A to Z Challenge: “M” Mystic Pizza “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” & “These Are The Times To Remember” #AtoZChallenge #MysticPizza

I’ve joined in for the A to Z challenge this year which runs from April 1st to the 30th. My choice of theme is Music from Favorite Films. I’ll be sharing the songs in order of film title and will write a little about my thoughts on the movie as well.

My film choice for “M” is Mystic Pizza starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor. This movie is a coming-of-age story following three young girls from the seaside town of Mystic, Connecticut. Two of the girls are sisters and one is their best friend, but all three are just out of high school and work together at Mystic Pizza: a pizzeria  famous for a sauce with secret ingredients.

Kat (Gish) and Daisy (Roberts) are sisters, but they’re very different from one another. Kat’s super smart, studies astronomy, and very soon she’ll be heading to Yale University on a scholarship. To make extra money for college she accepts a nanny job to care for a little girl named Phoebe. Kat is quickly attracted to Tim (Phoebe’s father) and as they spend more time together some chemistry develops. Kat follows her heart and seems oblivious to the fact that he’s already married.

Daisy is sort of the family screw-up who’s looking for love and just wants to get out of Mystic once and for all. She meets a cute guy at a bar and they’re instantly attracted to one another. It seems like he’s the perfect catch, until she meets his racist parents and things go awry.

Jojo (Taylor) is already in a hot and heavy relationship with her boyfriend Bill (D’Onofrio). Bill wants to marry her, but Jojo just seems to be interested in him for sex and deathly afraid of commitment. When Bill breaks up with her, Jojo is beside herself and try’s to figure out a way to get him back.

I don’t think I even watched this movie until I was in high school. The film is underrated in my opinion. I still find it charming and funny even today in 2019. It’s easy to cringe with some of the decisions the girls make in the movie, but it reminds me of what it was like just getting started in life–when you easily make mistakes while trying to figure everything out, and at the same time you’re so full of hopes and dreams. I feel like the movie captures that perfectly and it’s full of heart.

The cast for Mystic Pizza is excellent and all give wonderful performances. I believe this is sort of the beginning for Julia Roberts and it’s funny because I just watched this last summer and never realized that Matt Damon plays a small part in the film as a younger brother as well.

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I chose two songs from the original soundtrack:

“I’ve Got You Under My Skin” by Frank Sinatra.

The bass line in the background of this captivates me, but you may have to listen to the song alone because it’s harder to hear on the movie clip.

Whenever I listen to music from the 40s and 50s I remember my grandfather always saying to me: “They don’t make music like they used to.” I have to agree with that.

This song plays in the pizzeria during the time a major food critic comes to critique their pizza.

Full song:

Lyrics:

I’ve got you under my skin.
I’ve got you deep in the heart of me.
So deep in my heart that you’re really a part of me.
I’ve got you under my skin.
I’d tried so not to give in.
I said to myself: this affair never will go so well.
But why should I try to resist when, baby, I know so well
I’ve got you under my skin?

I’d sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin’ you near
In spite of a warnin’ voice that comes in the night
And repeats, repeats in my ear:
Don’t you know, little fool, you never can win?
Use your mentality, wake up to reality.
But each time that I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop before I begin
‘Cause I’ve got you under my skin.

[Musical interlude]

I would sacrifice anything come what might
For the sake of havin’ you near
In spite of the warning voice that comes in the night
And repeats – how it yells in my ear:
Don’t you know, little fool, you never can win?
Why not use your mentality – step up, wake up to reality?
But each time I do just the thought of you
Makes me stop just before I begin
‘Cause I’ve got you under my skin.
Yes, I’ve got you under my skin.

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“These Are The Times To Remember”

This song plays during the credits at the end of the movie. The lyrics seem to fit the movie perfectly.

Lyrics:

I know we’ll be friends for life, sharing our dreams together
As we walk down the road, we’ll never think twice
These memories are made forever.
Though we’re off to different worlds, somehow we’re together
Know we’re never far apart ’cause deep within our hearts.
These are the times to remember, the memories will last forevermore
These are the times to remember, it’s a part of life you can recall 
These are the times.
With happy tears, we cried, as we reached for the stars together
We lived by a code to stand side-by-side, and it just keeps on getting better
When we’re off to different worlds, somehow we’re together
Know we’re never far apart ’cause deep within our hearts
These are the times to remember, the memories will last forevermore
These are the times to remember…

When we look back on all these times, the happiness will shine through
These are the times to remember, the memories will last forevermore
These are the times, these are the times.

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Image source:

• http://www.devourfest.com
• http://www.blu-ray.com
• http://www.decider.com

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Thanks for checking out the A to Z challenge. What are your thoughts on this movie? Do you like these songs? Feel free to leave comments below if you’d like. 😉

❤ Mischenko