First Thoughts (Sorta) on 'Mystic Pizza'

Full disclosure: these posts are intended to articulate my first impressions of films chosen by our guests, and so far, that’s been the case. But this was not my first time watching Mystic Pizza. My dad rented it, on VHS, from our video store, all the way back in late 1988 or early 1989, when it hit home video. It was the kind of indie movie he liked - nothing too artsy or experimental, just a good story and some good acting. In other words, a studio movie, but without movie stars.

Well, movie stars yet. The main thing that’s changed in the 35 or so years since I first watched Mystic Pizza is the status of its cast, primarily one Julia Roberts, who would of course follow it up with Steel Magnolias, which resulted in her first Oscar nomination, and Pretty Woman, which resulted in her becoming one of the biggest stars on the planet. So watching Mystic Pizza in 2023 isn’t about a good story and some good acting, the way it was in 1988 (or 1989); it’s about watching one of the rockets of contemporary popular culture, as she was about to blast off.