Every generation needs a stoner comedy that is so outlandishly insane and dumb yet brilliant that it stands the test of time by being ridiculous and entertaining. The early 2000s had both Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000) and Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle (and its sequels), 2009 gave us Adventureland, and 2016 handed us Sausage Party. There are plenty more, surely, but those are the ones that come to mind, at least in the vein of comedy we receive with Nick Kocher (Over Your Dead Body) and Brian McElhaney (Over Your Dead Body) who wrote and directed Pizza Movie. While it may not be redefining, it certainly is another notch in the belt for the genre — and it really is over-the-top, insanely hilarious, and will cause you to crack a rib or two from laughter.
L-R: Gaten Matarazzo as Jack and Sean Giambrone as Montgomery in PIZZA MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Hulu.
The film focuses on college roommates and best friends Jack and Montgomery (Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone, respectively). Their bond is strong and everyone on campus agrees that they’re dorks and losers. And then there’s former friend Lizzie (Lulu Wilson), who discovered how pretty she was and decided to ditch her friends for the alpha-bros and cliques to not be dragged down by their lower status. The boys are just hanging around in their room, doing nothing on a Friday night, as per usual, when they discover a box of pills hidden in their ceiling and, for one reason or another, decide to take them and watch the video that was left by the former resident of the room, Frankie (Sarah Sherman). Unfortunately for them, the pills are an unidentified hallucinogenic that send them on a wild trip that is just top-notch madness. While, now high beyond belief, they’re told to ensure they don’t get f*&ked in the ass by chainsaws, they must consume pizza (it makes no sense, it doesn’t need to make sense — they just need to obtain a pizza). So what do they do? They order a pizza. Seems pretty straight forward, but being in a college town, they have Snackatron delivering their pizza. Snackatron stays downstairs and requires them to travel down two flights to get their food. Mission: Impossible — stoner style. Recipe for an insane stoner comedy that delivers like a folded slice of pizza — satisfying and filling.
L-R: Gaten Matarazzo as Jack, Lulu Wilson as Lizzie, and Sean Giambrone as Montgomery in PIZZA MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Hulu.
Fighting against the boys and their unlikely accomplice, Lizzie, is their RA, Blake (Jack Martin), who’s hellbent on ensuring it’s the best dorm in the world, evicting anyone who crosses him, and raising all kinds of hell he deems necessary. He is their nemesis, the Moriarty to their Stoner Holmes, and really just there to be an obstacle of madness that plays into the third act just to keep it rounded.
While Kocher and McElhaney’s script is a little hollow, it is not without its merit. They know exactly what they’re trying to make, and excel at what they’re wanting to create — an all-time stoner classic meant for Gen Z but not so poised and referential that other generations won’t find the humour and delight in such an outlandishly ridiculous comedy. Pizza Movie really is best viewed with friends, maybe an edible or two, and a lot of snacks (preferably pizza not delivered by Snackatron), but it is extreme, enjoyable, and fun. It’s hard to not be smiling ear to ear and cracking a laugh at the sheer and utter chaos they get themselves into.
L-R: Snackatron and Lulu Wilson as Lizzie in PIZZA MOVIE. Photo courtesy of Hulu.
Moreover, though, it is the cast here that is just top notch, too, Matarazzo and Giambrone are trying to breakout of their television show familiarity and popularity (Stranger Things and The Goldbergs, respectively) and playing differently from those characters shows their range and ability to bring life to characters not tied down to several years of television. Being rounded out by Sherman, who heightens the ridiculousness of the film; Lulu Wilson, who shows how cut throat being a teenager can be; Jack Martin showing the perfect example of a child with a power complex; and Caleb Hearon as Sidney as just a misguided soul who wants to be a part of something; the entire cast of Pizza Movie makes this full movie more than just a cheesy slice of hilarity, it makes it a gourmet slice, leaving audiences full and satisfied with the newest addition to the stoner genre.
Screened during SXSW Film & TV Festival 2026.
Available on Hulu and Disney+ April 3rd, 2026.
For more information, head to the official SXSW Film & TV Festival Pizza Movie webpage.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, In Theaters, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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