Pizza Movie Is A Gleefully Weird Throwback To Classic Stoner Comedies
Pizza Movie adds Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone into the illustrious mix of stoner duos like Cheech and Chong, Bill and Ted, Jay and Silent Bob, and Harold and Kumar. Outcasts Montgomery and Jack are on an urgent quest for pizza after taking mystery drugs from a mint tin that falls out of the ceiling of their college dorm room. Maybe not the smartest idea, but the drugs promise the feeling of being in a “cloud of lavender” while “being sung to by lollipop pixies.” Unfortunately, without pizza, the trip quickly turns into psychedelic nightmare fuel. Luckily, their cheesy savior has arrived… but getting to the lobby of their dorm building to grab it isn’t as easy as it sounds.
This is the first feature film from the sketch comedy duo of Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher, known as BriTANick. They cleverly script Montgomery and Jack’s mind-bending trip across six levels in a way that almost feels like a series of sketches, while still allowing each chapter to shine. There are exploding heads, body swaps, a Megazord-style fight, and, one of the best scenes in the film, an epic fourth-wall break that changes everything we know about “the true horrible nature of reality.” That freedom leaves room for immense creativity, making Pizza Movie’s hallucinatory adventures feel fresh and chaotic in the best way.
Giambrone brings a sweet old-man energy to his shy Montgomery, while Matarazzo is reckless and self-focused as Jack, who is hated by the whole campus. Typically in college movies, getting the girl is treated as the ultimate conquest, but this film does well by its female characters. The crazy night reunites the duo with their former friend Lizzy, who had ditched them for the popular crew. Lulu Wilson gives the character a young Gillian Jacobs-style energy. Even Montgomery’s crush on Ashley (Peyton Elizabeth Lee) is sweet, despite them being complete opposites. On top of that, the trio faces off against the power-hungry chief RA (Jack Martin) and his goons. And, of course, there’s the food delivery robot Snackinator 3000 (Bobby Moynihan) and Montgomery’s pet butterfly Lysander (voiced by Daniel Radcliffe). Yes, there is a talking pet butterfly in the mix… and that’s just the beginning of the goofy shenanigans at play in Pizza Movie.
The humor doesn’t always land, but the film takes enough big swings to make the ride worthwhile. At a time when college comedies feel rare, Pizza Movie’s gleefully weird energy is a welcome reminder of how fun the genre can be. With a cast committed to the absurdity and a script full of original, imaginative ideas, Pizza Movie has all the ingredients of a future cult classic.
Pizza Movie premiered at SXSW on March 13 and will be released on Hulu on April 3.
