Mark Christopher - writer-director of the hit Miramax drama 54 (1998) - returns to the helmer's chair for the first occasion in eight years with the indie comedy Pizza, from IFC Films. An unofficial homage to mid-80s teen films, the picture concerns Cara-Ethyl (Kylie Sparks), an overweight high-schooler whose mom (screen vet Julie Hagerty) lost her sight in a baking accident. Despondent and lonely as her eighteenth birthday arrives and passes - not to mention embarrassed by her lack of friends -
Cara attempts to save face by lying to her mother and pretending that she's expecting a whole host of guests. She then impersonates the "friends" one at a time in front of her mother. When thirty-something pizza delivery guy Matt turns up, Cara falls instantly in love; he then invites her to accompany him, into the night, on his pizza route. As Matt inducts Cara into the area's social realm - replete with bed-hopping flatmates, deadhead teenage addicts and obstinate employers - a friendship forms between the two. Joey Kern, Alexis Dziena and Judah Friedlander co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
Among slacker comedies, Pizza is never much more than mildly amusing; it isn't as witty as Slacker or as uproarious as Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, but it's a keeper.
Pizza will never be the Lou Malnati's deep dish of the independent film world, but its gentle pacing...makes this gem as comforting as mall pizza on a hungry day.
It's Sparks (television's Complete Savages) and Embry (Can't Hardly Wait) who carry this dual coming-of-age tale with engaging, if often raw, performances.
Embry and first-time actress Sparks have charming chemistry, but Christopher's slight screenplay wears out its welcome long before the film -- which runs a scant 80 minutes -- is over.
If Pizza were an actual pizza, it would be half-pineapple, half-broccoli. At times, this coming-of-age comedy is quirkily saccharine, at others good-for-you sophistic.
Cara-Ethel has to be one of the least appealing character names in film history and serves as a sad commentary on the lonely life this young girl leads. But Cara (Kylie Sparks) has spunk and wit and intelligence hiding in the unappealing body that nature has given her. Celebrating her eighteenth birthday with only her
mom, and an imaginary friend, Cara strikes up a conversation with the pizza delivery guy and winds up spending an evening with Matt (Ethan Embry), riding around in his truck, talking and experiencing life. This was a tender story about a girl that seems to have developed a pretty healthy attitude despite her disadvantages. The actors really drew this viewer into the story and made us believe these two could actually be friends on the spur of the moment. What began as an act of pity, became a connection that benefited both characters. there were minor quibbles about a few of the choices that went into the setup and some of the supporting characters had little depth, but overall a production that kept it real.
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