Mystic Pizza and Mask Mandates

Last night, I had one of those evenings where a seemingly endless number of streaming subscriptions – coupled with my considerable collection of hard copies – ironically left me unable to decide what to watch. Before resigning myself to watching Friends until I fell asleep for the zillionth time, I chose to go with Mystic Pizza, a little-talked-about coming of age movie from 1988 that’s best known for starring Julia Roberts before she became one of the world’s biggest stars. (It also features Matt Damon in his first movie role; he’s in one scene and has no lines, unless you count outraged shouting at a dinner table). I didn’t expect much, but I ended up adoring it, connecting with characters who felt real, who inhabited a believable world, who said or thought things my friends or I have, who made mistakes and learned from them – sometimes too late.  But of the many aspects of Mystic Pizza that stuck with me as I tried to get to sleep, one which I think made this the right movie at the right time for me is fun.

Right now, reality is not fun. We’re locked down. We’re forced into masks as we go about what little of our day is still allowed to us. We can’t eat out or go to a bar. We can’t go to the movies. We don’t see our friends as much as we did before this nightmare. We’re supposed to keep a body-length away from anyone we encounter, effectively removing the rest of our fellow men by a whole person’s worth of space. Whatever your opinions on the necessity – or the true purpose behind – any or all of these restrictions on liberty, I’d bet any amount of money you’ve felt the pressure of the past year bubbling up inside at one point or another, threatening to overtake your good senses, your mood, possibly even your sanity. I know I have more than once, and I certainly will again.

What a joy, then, to watch the characters in a movie like Mystic Pizza hang out in the town saloon and play darts with big-city tourists. How cathartic to see three best friends sing along with Aretha Franklin on the radio while driving through the empty streets at night, all sitting across the front seat. How hopeful to watch the crowds gather at the titular pizzeria as Julia Roberts’ one-in-a-million smile shines unencumbered by a mandated mask while she serves comfort food. I know lots of movies – pretty much all of them – have this, but it isn’t the same in a big action extravaganza or a sci-fi adventure. This is a film about regular people just living their lives, doing the things we once took for granted. The three main characters, played by Roberts, Lili Taylor, and Annabeth Gish, are just out of high school, and they’re doing what young, carefree kids should be doing before they enter adulthood instead of being forced indoors and away from their friends.

What Mystic Pizza highlighted for me is how movies can help people cope with unbearable circumstances. You can watch relatable characters played by appealing actors let their hair down and enjoy life, and it can remind you not only of what once was but that what you’re suffering won’t be forever, that the light the rest of the world is doing its damndest to hide from you still rests at the end of the tunnel. These are the types of movies that should be made right now, a subgenre that’s aching for its moment once theaters open. We’ll all have fun with James Bond and Mission: Impossible, but the deepest satisfaction may be found in seeing life go on and knowing that we’ve got that back too. There have been rumblings that Hollywood wants to move away from bloated superhero blockbusters for a while, and if that ends up being true, why not spend a few million on some small-town folks enjoying themselves in blue jeans rather than a billion on bodybuilders saving the world in capes?

The problem comes in my faith in modern Hollywood, which is close to being maxed out at the moment. We all know and hate the woke stuff, but I’m talking about something even more specific than that: plain ineptitude, the inability to understand the zeitgeist. For example, my mother is a big fan of those Dick Wolf Chicago shows (Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med), so she fires up Hulu whenever new episodes air, and I usually catch bits and pieces of them. In the recent installments of Chicago Med, everyone is wearing a mask at all times, and every third line of dialogue has the word “COVID” in there somewhere. It’s relentless, it’s overbearing, and I don’t know how anyone could enjoy it. I know Wolf’s specialty is stories that are “ripped from the headlines,” so I suppose it’s to be expected, but there’s a difference between a fictionalization of the Scott Peterson trial and banging on about something every one of us is forced to face daily – especially in every single episode.

Sticking with Dick Wolf for a moment, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit also has masks in almost every scene, replete with lectures on usage. This is where I’m less inclined to grant leeway, as SVU has been steadily getting into obnoxious woke politics. The nadir of this trajectory was the painfully ill-informed and ridiculously condescending Gamergate episode, which I can only imagine Anita Sarkeesian described as “harrowing” to whoever it is that watches her videos. In light of this, I see the masks in SVU –and maybe Chicago Med – as propaganda more than an attempt to reflect reality; a Chicago Med scene arguing in favor of prioritizing COVID over detecting and treating cancer strengthens my opinion. Then, there’s Doug Liman’s HBO Max film Locked Down, a love story/heist movie set during COVID. I’m not masochistic enough to watch it, but I can only marvel at the weird decision to burden down what should be a light, fun caper flick with COVID realities from which viewers no doubt want to escape.

So, is Hollywood going to keep beating the COVID drum while people desperately want to forget about it for two hours? Or will we see more movies like Mystic Pizza, where we can live it up with a bunch of fun people as they go about their business? The entertainment industry is still in full-on scold mode, and since they dove into the lockdown and masking mandates with both sanctimonious feet, they may not be able to stop themselves for at least a little while. But once they get a clear financial message that their audience doesn’t feel like being hectored by people who were able to keep their jobs, fly privately, and spend their lockdowns in mansions the size of city blocks, perhaps we’ll see a resurgence of feel-good, slice-of-life pictures that remind us of simpler times, both behind and in front of us.

Barring that, they could at least let Ricky Gervais host something again.

Comments (10)

February 5, 2021 at 7:18 am

“We’re forced into masks as we go about what little of our day is still allowed to us.”

Listen, buddy, Ima stop you right there. Nobody is “forcing” you. It’s your choice.

Except for Costco…those bouncers are NOT joking around.

    February 6, 2021 at 5:59 pm

    It is as long as you’re outside. Indoors, on public transportation, in cabs, it isn’t. You can’t live without one anymore.

    Buddy.

      February 7, 2021 at 10:47 pm

      I dont know where you live but that is, certainly, isnt the case where I live.
      Nobody wears mask around here. Sure, the propaganda is on every building but no one pays attention to it.

        February 8, 2021 at 7:51 pm

        I live in New York City, specifically Staten Island. The governor mandated that businesses can’t let anyone in without a mask. Restaurants that are even perceived not to be complying get hit with massive fines, and with their loss of business they’re even less able to afford them. And their are even weirder rules, like you can’t serve alcohol unless the customer also buys food, and it has to be “something substantial.” There are actual guidelines as to what constitutes a “substantial” amount of food. They’re very petty about it too. There’s a video somewhere of a takeout place getting fined for serving someone while indoor dining was closed because someone picking up a takeout order sat down at a table while he waited. It’s scary, Soviet crap.

        Outside, it depends on where you live. Here on Staten Island, most people don’t wear them unless they’re about to go into a store or are waiting for a bus. In Manhattan, almost everyone wears them outside, although more recently I’ve noticed it decrease somewhat. In Brooklyn, it looks about 50/50, but I don’t go there often and have only seen one neighborhood since the lockdowns started.

February 6, 2021 at 7:04 am

I loved your article. Mystic Pizza is one of my favorite movies.

I do not wear a mask or watch movies or commercials who partake in the propaganda of the overblown China virus. I agree people watch movies to escape. 2020 sucked and 2021 doesn’t look much better. I hate the woke crap. I have been watching older movies myself. Pre plandemic.

    February 6, 2021 at 6:02 pm

    Thanks very much! I was surprised how much I loved the movie.

    I don’t wear masks when I don’t have to, but where I live, you can’t enter a building or take public transportation without one. I’m with you in principle, though, and I also think it’s ridiculous and overblown.

February 7, 2021 at 5:04 am

That is why I am so glad I live in Florida. They can’t really force you to wear a mask. It is constitutional. I do understand where you are coming from. You have to pick your battles. If you take a stand you will be met with resistance. My personal views I would gladly take a fine or go to jail in defence of my freedom. The reason I say that is one person can make a difference even if you don’t see it right away. Like a pebble in a pond it makes ripples and has far reaching affects. It sets examples for those who might be afraid. But that is my personal preference I would not want you to do anything that might put you in potential danger. I know certain cities are quite volatile. I respect your preference. Stay safe out there.

    February 8, 2021 at 7:56 pm

    My main reason for wearing them indoors is that if I don’t, the business will get hurt. They can be fined or shut down completely, depending on how many infractions or how vindictive the government wants to be. And so many have had to shut down already because of the lockdowns. The stores and restaurants themselves won’t let you in if you aren’t wearing a mask, regardless of what they believe, because they don’t have a choice, so I’m not really in danger. You just can’t really live without it, because you can’t get around or buy food.

    From what I’ve seen, the way Florida is handling it is great, and I wish we had an ounce of that kind of freedom here.

February 10, 2021 at 4:52 am

I feel for you and understand what you are saying. I know a lot of people are leaving because of all the crap. I also know that some people are stuck because they don’t have the money to leave. It is a sad world. Here is hoping that we all have a brighter future. I pray everyday for our people and country.

    February 11, 2021 at 7:31 pm

    Yeah, a ton of people have left New York; we may actually lose a congressional seat over it. What sucks is, it’s a lot of people who voted for this stuff in the first place, so I weep for wherever they end up settling.

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