Mystic Pizza

"Mystic Pizza" is the film that served notice that Julia Roberts, about 20, as "Daisy", was destined to be a name actress. The movie's name comes from the location - the pizza shop in Mystic, Conn., a fishing village with a concentration of Portuguese immigrants. Teenager Matt Damon also had a small part, as the younger brother "Steamer" of the rich boyfriend.

The 4 women in this film - the 3 waitresses and the pizza shop owner - all have significant hurdles to cross. The pizza shop is in financial danger, and depends on a great review by the food critic to bolster business. Daisy is somewhat of a misfit, a hothead with a lot of talent but somewhat lacking in focus, and who is being courted by a rich guy. Another, bound for Yale but financially poor, and things get complicated by her increasingly close relationship with the father who hires her as a babysitter while mom is working in England. The other faints at the altar, and is having trouble with commitment, while her fisherman boyfriend continues to try and get her to marry him.

The acting is uniformly good, and there are both serious and funny situations. It is an easy movie to "get into", and there is a good sense of completion when it ends. I just wish they had revealed the secret ingredients in the pizza sauce. The stories and situations are not particular novel in movies, but the movie is well put together and lets us see a few actors at the beginning of their careers. ______________________ August 2020 update: My wife and I just watched it again on BluRay from our public library. Even though we knew what was coming we enjoyed this repeat viewing.

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.

I really like this movie. It's sweet, charming, funny, and makes you think of your friends. This is one of the very few roles I like that Julia Roberts played. I love many of the '80s movies because most of them are cheesy and I just love looking at the clothes and hairdos from that decade. One of my favorite scenes has to be where JoJo and Bill get caught in the act by her parents. That was hilarious! Well, this is just about all I can say about this movie but I really liked it and you should definitely watch it with your friends.

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.

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.