Um Amor que Acaba em Pizza

I was skeptical about this new version of Romeo and Juliet. Not for idea, noble always, but for...ingredients. Two Italian families, makers of pizza, in terrible rivalry . They children fall in love one for other but parents, especially fathers... An opportunity , impliying a competition, not very fair at beginning , a fire and a wise priest are pieces of reconciliation and succes ...together - near second happy couple-.

I am not a fan of Shiri Appleby and in this film her character seems without salt of pepper. But I like Michael Badalucco and Natalija Nogulich as charming couple and I appreciate the effort of Eyall Podell as Romeo.

Not last, applauses for priest. And the conclusion - poor restaurants and splendid result of ashes.

This unrelentingly adorbs retelling of "Romeo and Juliet" imagines Shakespeare's play as a story of two Italian-American families with competing pizza places.

The Prestolanis and the Montebellos of Verona, N.J. (wink, wink), whose pizza places are inexplicably side by side and separated by a tall, brick wall like in "The Fantasticks," have hated each other's guts for centuries.

One family makes a pizza known for its wonderful cheese combination, the other for its delicious sauce.

When a Frenchman (!) comes to town looking to franchise a pizza place for no good reason other than it services the plot, Joe (Romeo) Montebello and Gina (Juliet) Prestolani must overcome their relatives' feud to save the family businesses and their star-crossed romance, too.

Populated with scenery-chewing character actors famous for portraying bombastic Italians, including Michael Badalucco (best known as lawyer Jimmy Berlutti in TV's "The Practice") and perpetually flustered Dan Hedaya (Carla's husband on "Cheers" and "The Tortellis"), the stupidly titled "Pizza My Heart" is actually quite delightful.

The blend of romance, genuine comedy, and Shakespeare references so subtle they might even get past your high school English teacher really, really works for some crazy reason.

I'm a sap for "Romeo and Juliet" adaptations, whether it's the '60s musical "West Side Story," '80s grindhouse sleaze "China Girl," the Jet Li chopsocky actioner "Romeo Must Die" or DTV kiddie fare "Romeo and Juliet: Sealed with a Kiss," the latter of which tells the story with, not kidding, animated sea lions.

This one's more like the sea lions one than Abel Ferrara's grim "China Girl," in that it foregoes the "tragedy" part of Shakespeare's tragedy and focuses more on a "love conquers all" theme that would have made the Bard throw the heck up, but is totally befitting of ABC Family, on which "Pizza My Heart" premiered about a decade ago.

And as such, it's a lovely way to spend an evening with your spouse.

This movie was not the worst movie of all time. It was a movie that at the end I wasn't sure whether I loved it or hated it. I have decided I loved it. It was a T.V movie so parts of it were cheesy but the plot was good, and it kept moving. It wasn't slow and most of the dialogue was clever. The acting was great. I think the actors portrayed the characters quite well. The downside to the movie was that it was very predictable. I didn't think it was necessarily a bad thing because it was a modern day Romeo and Juliet. There were some unexpected twists to the movie which kept it interesting and kept you guessing. Overall this was a great T.V-made movie.

In a modern variation of Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, the old tale of forbidden love is set in present day Verona, New Jersey where two Italian-American families, the Montebellos and the Prestolanis, run rivaling pizzerias and hold a grudge against each other. Naturally Joe, the son of the Montebellos (Eyal Podell), meets Gina, the daughter of the Prestolanis (Shiri Appleby), and warm feelings develop between them. In addition to the long-running mutual hatred between their families, Joe and Gina's romance is also hindered by their sense of responsibility to their folks: both are being pressured for pre-set careers despite longing to see more in life.

I guess you shouldn't expect much from a made-for-TV rom-com drama; but still, would just a hint of fresh ideas be too much to ask? The story advances exactly, and I mean exactly, as can be predicted right from the beginning. I actually suspected the laughably clichéd plot might be some kind of sarcastic parody of all the lame romance flicks that get churned out each year, but no, there's nothing to suggest that we aren't supposed to take it all at face value.

Besides the dull story, the other aspects don't provide much to enjoy either, even if technically the movie is not totally incompetent. The music further adds to the sea of clichés and the actors are just pretty faces with little charisma. The only exception would be the sturdy Michael Badalucco as Gina's father, but he isn't really given much decent material to work with, so it is difficult to find any reason to recommend Pizza My Heart to anyone but the biggest and most undemanding romance fans. All those tasty pizzas got me really hungry though; I guess that's a positive reaction.

I got sick watching this movie(and I like pizza). The storyline isn't that bad, but the idea of two families competing over pizza is ridiculous. What is so important in the restaurant industry? Especially in some Italian families who make pizzas(how original). I generally don't like romance comedies, but this one beats them all(except Maid in Manhattan). The acting , the directing and all that represents cinematographic work is quite mediocre, but the biggest problem remains the subject of this movie.Don't watch it unless you want to torture yourself or you are more twisted like the ones who enjoy something like Cannibal Holocaust and really like idiotic romances. Plus I think this whole movie is more offending to the Italian people than any gangster flick.