Licorice Pizza (2021)

Set in the San Fernando Valley of 1973; Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson has created a loving and nostalgia-filled look at that era with his new film “Licorice Pizza”. The film focuses on a teenaged Gary (Cooper Hoffman) who becomes intrigued by an older photographer assistant named Alana (Alana Haim); during his school photo sessions.

Despite their age difference; the two become friends and Gary attempts to impress her with his hustle as he works in the fringes of Hollywood and has become a regular on the audition circuit and various events thanks to his agent.

When he is able to get Alana to act as his chaperone on a promotional trip to New York; reality sets in when Alana catches the eye of an older actor and starts dating him; Gary moves his hustle into high gear and begins a successful Waterbed business and even convinces his agent to represent Alana.

What follows is a long-winding story as the two move into Hollywood circles and face various challenges associated with their times, confused feelings, and goals.

While the film has some great moments and really great performance; especially that of Haim and Bradley Cooper; the two hours and forty-five minute run time seemed overly long and self-indulgent and could easily have lost forty-five minutes or so and not lost much as the film is loaded with scenes that are overly long or do not advance the story or characters in any meaningful way.

In many ways, the film plays out like a teenaged boy’s fantasy as there is the alluring older woman and his repeated ways to impress her; some of which stretch credibility.

What makes the film work so well is the nostalgic and loving look at the era and the winning performances from the cast. Much like he did with “Boogie Nights”; Anderson is not afraid to take broken or dysfunctional characters and make them sympathetic and relatable.

Expect the movie to do well with the Award voters and it will be interesting to see what the cast will do next.

4 stars out of 5

Dec 20, 2021

I can't say I enjoyed <em>'Licorice Pizza'</em> as much as most, but this flick from Paul Thomas Anderson is a good one.

Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are entertaining in the lead roles, with Haim particularly standing out - though Philip Seymour Hoffman's kid definitely improves as the film ticks by. There are some amusing roles for more well known faces, my favourite parts of this 2021 release are in fact with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Cooper">one of them</a> - funny stuff! Some parts are amiss, mind; e.g. the strange Japanese wives bits.

I did find the dialogue a little pretentious I can't lie, mainly early on as we get to know the characters - once everything is fleshed out and set it's all shipshape, to be fair. The film gets a tad aimless near the end, I'd actually say the pacing is perfectly fine but it does feel as long as it is in terms of the run time - I felt every second of the 130 or so minutes.

All in all, I'd recommend it. Major film buffs will lap it up, evidently.

Jan 18, 2022

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/sweet-valley-high-licorice-pizza-review<a>

There’s a lackadaisical feeling that runs throughout writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson’s _Licorice Pizza_. It feels like summer, where there’s nothing in the world but time and friends to spend it with. With a loose narrative and a long run time, Licorice Pizza has moments of magic. It’s a perfect snapshot of wasting lazy, hazy, eternal summer days with your best friends and the crazy ideas you cook up together. Getting to see it on 70mm really adds to this dreamy ambiance.

Jun 20, 2022

The is a real colourful oddball of a movie.
From start to finish we are instantly thrown into Alana´s journey and are taken trough a series of strange situations and developments.
There is no pre-development or little to be told about the main characters history. The movie is a moment-to-moment tag-along story of romance and its ups and downs. However i enjoyed the little humour moments in it and i had to giggle at times.
Catches the 70´s vibe mighty good and i personally enjoyed every moment of it.
Of course the woke community had to react to this movie but there is nothing to be offended about anything.
Enjoy the film.

Jul 24, 2022

Licorice Pizza: Paul Thomas Anderson's Masterful Meditation on Becoming

In "Licorice Pizza", Paul Thomas Anderson does what he does best: he transforms the messy, uncertain terrain of human becoming into a luminous, deeply compassionate narrative.

Set in the San Fernando Valley of the 1970s, the film follows Alana and Gary - two souls navigating that treacherous landscape between adolescence and genuine adulthood. Their relationship isn't a traditional romance, but a complex dance of aspiration, confusion, and tentative connection.

Anderson's distinctive cinematic language is perfectly suited to this narrative. His episodic structure mirrors the non-linear path of personal discovery. Scenes drift and connect like memory itself - impressionistic, unpredictable, charged with both humor and melancholy.

Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are nothing short of revelatory as first-time actors. Their performances transcend typical debut expectations, displaying a raw, intuitive understanding of character that many seasoned professionals never achieve. Haim, particularly, brings a complex emotional landscape to Alana - vulnerable yet defiant, lost yet determined. Hoffman channels a pitch-perfect blend of teenage bravado and genuine vulnerability. They're not performing characters so much as revealing the raw, unfinished nature of human potential. Their performances feel less like acting and more like witnessed life.

The 1970s backdrop isn't mere nostalgia. It's a metaphor for cultural transition - a moment when traditional narratives are dissolving and new possibilities are just beginning to emerge. That, and the reflection of that in the soundtrack, are awesome.

Ultimately, "Licorice Pizza" argues that becoming is a process, not a destination. And who better to tell that story than Paul Thomas Anderson, cinema's most empathetic cartographer of human complexity?

Feb 1, 2025