SXSW Movie Review: "Pizza Movie" — A Drug Trip That Never Really Gets High

The partnership between Hulu and American High has been strong, with titles that include The Binge, Big Time Adolescence, and Summer of 69. Their latest collab, Pizza Movie, premiered at SXSW — a drug-trip college comedy from writers/directors Brian McElhaney and Nick Kocher. In the spirit of Animal House and Friday, the film boasts a few recognizable faces while not being greater than the sum of its parts.

10 years ago, chemistry major Frankie (Sarah Sherman, Saturday Night Live) hid experimental drugs in a mint tin above a ceiling tile in her dorm room. A decade later, that same tin is dislodged in the dorm of misfit friends Jack (Gaten Matarazzo, Stranger Things) and Montgomery (Sean Giambrone, The Goldbergs) who, after ingesting some on an empty stomach, learn that the only way to stop the drug's wacky sequence of hallucinations is to eat pizza. Easier said than done.

Pizza Movie relies heavily on shock comedy, most of which is unlikely to register as funny unless the viewer is under the intended TV-MA age demographic — or is under the influence themselves. It literally tries to pass off farts as comedy fit for adults, multiple times. While the premise lends itself to some madcap fun, the execution feels like an SNL sketch that somehow got stretched to feature length.

One thing the film does right is presenting college women as more than just a conquest for the male protagonists. Jack and Montgomery's wild night puts them back in touch with Lizzy (Lulu Wilson, Becky), who once made their group a trio before she defected to hang out with a popular crowd, led by Black-ish's Marcus Scribner. And Montgomery's crush on out-of-his-league Ashley (Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Andi Mack) is genuine and sincere — not solely based on physical attraction — giving Pizza Movie some moments of progress in what otherwise feels like a regressive retread of every drug-riddled teen comedy that came before it.

With a bigger budget, the flights of fancy in the hallucination sequences likely could've been made funnier. On the film's limited budget, they mostly just play as strange and bizarre — a curiosity playing out in real time rather than anything memorable. But one payoff — Montgomery's beloved pet butterfly Lysander — lands when the insect speaks, voiced by Daniel Radcliffe. Comedians Bobby Moynihan (Hoppers) and Adam Ray (Welcome to Chippendales) also have some vocal fun as the delivery robot and the pizza guy trying to help the friends end their drug-fueled night.

While there are a few genuinely funny moments sprinkled throughout, nothing in Pizza Movie is memorable or shocking enough to give it the makings of a cult classic. It may have earned a SXSW premiere slot, but that doesn't set it above American High's typical Hulu fare.

I give Pizza Movie 2 out of 5 stars.

Pizza Movie premieres on April 3, 2026, on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+ for bundle subscribers.