Family Business

A fly-on-the-wall documentary examining the dodgy finances of a pizza parlour in Muncie, Indiana, and the strain on the family who run it. Howard Snyder is Mr Shakey, the pizza man who hasn't made it to Hamburger Row. He embraces the American way of life with zest as he serves his mouthwateringly massive pizzas, sings to the customers, records his own radio ads, and works enormously long hours; but beneath the 'have a nice day' exterior, he is struggling to retain his franchise and to balance his books. Wrong orders, bickering and dating take place against a background of mounting anxiety which culminates in an emotional family meeting. They are all extraordinarily unselfconscious in front of the camera, but in the end one longs for a little less vérité and rather more creativity.