-Written by Kyle Bain.
2024 HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW!
A woman bored at home (Sophie Neff) decides to order a pizza, seeing if instead of money, she can use sex as payment. When the pizza boy (Woody Coyote) arrives and is propositioned he begins a spiral into existential crisis. Make Me a Pizza explores pizza beyond the pizza, addressing everyone and everything that went into making this delicious meal.
Filmed in the style of a 1980’s porn, Make Me a Pizza possesses a level of discomfort almost from its opening seconds. This is done intentionally, it’s done as a way to immerse viewers in this film and allow them to become part of this story (to a degree–you don’t need to know about any weird stuff going on while you’re watching this film). We are sort of transported back to the 80’s to a place that we’ve either been or seen in film many times before–the addition of sex just appeals to human nature and sort of forces viewers to become enticed by the film.
Without the extra details about how and why the pizza was made, or whether or not sex is worth $29.99 the film still holds weight. If you’ve ever seen a show like Family Guy or South Park, then you’re familiar with the trope of the pizza guy showing up and it becoming a sexual fiasco. This isn’t new, and it’s been talked about and covered in popular culture for years–that sort of helps to make Make Me a Pizza more relatable. It’s funny, it’s silly, it’s familiar–but then it extends beyond that.
The extension doesn’t hinder the film, either. It adds depth to a comedy, creating even more of a connection between content and viewer. Interestingly enough, Make Me a Pizza feels sort of like a social commentary–commenting on our obsession with sex and food.
Though, what’s most interesting, and most effective, is the fact Make Me a Pizza is immersive. In its most intimate scenes, and you can imagine based on the review up to this point what that means, viewers are brought up close and personal, seeing nearly every detail (without it becoming a full-on porn). It’s fun, sure—but it’s also incredibly cringy (and, again, that’s intentional). Everything that Writer-Director Talia Shea Levin hopes to accomplish in this regard, she does. Discomfort and euphoria battle it out throughout the course of Make Me a Pizza, and it’s a brilliant blitz of emotion as a result.
Make Me a Pizza doesn’t need depth, it doesn’t need to be anything other than a silly spoof on the simple porn idea regarding a pizza delivery man and his attractive, female customer. Make Me a Pizza didn’t have to extend beyond that narrow scope, but this team, headed by Levin, does a stellar job of developing this film into something more. With its existential and immersive bits throughout, Make Me a Pizza is a layered delight—a veritable buffet to feast on.
Directed by Talia Shea Levin.
Written by Talia Shea Levin, Woody Coyote, & Katie Peabody.
Starring Sophie Neff & Woody Coyote.
7.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING
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