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, All Movie Guide
Laura Hyman - Art Director, Susie Farris - Casting, Mark Christopher - Director, Brian A. Kates - Editor, Michelle Botticelli - Editor, John Sloss - Executive Producer, Caroline Kaplan - Executive Producer, Jonathan Sehring - Executive Producer, John Kimbrough - Composer (Music Score), Charlotte Burke - Production Designer, Ken Ferris - Cinematographer, Tim Perell - Producer, Jake Abraham - Producer, Howard Gertler - Producer, William Cozy - Sound/Sound Designer, Joshua Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Mark Christopher - Screenwriter, Holly Becker - Co-Executive Producer
Cara-Ethyl (Kylie Sparks) is an eccentric, obese, and sheltered girl on the eve of her eighteenth birthday who desperately dreams of an exciting life. But she's left with her blind, clueless (but well-meaning) mother (Julie Hagerty), a pest of a brother and imaginary friends (Cara-Ethyl pretends she has a friend for her mother).
All that is changed when the pizza man, Matt Firenze (Ethan Embry), comes to the door. Soon, Cara-Ethyl convinces Matt to allow her to go with him on his deliveries. As the night progresses, Cara-Ethyl and Matt impart their wisdom and learn from each other, and both are forced to evaluate their lives.
