Licorice Pizza (2021) MGM/Comedy-Drama RT: 133 minutes Rated R (language, sexual material, some drug use) Director: Paul Thomas Anderson Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson Music: Jonny Greenwood Cinematography: Paul Thomas Anderson and Michael Bauman Release date: December 25, 2021 (US, wide) Cast: Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Skyler Gisondo, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, John Michael Higgins, Christine Ebersole, Harriet Sansom Harris, Ryan Heffington, Nate Mann, Joseph Cross, Danielle Haim, Este Haim, Moti Haim, Donna Haim, George DiCaprio, Maya Rudolph. Box Office: $17.3M (US)/$33.2M (World)
Rating: ****
“The course of [first] love never did run smooth.”
I’m pretty sure Shakespeare wouldn’t mind me misquoting him in describing Licorice Pizza, a strange but wonderful story of young love from writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s a return to form for the filmmaker whose early-career lucky streak (Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love and There Will Be Blood) came to a crashing halt with three dogs in a row- The Master, Inherent Vice and Phantom Thread. It’s nice to see him back on track with this sweet love story that more than once traverses into absurd territory, a creative choice that never comes off as showy or gratuitous.
I’m sure a lot of you are wondering what the title Licorice Pizza means. Rest assured it doesn’t refer to a weird culinary treat enjoyed by the main characters. It’s actually the name of a long-gone chain of record stores that operated in the SoCal area in the 70s and early 80s (it was bought out by Sam Goody in ’85). It was an important part of Anderson’s youth. He chose to name his film after it because of the feeling of nostalgia it carries for him. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley where the film is set. You can see his deep love for this specific place and time in every beautiful, shimmering frame.
Anderson makes no wrong moves in Licorice Pizza; everything is right on the mark, especially the casting. Most filmmakers would bow to studio pressure and hire name actors to play the leads. Big names equals big box office, so says the prevailing wisdom in Hollywood. Anderson goes against the tide in choosing two fresh-faced newcomers to play the young lovers. Allow me to introduce you to Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman. Cooper is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman who appeared in a few of Anderson’s films. Alana is a member of the indie rock band Haim with her two sisters Este and Danielle who also appear in the movie with their parents. It’s their first acting gig and that they’re both nominated for Golden Globes says a lot. In short, they’re both marvelous.
Set in 1973, Licorice Pizza centers on Gary Valentine (Hoffman) and Alana Kane (Haim). He’s a 15YO child actor with the gift of gab. She’s a 25YO photographer’s assistant with no direction in life. They meet on picture day at his high school. He talks her up and asks her out. She agrees to meet him for dinner with the understanding that it isn’t a date. There really isn’t much of a plot per se. The movie follows the pair as they navigate the twisting, treacherous road of first love. This mainly consists of them running and driving around the Valley, starting businesses and trying to pretend they don’t love each other even though they clearly do.
Over the course of Licorice Pizza, Gary and Alana have various misadventures including him mistakenly being arrested for murder (and let go) and a bizarre encounter with Jon Peters (Cooper, A Star Is Born), the hairdresser-turned-movie producer once romantically involved with Barbra Streisand. He’s only in the movie briefly, but makes an indelible impression nonetheless. The same goes for Sean Penn (Milk) playing an aging actor modeled after William Holden, Tom Waits (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) as an old school Hollywood director and Christine Ebersole (SNL) as an aging actress based on Lucille Ball.
Licorice Pizza has the look and feel of a 70s movie right down to the vintage MGM logo at the beginning. Anderson and co-cinematographer Michael Bauman, using old camera lenses and 35mm film, transport the viewer back to a dreamy, hazy time when anything was possible for two young people in love. Also, we’re treated to a character-driven narrative, a welcome break from the multitude of recent movies where action and explosions stand in for dialogue and character development. I like Spider-Man as much as the next guy, but sometimes I want to watch a film about people without superpowers.
Ultimately, Licorice Pizza is about people, two people dealing with the agony and ecstasy of first love. What’s more, they’re both interesting people. Gary is one of those teenagers that people talk to like an adult because he comes off as an adult. He’s incredibly intelligent and unusually mature, the latter of which comes partly from being a child star and partly from no real parental supervision. Alana has to accompany him to New York for a gig because his mother has to be in Las Vegas. He’s also something of an entrepreneur; he always has some kind of hustle going whether it’s a waterbed business or a pinball arcade, a venture that rises from the legalization of pinball in California.
Alana, on the other hand, is treading water in life. She’s stunted and has no direction. She tries on different clothes, jobs and personas in search of the true Alana Kane. If you think about it, Licorice Pizza is also about Alana’s journey of self-discovery. She’s trying to figure out who she is and what she wants to do. At one point, she ponders a career in acting and takes Gary’s advice about answering “yes, I can do that” to every question about what she can do. Later, she goes to work for mayoral candidate Joel Wachs played by Uncut Gems co-director Benny Safdie. There’s also a humorously uncomfortable scene where she brings a boyfriend home for what turns out to be the most awkward Shabbat dinner ever.
I absolutely LOVE Licorice Pizza! It’s nostalgic without ever being kitschy. It’s strange and slightly surreal without ever being pretentious or artistically self-conscious. The two leads deliver naturalistic performances. They don’t have the shine and polish of established movie stars. The bigger actors do very well in smaller roles. The soundtrack is terrific, but I’d like to know why Anderson put a 1979 song (“Stumblin’ In”) in a movie that takes place in ’73. The score by Jonny Greenwood keeps the viewer slightly on edge. Who knows what’s waiting around the next corner or on the next block? It could be anything in this fantasy land that doesn’t always make sense. This movie is hypnotic. I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I didn’t want it to end. It’s one of the year’s best movies!
