, as opposed to many more recent movies who assign characters generic standards of conduct, and it gives the characters and the film depth. Each of the girls has these standards challenged, making it a rich coming-of-age story. The film is not about the ending, but rather about every moment of the girls' lives that the viewer is there to see. It is worth the extra bit of concentration that it takes to untangle all of the different plot lines.

Incidentally, Mystic Pizza is a real pizzeria and much of the filming was done on location, so if you find yourself vacationing in the area, you can stop by and pick up one of the trademark t-shirts that the girls wear in the movie, and of course taste some of the famous fare. The home-grown feeling of the restaurant in the movie is part of the fun, and it's even more fun to see it in person.

This film was unique for its time. There is actually a place called Mystic, Connecticutt. It's a beautiful town and the director used it well.

Julia Roberts is fresh and sexy. Thank God that this film was made before, Pretty Woman or else there would be no record of Julia's pure beauty before she became a 'star'. The reason to watch this film however are the performances given by Lili Taylor and Vincent D'Onofrio. They film could have been about the relationship between characters. Taylor is 'real' sexy. I'm a big fan. She also delivers one of the most emotionally honest monologues in cinematic history. D'Onofrio delivers a down-to-earth performance of a sensitive male who values love over sex. Also the performance given by the actress who plays the pizzeria's owner is very lovable.

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.

This "sleeper" hit looks just as good today as it did when it was first released. It follows the trials and tribulations of three childhood friends. They all work as waitresses in a pizza parlor and all are at a crossroad in their life. Kat (Annabeth Gish) is preparing to leave home for Yale to begin a career in Astronomy. Daisey (Julia Roberts) Kat's sister, seems to be floundering, with no real direction to go in life, and JoJo (Lili Taylor, who gives the film's most comedic performance), is torn between her love for her fiancé Bill, and settling down into a married life filled with screaming kids and massive weight gain.

The film integrates all three stories and keeps the plot moving at a brisk pace. All three friends have very different personalities, allowing most of the audience to be able to identify with at least one of them. I will admit, however, that the ultra idealistic, goodie-goodie Kat does get on my nerves from time to time. (I particularly enjoyed the scene where Daisey hauls off and belts her across the face). The chemistry between the leads works extremely well which only strengthens the movie. Roberts gives a strong performance and shows the audience the first signs of the Hollywood powerhouse she would soon become. The three leads are admirabley backed up by a strong supporting cast as well, most notably, Conchata Ferrell as the owner of the pizza parlor. All in all, a very sweet movie about real people and real family situations, and it remains one of my favorite movies of all time. I literally never tire of this modern classic. My only quibble is that the last spoken line is disturbingly unimaginative and anti-climactic. After crafting such a superb screenplay, the writers just seemed to run out of inspiration at the last hurdle. As Mr. Spock would say, "Fascinating."

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.