Pizza can be found in hundreds of movies, but it’s mostly there as product placement; a way for a pizza company like Dominoes or Papa Johns to promote their slices. However, there are some movies that use the dish in more inventive ways.
There’s no food that unites the world more than pizza. There are so many variations of pizza, and it can fit in with almost any dietary requirement, so, when a pizza appears on the big screen, whole audiences’ bellies rumble in synch. Whether it ignites a turf war, is the inspiration for a futuristic invention, or is just simply an iconic character’s favorite food, these scenes all celebrate the greatness of pizza in some way.
Wayne’s World (1992)
With Wayne’s World being one of the funniest comedies ever made and by far the best movie based on a Saturday Night Live sketch, it made fans laugh so much they cried. One of the most memorable scenes comes when Wayne and Garth fear they may have sold out.
When arguing about product placement, in a very fourth-wall-breaking bit, Wayne inadvertently partakes in promoting products to the audience, all while looking directly at the camera. One of those products is a Pizza Hut pizza. Wayne hilariously states, “I will not bow to any sponsor,” as he holds up a slice of pepperoni pizza with the Pizza Hut logo clearly on display.
Dude, Where’s My Car? (2000)
Dude, Where’s My Car? is one of the most underrated comedies of the 2000s, as The Hangover basically lifted its whole story from this movie. When two pizza delivery guys wake up with a hangover, not remembering what happened the night before, the first thing they find out is that they failed to deliver 30 pizzas.
When the owner of the pizzeria visits them, they run around trying to hide the pizza before he enters the apartment. The pizza maker is trying to prove that the two have been “embezzling” his pizza, as slices literally stuck to the roof start to peel off.
Back To The Future Part II (1989)
One of the reasons why Back To The Future Part II is the best movie in the series is because it’s actually set in the future, and the most interesting thing about the future in the movie is the ability to re-hydrate a dehydrated pizza.
In the movie, Lorraine puts a tiny pizza that fits in the palm of her hand into a strange Black and Decker device. After a few seconds, it’s the size of a regular dish. Though there was a lot that the movie actually predicted correctly about the future, this is, unfortunately, not one of them.
Do The Right Thing (1989)
As the whole of Do The Right Thing is based around Sal’s Pizza, an Italian-owned pizzeria in a predominantly African American neighborhood, the place inadvertently incites a war as tensions boil over.
Things get heated in the restaurant in a scene early on, but not before a hilarious back and forth between Sal and Buggin’ Out. Buggin’ asks for extra cheese on his pizza, and, when Sal tells him it’s two dollars, he starts sprinkling on the free Parmesan by the fistful.
Deadpool (2016)
Before he truly becomes Deadpool and is just a two-bit gun for hire, Wade Wilson orders a pizza to a random stranger’s house, as his victim is the delivery guy. What follows is crushing waves of abuse towards both the stranger and the delivery guy in true Deadpool fashion, and he eats pizza while doing it.
Though Deadpool is known more for his witty remarks than anything else, nothing he has ever said has been more true than when he asks, “what situation isn’t improved by pizza?”
Home Alone 2: Lost In New York (1992)
Pizza and Home Alone go hand in hand, and Kevin’s favorite, the cheese pizza, is almost as much as a character in the series as he is. In Home Alone 2: Lost In New York, though, it makes no sense how he got there, Kevin goes all out with his parents’ credit card in a hotel.
The most luxurious moment of it all comes when the bellboy is waiting outside next to a limousine and holding a pizza. When the bellboy lifts the lid of the pizza box, it’s like a commercial, as it’s steaming hot even in the dead of winter in New York.
Iron Man (2008)
It’s a wonder how Tony Stark even fits in the Iron Man suit, as, when he returned from being trapped in a cave for three months in the first Iron Man movie, the first thing he did was eat two double cheeseburgers, and his diet really doesn't seem to accommodate his physically demanding superhero job.
But that’s not all, later on in the movie, Tony can be found digging into a pizza with Obi. It comes right before Obi betrays Tony, and the last nice thing Obi does for Tony is offer him another slice. That gesture just made Obi’s betrayal sting that much more.
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)
The classic comedy film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby features one of the most mouthwatering feasts ever seen in a movie. After Carly says, “I’ve been slaving over this for hours,” it cuts to a shot of the dining table full of Domino's pizza. But, it doesn’t just end with pizza, as there’s a full bucket of KFC chicken, burgers, and tons of sides too. Ddespite displaying all of this food in salivating fashion, the movie didn’t make any money from its blatant product placement.
Inside Out (2015)
The beginning of Inside Out, one of the best Pixar movies of the 2010s, sees Riley move to San Francisco, and she struggles to adapt to city life. Things get worse when she is given pizza with a broccoli topping. Being from the midwest, Riley isn't used to such health-conscious dishes. However, it’s the catalyst for the best line in the movie, as Anger yells, “Congratulations, San Francisco, you’ve ruined pizza. First the Hawaiians, and now you.”
Home Alone (1990)
There is so much pizza to be found in Home Alone, as, even in the very opening scene, it’s a whole pizza feast. In what is arguably the most iconic pizza scene in movie history, Kevin uses dialogue from a gangster movie to talk to the delivery guy without revealing is age.
It ends with Kevin making the delivery guy think he’s getting shot at with a machine gun after the delivery guy calls Kevin cheap. It’s so iconic that the same joke was pulled on the hotel bellboy in the second movie. However, as the movie is based in Chicago, there isn’t a single deep dish pizza in sight, which is almost criminal.