Released: 23rd March
Seen: 27th July
Stoner comedy might be one of the newer subgenres of film that exists. Sure, some people might say it dates back to the 30s with Reefer Madness, but that was mostly an accidental Stoner Comedy, failed propaganda that stoners would laugh at in midnight screenings because it failed its intended purpose. Realistically, the genre was started by Cheech and Chong in their run of movies from the late 70s through to the 80s. There’s been a fair few well-regarded stoner comedies since then; things like the Harold and Kumar series or most of Kevin Smith’s early output really helped explore what the genre could be. It’s been a little while since we’ve really had a good quality stoner comedy and now here comes Pizza Movie, and just like a real Pizza, even when it’s bad it’s still pretty good.
Pizza Movie follows a couple of losers living in a dorm room together. Montgomery (Sean Giambrone) is a weak-willed idiot who spends his days caring for his pet butterfly, pining for a girl whom he barely knows and following his friend’s lead. Jack (Gaten Matarazzo) is an impulsive moron who is the school pariah because he inadvertently did something horrible to the football team, which has made the school as a whole mad at him. The only people Jack and Montgomery have is each other and they plan on just having a quiet night at home… or they did until Jack finds a random box of pills in the dorm room and convinces Montgomery they should both take them. Turns out the drugs they took were some strange homemade concoction where the high comes with several stages that culminate in a stage known as “Your worst nightmare comes to life and shoves a chainsaw up your ass”. This final stage of the high can be avoided simply by eating a pizza and there just happens to be a pizza waiting for them in the lobby, all Montgomery and Jack have to do is get to the pizza while dealing with the various stages of their high, Montgomery’s crush – the quiet and quirky Ashley (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), their former best friend Lizzy (Lulu Wilson) and an army of terrifying PA’s led by the profoundly evil Blake (Jack Martin)… should be easy, right?
Pizza Movie operates on the rule of “Well, this’ll be funny” and forgoes pesky things like logic, plot or reality and just kind of goes with whatever made the two writers laugh hardest when they were throwing ideas out and thank god for that because this film really just goes for broke every time and is so stuffed with jokes that you will just straight up miss some because you’re still giggling from a previous quippy line. The comedy can run the gamut from witty wordplay to farcical slapstick to a meta commentary on the nature of independent film limitations and it all just kind of works. Sometimes the joke is an intelligent bit of commentary about the nature of how power corrupts everyone and sometimes someone will just throw a piece of shit in someone’s face, both make sense in this universe and both are hilarious. Its absolutely bonkers nature is set up quickly, the opening borders on a cartoon at times and by the time the two leads have downed the mystery pills and gotten the central conceit of the film going the audience has accepted that this is going to be absolutely fucking bonkers so it’s best to just strap in and go for the ride.
The simplicity of the plot allows Pizza Movie to just hang jokes off it without a care, if anything it seems to view the basic plot as a test. The main characters have to get down two flights of stairs to get a pizza, what can possibly be thrown in their way? Turns out pretty much everything and the film’s ability to build absurdity on top of absurdity is to be admired. An entire sequence can involve heads exploding every time someone swears or it can be a bit of cheesy banter while crawling through some air ducts; there are so many little things that the film throws at the leads just to set up a half dozen jokes that it’s wildly impressive. There are times when it makes no logical sense and the film just stops, calls out how stupid what it’s just done is, then moves right the fuck along because who cares as long as it’s funny?
It also helps that the actors are delivering some wonderful comedic performances, particularly the two leads who have such an easy chemistry that elevates every scene and makes even the stupidest joke somehow work. The commitment to the insanity on display is admirable, everyone just accepts the strangeness and matches it in a way that feels consistent. It makes the stupidest jokes feel natural and doesn’t feel out of place dealing with the wittier jokes. It all blends so well and the actors sell every weird idea that they’ve been given in a way that’s just impressive. You feel at ease with this cast, it’s easy to just let them take the reins and get the laughter going without having to really put much into it.
Look, Pizza Movie is not gonna be for everyone. It’s smart enough to sell its stupid jokes but if the genre of stoner comedies isn’t your thing this isn’t going to change your mind on that, it’s basically the exact kind of movie that genre was designed for. However, if you want a good silly time with a film that’s dedicated to just tossing out jokes until you laugh at one of them, then yeah this is a great time. It’s simple, effective and does everything you want it to do and you don’t even have to be high to enjoy it.
Movie Meister Reviews 