Roberts' career began with promise in 'Mystic' debut

By Leslie Boxer

Daily Arts Writer

The last time I saw "Mystic Pizza," I loved it. Of course, it was the late '80s and I was probably in seventh or eighth grade (and consequently taped it off HBO to cherish forever). I had braces, and movie stars were allowed to be a little bit huskier. After losing the braces and realizing that leggings under jean skirts were not actually that cool, I revisited "Mystic Pizza" and discovered that although the movie is still charming, it isn't a timeless classic of the '80s.

The film takes place in Mystic, Conn., a fishing village that fills with Portuguese-Americans during the off-season. The story follows the experiences of three friends who work in the Mystic Pizzeria: Jo Jo Barboza (Lili Taylor), Kat (Annabeth Gish) and Daisy Arujo (Julia Roberts).

The three girls are fresh out of high school and enjoying that last wonderful summer when friends are all together and "growing up" seems just around the corner. All three girls fall in love and begin to navigate their lives. Jo Jo is about to marry Bill (Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio), yet has trouble with commitment and the fact that he wants to wait until marriage before sleeping with her. Daisy, the pretty but slutty Arujo sister, falls for the rich preppie Charles Gordon Windsor, Jr., (Adam Storke) who drives a hot car but has little else to offer. Kat is leaving Mystic in the spring for Yale and falls for a thirtysomething Yale graduate while babysitting his four-year-old daughter.

Even though the story of young girls involved in their first romance is cliché, "Mystic Pizza" does not fall into old traps; it remains fresh and light-hearted throughout. There is always something special about the summer following high school, and the movie captures that certain breathlessness.

What is most interesting about the film is that it gives us a retrospective view of the early career of Julia Roberts. This was Roberts' first notable role and led to both "Steel Magnolias" and the very popular "Pretty Woman." Roberts does well with the character of Daisy Arujo. There is not much complexity to Daisy, yet the audience likes the character. Roberts never allows us to dismiss her as just a bimbo. In retrospect, Roberts' portrayal of the character may benefit from her unease with the role of a showy and flirtatious individual. In one scene, Daisy tries to hail a car by standing on the side of the road looking sexy. Roberts' portrayal in this scene is somewhat out of character for Daisy; she actually seems embarrassed. This seems more indicative of Roberts' own anxiety and slight girlish embarrassment of the limelight, and not a misread of Daisy's character.

All of this quickly changed, as did Julia's figure, with "Pretty Woman," the film that made her a star. Many films and more than a decade later, Julia Roberts is at the top of her game and more comfortable with her fame. Her newest film, "Erin Brockovich," opens Friday and seems to be a departure from Roberts' usual romantic lead ("Notting Hill" and "Runaway Bride").

As for "Mystic Pizza," I think it's reaching time to tape over that movie.

Courtesy of TriStar Studios

Roberts' fame continued to augment.