This year marks the 35th anniversary of Mystic Pizza filmed in Mystic, Connecticut in 1988. Most of the smash hit movie was actually filmed in surrounding towns as well. It is now fondly remembered as Julia Roberts’ breakout role and Matt Damon’s screen debut, though his part was small it was memorable and this movie made them both film stars.
The title of the film was inspired by a pizza shop in Mystic, Connecticut. Screenwriter Amy Holden Jones was summering in the area and chose Mystic Pizza as the focus of her story about the lives of three young waitresses. Taken from the Wikipedia website.
According to Off Center Views "The movie revolves around three young women, the Araújo sisters Kat (Annabeth Gish) and Daisy (Julia Roberts) and their good friend Jojo Barbosa (Lili Taylor). The names are Portuguese and both ethnicity and social class factor into the film. Despite the close bonds between the three, they are quite different. Kat is a Type A egghead bound for Yale in fall. She works at Mystic Pizza with Daisy and Jojo, and also works at Mystic Seaport and babysits. Despite her calm exterior, she’s is worried about being a working-class kid at Yale, where she’ll be dependent upon scholarships."
"The film was rated R back in 1988. That’s astounding. Who was shocked to imagine that unmarried young women would have sex? (There is no nudity.) This and other parts of Mystic Pizza are dated–check out Julia Roberts’ big-bowed dress–but there is an innocent charm to it. Grab some ‘za and watch it. Note that I called it “innocent;” take that R-rating."
According to E! Online "Roberts starred as the impulsive waitress Daisy. And while her unruly hair would become iconic, it almost cost her the role in Mystic Pizza. She said about landing the role "I had gone in for a reading and the casting director had said, 'You can't be blond when you see the director,'" she reflected in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. "I had never colored my hair before, so I went to Lamston's [five-and-dime store] and bought black mousse."
"Roberts became one of the most successful and beloved actresses in Hollywood, starring in Steel Magnolias, Notting Hill, Stepmom, The Pelican Brief and My Best Friend's Wedding. And in 2000, she won her first Oscar and became the first woman to earn a $20 million paycheck for her turn the titular heroine in Erin Brockovich."
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