Romancefest 2018: Mystic Pizza

Now, I know I’ve seen MYSTIC PIZZA before because I clearly remember my Dad stopping the video halfway through and suggesting we get Domino’s delivered. This was a momentous occasion because we never had pizza on the spur of the moment midway through the evening, and we never, ever got it delivered from Domino’s. That’s my only memory of the movie, though, so I’ve given it another watch.

This is the coming of age story of three waitresses at a mom and pop pizza shop in a Connecticut fishing town. Annabeth Gish stars as a high school graduate on her way to Yale who strikes up a romance with the father (William R. Moses) of the kid she’s babysitting for the summer. Her sister is played by Julia Roberts, who falls for a rich country club dude (Adam Storke). And Lili Taylor has cold feet about marrying her boyfriend (Vincent D’Onofrio).

Today the movie is probably most remembered for featuring a pre-PRETTY WOMAN performance by Julia Roberts, and she is great in the film. But, the rest of the cast is great, as well, and unlike the other two 80s flicks I just sat through, this one plays like a real slice of life and not a contrived premise.