It’s the 92nd Academy Awards this Sunday, meaning the world’s A-listers will sashay down the red carpet, laud each other’s successes, and give speeches that are touch too long (probably).
If you’re hosting a party for the Oscars, pizza will probably feature. If you’re going to an Oscars watching party, pizza will probably feature. That’s because pizzas and movies are a winning combo. There’s no better union than movies and pizza and, on occasion, those worlds collide on the silver screen.
We present to you seven Oscar-worthy pizza scenes from movie history:
7. “Fast Times At Ridgemont High” – Spicoli orders a pizza in class
Eating in class is a big no-no, but Spicoli (played by Sean Penn) was not one to play by the rules. In the middle of Mr. Hand’s history class, he orders a double cheese and sausage pie directly to his desk. Mr. Hand, unfortunately, did not take kindly to his stunt.
“Mr. Spicoli, you’re on dangerous ground here,” the teacher says. “You’re causing a major disturbance on my time.” “I’ve been thinking about this, Mr. Hand,” says Spicoli, who has clearly given this some thought. “If I’m here, and you’re here, isn’t it our time? And there’s certainly nothing wrong with a little feast on our time.”
After that, it’s heartbreak for Spicoli as Mr. Hand turns his personal pie into an impromptu pizza party by doling out slices to lucky students before biting into one himself.
Kids, it’d be easy to get a pizza delivered to class via the Slice app, but we don’t recommend it – your teacher has definitely seen “Fast Times” and won’t hesitate to pull a Mr. Hand.
6. “The Net” – A portal into our pizza future.
The online world was portrayed as grim in 1995’s “The Net,” but it wasn’t without its advantages. In the opening scene, Sandra Bullock’s character places an order on pizza.net which promises “The best pizza in Cyberspace!”
At the time, the notion of ordering a pizza from the comfort of your home seemed as far fetched as flying cars. Today, we’ve improved on the wildest fantasies of the mid 90s with an app that brings you pizza via your phone.
What a time to be alive.
5. “The Jerk” – Pizza in a Cup
When Marie sits down to eat with Navin R. Johnson (played by Steve Martin), she finds that he is living in squalor. On the plus side, Navin has some good eats in the form of pizza in a cup, plus some phenomenal salvaged swag.
Marie approves of pizza in a cup and it turns out that she’s far from the only fan.
“Oh, this is the best pizza in a cup ever,” Navin says. “This guy is unbelievable. He ran the old Cup ‘o Pizza guy out of business. People come from all over to eat this!”
4. “Mystic Pizza” – Food Critic
It wouldn’t be a list about pizza scenes in movies without a scene from a movie that is about a pizzeria. Mystic Pizza is a coming-of-age tale about two sisters and their friend who work as waitresses at the eponymous shop.
One of the movies most notable scenes features a visit from a local food critic, “The Fireside Gourmet”, who comes to sample the house special, the “Mystic Pizza”. The critic has a mean poker face, and samples the pizza without a noticeable reaction before promptly leaving.
Later, the waitresses (including a young Julia Roberts) and the restaurants owner’s wait on tenterhooks in front of the TV to get the critic’s verdict on the dish:
3. “Eat Pray Love” – I’m having a relationship with my pizza
A second entry for a Julia Roberts movie on this list! While she might have started her pizza-movie career with Mystic Pizza, Julia’s most famous pizza scene comes from the movie Eat Pray Love.
Based on the memoir of author Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat Pray Love tells the story of a divorcee on a journey of self discovery across, Italy (Eat), India (Pray), and Indonesia (Love). In Naples, Elizabeth (played by Roberts) practically makes out with a slice of margherita pizza in Naples before exclaiming that she’s in love with it. We don’t blame her though, because it does look like a great slice of pizza.
Funnily enough, this scene also featured at number three on another of our lists.
2. “Home Alone” – Keep the change, ya filthy animal.
Pizza (along with parental negligence) is at the core of “Home Alone.” Early on, Kevin McCallister is sent upstairs after a pizza squabble, which is where the eight-year-old remained when everyone else left for France.
Later on, he resolves to get a pizza to enjoy all by himself, so he orders a pie from Little Nero’s. To keep his predicament on the down low, Kevin artfully hits the play and pause buttons on an old-timey gangster movie to correspond with the teenage delivery boy.
Unfortunately for the delivery boy, the prank leaves him with a lowly 2% tip and the scare of a lifetime.
1. Saturday Night Fever – The Walk
The opening scene of “Saturday Night Fever” is one of the most iconic in pizza cinema history. As John Travolta’s character struts down Brooklyn’s 86th Street, he scarfs down two slices of pizza from Lenny’s, a Bensonhurst institution that is still going strong to this day.
The boldness of Travolta’s character’s stride is matched only by his pizza eating strategy. A man who spends this much time on his appearance has little time for anything else, so he stacks one slice on top of the other and chows down. He also doesn’t close his mouth while chewing, but he has enough 70s haute couture style to offset any faupaux.
Julia Roberts orders a pizza while shopping for clothes. Joey Ramone eats pizza in Rock and Roll High School.