Mystic Pizza (1988)

Three teenage girls come of age while working at a pizza parlor in Mystic Connecticut.

Director:

Donald Petrie

Writers:

Amy Holden Jones (story), Amy Holden Jones (screenplay),

Stars:

Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, Lili Taylor

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Annabeth Gish	...	Kat Arujo
Julia Roberts	...	Daisy Arujo
Lili Taylor	...	Jojo
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Bill (as Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio)
William R. Moses	...	Tim Travers
Adam Storke	...	Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr.
Conchata Ferrell	...	Leona
Joanna Merlin	...	Mrs. Arujo
Porscha Radcliffe	...	Phoebe Travers
John Fiore	...	Jake
Gene Amoroso	...	Mr. Barboza
Sheila Ferrini	...	Mrs. Barboza
Janet Zarish	...	Nicole Travers
Louis Turenne	...	Hector Freshette
Lauren O'Brien	...	Serena

Storyline

Sisters Kat and Daisy work along with Jojo at the pizza parlour in Mystic, Connecticut. Kat, shortly off to Yale, finds herself drawn to a local architect she is babysitting for, while her more tearaway sister starts dating a guy from the money side of the tracks. Jojo leaves her man at the altar; she loves him but shies away from commitment. Meanwhile the fame of the pizza continues to spread; it seems to contain something almost ..... mystic.

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Plot Keywords:

pizza | commitment | marriage | sister sister relationship | summer | 

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Taglines:

Discover a movie which hits home about love, friendship, dreams and life. A movie that you'll be talking about long afterwards. Experience something special, something romantic, something honest.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

21 October 1988 (USA)

Also Known As:

3 Girlfriends

Filming Locations:

Connecticut, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$12,793,213 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Night Life Inc., Samuel Goldwyn Company, The, Virgin Vision

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The "Mystic Pizza" restaurant in Mystic was not where the movie was filmed. Only one scene of the movie was actually filmed in Mystic village, which was the scene where the fishing boat was going through the draw bridge. Mystic is a popular tourist destination that would have been too crowded for filming a movie so the filming was done in the sleepy neighboring town of Stonington, CT. They used a business on Water street for restaurant filming, and in the early part of the movie there is a scene where a pizza is being delivered via motor scooter, where they go past the town green where the two old cannons are on display.

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Goofs

Several times throughout the movie, Kat's sideburns change from short to long.

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Quotes

Daisy: Jesus Christ, these shoes are killing me.
Leona: Daisy, do you have to talk like that?
Daisy: I'm sorry, I meant to say 'These fucking shoes are killing me.'

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Connections

Referenced in Cougar Town: Rhino Skin (2010)

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Soundtracks

"SERIOUS"
Written by Ashley Hall and Stephanie Tyrell
Published by Tyrell Music Co. (BMI) / Special Friendship Music (BMI)
Performed by Steve Tyrell

User Reviews

One of the best "chick flicks"

Movie about three young waitresses who work at Mystic Pizza in Mystic CT. Good girl Kat (Annabeth Gish)is going to college and falls in love with a married man (William Moses). Her sister, bad girl Daisy (Julia Roberts), falls in love with rich kid Charles (Adam Storke). And Jojo (Lili Taylor) is deeply in love with Bill (Vincent D'Onorfrio) but is afraid to marry him...which he wants.

Pretty predictable but still lots of fun. This was released with no fanfare in 1988 (Roberts was still unknown and there were no 'name' actors in the cast) and went on to become a surprise hit. That shouldn't be a shock--this is the type of movie that isn't really challenging or deep. You know the characters, you know the situations and you know it's going to have a happy ending. Still, there's nothing wrong with a film like that if it's entertaining and well-done--and this one is.

The script is lively and it was beautifully shot on location in CT (in Mystic and other towns). Gish is just great (and top-billed) in the movie. She was also 17 (the age of her character too) so it adds to the realism. Taylor is good but has little to do. Her character is very one note and ALWAYS yapping about commitment. Roberts is good but her character is TERRIBLE! Foul-mouthed, obnoxious and grating--her verbal abuse of her sister Kat is more than vicious. I really hated her! Nevertheless, this movie jump started her career. D'Onorfrio (a wonderful character actor) is given nothing to do but look handsome and hunky--which he does. Storke is VERY good-looking and gives a great performance as a rich kid--what ever happened to him? And Moses is just OK as a married man. Add Conchata Ferrell as the pizza store owner and Matt Damon in a one line role in his film debut.

A real nice, pleasing little movie. Perfectly catches the small town feeling too. Worth seeing. But don't let Roberts' face on the box fool you--it's NOT her movie.