Licorice Pizza
Starring: Cooper Hoffman, Alana Haim, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson
Licorice Pizza has been marketed as the year’s feel-good 70s nostalgia trip from Director Paul Thomas Anderson. Taking the audience on a journey of the hazy summer adventures of Gary Valentine and Alana Kane. Gary who is played by Cooper Hoffman, son of the late-great Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is a child actor who can’t pick up as much work since hitting his teen years. But Gary’s a hustler and he has a back plan that involves starting up an array of businesses including water beds, pinball machines, and anything where he sees a fad developing. Alana is a photography assistant trying to figure out her life.
They meet on school picture day when it’s time for Gary to take his photos. What follows is a quirky yet humorous friendship leading to some wacky adventures.
Oh, there’s just one more thing: Alana is 25 and Gary is 15.
Paul Thomas Anderson has crafted a technically impressive film. Much like Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood felt like we were transported to the 60s, Licorice Pizza feels like we’ve traveled to the 70s with precise attention to detail. The visuals in the film are beautiful and probably my favorite part. The cinematography boasts some impressive long takes and a nice 70s look that makes the film a visual treat to watch.
The film has a loose narrative structure and sometimes it’s a little too loose. Several storylines are introduced that include various celebrity cameos including Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Maya Rudolph, and Tom Waits. Some are very entertaining while others are less engaging. The script feels like it could have been neater because as it is it feels a bit meandering. Just as I would get invested in one storyline (Alana’s acting career, Jon Water’s house, the mayoral candidate) the film would quickly move on to another one without ever addressing it again.
Licorice Pizza boasts quite an ensemble cast with Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim leading the way. This is Hoffman’s first role. He’s an entertaining lead and has no problem carrying the film. However, it’s Alana Haim who is the standout here. Alana is a musician in the rock band Haim with her two sisters Este and Danielle, who play her sisters in the film. As a longtime fan of the band, I was surprised to see she would be making the leap to acting. She’s a natural leading actress. As Alana Kane, she captures the anxiety of being in your mid-20s. There’s so much uncertainty of what to do with your life. Do people look at you as an adult or still view you as a teenager? Alana captures the uncertainty and angst of new adulthood in a very believable way. I can see her having a very successful acting career after this breakout role.
Bradley Cooper is memorable as Jon Waters, who’s threatening the crew one minute and flirting with Alana the next. He’s only in the film for a few minutes but Cooper can make an impression with just a little bit of time. It’s a manic performance full of yelling, throwing things, and inquiring about people’s Zodiac signs.
The first hour of Licorice Pizza is very entertaining. The banter between Alana and Gary is funny, bizarre, and witty. There are several one-liners that are laugh-out-loud funny. Gary acts like a 40-year-old man trying to impress others. While Alana attempts to figure out what she’s doing with her life. Alana is intrigued by Gary’s acting career and likes the time they spend together, but maintains that their relationship will remain platonic.
However, a very bizarre dynamic unfolds as the film goes on. They develop a “will they/won’t they” relationship. Gary sees Alana with someone and gets jealous (he’s 15, so that’s not entirely shocking.) Alana sees Gary with a girl his age and gets jealous.
It’s one thing to have Alana and Gary have a quirky friendship. To have them develop a relationship is crossing a line. Why not just set Gary’s character at 18 so he’s legal and it’s not uncomfortable? I realize what we see depicted on film is not necessarily condoning a situation. But by the end of Licorice Pizza, I felt uncomfortable by the central relationship. As someone just a year older than Alana’s character, I was weirded out by the dynamic.
Licorice Pizza has its fair share of humor and wit. It’s a coming-of-age film set amongst a pretty cool 1970s background. However, when all is said and done, this script wanders in far too many directions to be genuinely great.
My Rating: 6/10