Pizza

Offbeat indie road movie delivers low-key charm.

In this sweet road movie that never leaves its two-mile delivery radius, chubby teenager Cara-Ethyl (Kylie Sparks) is delivering pies around town with thirtysomething hunk Matt (Ethan Embry). Writer-director Mark Christopher creates a series of broad comedic vignettes that allow Sparks and Embry to show off their natural chemistry together, while at the same time allowing for nuanced characterization. Nothing about the film feels fake, which is a remarkable achievement for a quirky family/road comedy. The grainy nighttime DV cinematography is the movie’s chief limitation; though a small and personal work, Pizza would still look better on film. Watch for the hilarious Julie Hagerty as Cara-Ethyl’s blind and hopelessly clueless mother. For the kids, there’s also a pre-fame cameo by pop heartthrob Jesse McCartney, whose teenage character snorts coke while McCartney’s “Beautiful Soul” plays in the background. By the end of Pizza, you’ll want another slice.