Licorice Pizza-2021

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman

Scott’s Review #1,213

Reviewed December 27, 2021

Grade: A

Licorice Pizza (2021) is a Los Angeles-based coming-of-age drama by director Paul Thomas Anderson.

Anderson is one of my favorite directors, and the film is a must-see for fans of his. Most fans of his yearn to see everything he creates, and this one will not disappoint.

One may initially yawn at the tired coming-of-age drama genre, and I did too, but once I heard that Anderson was directing, my curiosity was piqued, and I felt secure in the knowledge that the film would be different.

Indeed, Licorice Pizza is special and has a charm all its own.

The expected killer musical soundtrack, prevalent in many Anderson films, is there and befitting of the time of 1973. A bit of quirky black humor and general weirdness is also there, and so are cameos by A-list superstars like Sean Penn and Bradley Cooper.

Speaking of the soundtrack, they may not be the expected top hits of the time, but more obscure gems like ‘Life On Mars?” by David Bowie, “Walk Away” by Joe Walsh, or “But You’re Mine” by Sonny & Cher. I enjoyed the under-the-radar approach as it fits the central characters.

Besides these and other juicy trimmings, the story is an excellent romantic comedy featuring up-and-coming Hollywood stars, Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman.

They carry the film and emit tremendous chemistry from their very first scene. Haim is in a rock band, and Hoffman is the son of actor and frequent Anderson star Phillip Seymore Hoffman. I bet Dad would be proud of his son.

For a recent comparison, Licorice Pizza shares a similar setting and tone with Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), although the stories are pretty dissimilar.

Alana Kane (Haim) and Gary Valentine (Hoffman) are twenty-five years old and fifteen years old, respectively.  They grew up, ran around, and fell in love in California’s San Fernando Valley in 1973.

Gary is a child actor who also runs his own public relations business, while Alana is a struggling photographer’s assistant yearning to do something more meaningful.

Immediately rebuffing the advances of a ‘child,’ Alana slowly falls for Gary, and the two forge an unbroken bond as they navigate successes, failures, heartbreaks, and longings.

The setting of sunny California in 1973 is pure genius, as Anderson authentically transports us there with the cars, clothing, and hairstyles that were then considered trendy.

The added pleasure of seeing stars of the day, such as Jack Holden (really William Holden), Lucy Doolittle (really Lucille Ball), and film producer John Peters, is downright gleeful.

Not to be outdone, Sean Penn, Christine Ebersole, and Bradley Cooper portray these figures. Each actor is delightful in their respective roles, with my favorite being Penn as the martini-slugging Holden.

But the film is hardly about celebrity sightings in a long-ago era.

During the final act, Alana becomes enamored with a politician for whom she works. Not a superfluous romantic entanglement, the figure is Joel Wachs, a real-life then closeted gay male who later would champion gay causes.

The film showcases the pain of a closeted gay man and his secretive boyfriend as Alana helps them put up a front to avoid his career being ruined.

At the heart of Licorice Pizza, though, remains the romance of Gary and Alana. The fact that there is a ten-year age gap between them should be a big deal, but somehow it’s not.

Gary can be precocious and sometimes a little shit, and Alana is moody and temperamental, but I fell in love with them anyway, and other viewers will assuredly share my passion for the pair.

They try to get through their youth with some plan or semblance of direction, and the joy is to accompany them and enjoy the ride.

There is a freshness and honesty to Licorice Pizza (2021) that cannot be shaken. Thanks in large part to Hoffman and Haim, the film is one of those that exude magnificence and appeal that is hard to put into words.

Viewers of any age will be immediately transported back to their young adulthood and the feelings and inadequacies that come with it.

I wish more films of this ilk were made.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Paul Thomas Anderson, Best Original Screenplay