PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   The university experience is often defined by a quest for new sensations, which for many students involves experimenting with various substances. Whether it is a heavy reliance on caffeine or something more illicit, college is the quintessential time for such exploration.

This makes the campus an ideal backdrop for coming-of-age stories, which focus on the pivotal moment when young adults begin to define their identities. While films ranging from Animal House to Pitch Perfect have utilized this setting, Pizza Movie—the first feature film from the comedy duo BriTANick (Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney)—takes the concept to a new level.

The narrative is straightforward: two roommates, the adventurous Jack (Gaten Matarazzo) and the high-strung Montgomery (Sean Giambrone), decide to cope with their problems by consuming mysterious pills that fell from their ceiling. They must then make their way downstairs to collect a pizza delivery before their deepest anxieties manifest. While the setup is simple, the execution is anything but; as the drugs take hold, the characters navigate various stages of a “trip,” each utilizing different science fiction archetypes.

The movie functions as an episodic journey through the complex social bonds of college life, told through the lens of familiar sci-fi and fantasy elements like time loops, body swapping, fourth-wall breaks, and more surprises that are best left unrevealed.

“I was thrilled that a script this original actually exists and is being produced,” Gaten Matarazzo shared with Inverse. “My initial thought upon reading it was that it felt like the drug-trip sequence from 21 Jump Street expanded into a full-length feature, which was my favorite part of that film.”

Beyond its comedic value, the film stands out as a technically impressive science fiction work. Each stage of the psychedelic journey adds depth to the narrative and maintains its own internal logic. Pizza Movie doesn’t just add sci-fi elements to a comedy; rather, the sci-fi serves as a natural progression of the humor itself.

“To push a comedic concept to its furthest limit, you often have to step outside of reality,” McElhaney explained to Inverse. “We decided to just embrace it—if making a character teleport makes a scene funnier, we do it. It allows the comedy to go exactly where it needs to.” This philosophy leads to scenarios involving a pizza-delivering robot voiced by Bobby Moynihan and resident assistants who operate as a high-tech secret police force.

The lead actors are well-suited for such a genre-bending project. Matarazzo is a veteran of the genre, having spent a decade playing Dustin on Stranger Things. While he confirmed there are no plans for a secret follow-up to that series, he has his own ideas for future stories. “I’d love to see a Stranger Things bottle episode where the group is preparing for a mission,” Matarazzo noted. “They’d be ready to head into the Upside Down only to realize they forgot to get gas, similar to the Friends episode where they are stranded at a rest stop.”

Giambrone also has a connection to major sci-fi franchises, having appeared in promotional content for the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser. Matarazzo reacted with playful jealousy when Giambrone described the experience of “punching” the hyperdrive at the immersive hotel before it closed, lamenting that he never had the chance to visit.

This genuine passion for the genre is a core part of Pizza Movie. The young cast enjoys both celebrating and parodying fantastical tropes, such as a scene where characters are forced to reveal their secrets while trapped with an older RA played by comedian Caleb Hearon.

“I’m sure there is a lot of footage of Caleb from that truth-telling scene that didn’t make the final cut,” Giambrone remarked. Matarazzo added that he hopes the outtakes are eventually released, calling Hearon’s performance a “game changer.”

During that sequence, the character Lizzy (Lulu Wilson) makes a shocking revelation about the contents of her purse. While the moment is absurd, Matarazzo noted it is based on a real-life story he heard from a friend. “I can’t wait for them to see the movie so I can remind them they did the exact same thing,” he said.

Pizza Movie acts as a compilation of sci-fi’s greatest hits, crafted by two sharp comedic minds. Every joke and callback is designed to be meaningful. “The more connections and callbacks we can include, the better,” Kocher told Inverse. “It’s a difficult writing process because the setup has to work on its own, but the payoff is very rewarding for the audience.”

Much like a late-night pizza, the film is fresh, slightly indulgent, and highly satisfying, whether the viewer is looking for a stoner comedy or a wild science fiction journey.

Pizza Movie is currently streaming on Hulu.