Rating: 
Country: USA
Release Date: October 24, 2006
Distributor: IFC
Director:
· Mark Christopher
Cast:
· Ethan Embry
· Kylie Sparks
· Julie Hagerty
Related Sites:
· IMDb: Pizza
Grade: C+
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DVD Review: Pizza
by R.J. Carter
Published: November 2, 2006
"Pizza" is one of those "day in the life" kind of films that manages to make the two-hour mark actually feel as though you've gone through a full twelve by the time it's over. It opens at the eighteenth birthday party of Cara-Ethyl (Kylie Sparks). Cara-Ethyl is the only one in attendance except for her mother ("Airplane!"'s Julie Hagerty), who can't see due to the bandages over her eyes as she heals from a donut-frying injury. Taking advantage of her mother's blindness, Cara-Ethyl provides voices of other guests as they both wait for the pizza delivery to arrive.
The pizza delivery guy is Matt (Ethan Embry), a thirty-something fellow who's stayed in pizza delivery his whole life past high school rather than take a chance on a career. When he arrives at Cara-Ethyl's, it doesn't take a genius IQ for him to realize that Cara-Ethyl is miserable and lonely. After only a few minutes inside, he invites Cara-Ethyl to come outside with him and ultimately accompany him on his runs. Together, these two misfits blunder through Matt's oversexed roommates, a sexually frustrated Irish woman, Cara-Ethyl's "aunt grandma", a hooker, a drama teacher, and cruel sorority girls. Along they way, they learn from each other exactly what it is that's wrong with themselves. Matt's a fairly accepting guy, and does his best to try to steer Cara-Ethyl right; but Cara-Ethyl is nosy and begins to pry into Matt's past, revealing things to Matt that he's tried not to dwell on. In the end, they find they're both extremely dissatisfied with their lives; but whether that knowledge is enough to begin making changes is never really explored, leaving the viewer feeling emptied as the credits roll. Lots of moments, but not much of a supported storyline; ultimately, this pizza suffers from too many toppings and not enough crust.
Life Lessons: Matt and Cara-Ethyl learn about themselves while
trying to fix each other. L-R: Ethan Embry, Kylie Sparks.
| The film features a cameo appearance by heartthrob Jesse McCartney as one of the kids who are mean to Cara-Ethyl, and a guitar serenade by Embry. Bonus features include a commentary track with Writer/Director Mark Christopher and Producer Howard Gertler. Additionally, there is a nine-minute featurette, "A Slice of 'Pizza'" which is less a "making of" and more of a secondary level of commentary as it's merely Mark Christopher talking over selected scenes.
Audio is in English, with optional subtitles in English or Spanish.
Previews on this disc include "School for Scoundrels", "Clerks II", and "Lonesome Jim".
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