Paul Thomas Anderson is an incredibly well renowned director with a great filmography. The only other one I had seen was Boogey Nights which was a vibrant and neon decadent film about porn and a man coming of age in the industry, but his others have high reputations. In his newest film, Licorice Pizza, PTA tells another coming of age story, and it is also a love story, not only the love between Gary and Alana, but also about Anderson's love for his home and the era that he grew up in, the 1970s. It meshes in several stories into one film, there may not be one through line, but it tells multiple tales in a Tom Sawyeresque way that keeps you on your toes.
Licorice Pizza takes place in the San Fernando Valley, a suburb of Los Angles, a perfect place to chase fame. Gary is already a minor star when he is introduced. Alana is an assistant for a school photo business with no real plan for her life. Gary, although only 15, comes off as much older, so it is easy to see why 25-year-old Alana falls for him. What ensues is an incredibly rocky relationship that has its up down, but it is more than just a romantic relationship, they also become business partners as well. They do everything from selling waterbeds, help film ads for a politician, and travel together on a film press tour. Life in this world seems exciting and fun, but there are some misadventures as well.
Cooper Hoffman, Gary, and Alana Haim, Alana, made their feature debuts in this film. Alana had been in some music videos, but that is it. Both gave incredible performances. Cooper Hoffman, Phillip Seymour Hoffman's son, gave a charismatic performance. He is an impeccable salesman from him selling himself to Alana, and refusing to take no for an answer, to him hawking waterbeds to the whole town, which was successful until the oil crisis caused the vinyl to be in short supply. He also had such a tight bond with everyone he came in touch with on the screen that you could tell he had the respect of them all, even those much older than he. He was running business meetings with restaurants like he was a seasoned veteran. Alana on the other hand has a different kind of charisma. As the actress recruiter describes her, she is a dog. She is very forward and negative in a way that attracts people. She has an odd look to her that seems to draw people to her. In the story, she is very dynamic. Initially she is just a lowly assistant, but once she starts to work for the politician, she has an air of moral superiority. When Gary over hears that the Pinball law is being overturned, she accuses him of not caring about the bigger picture, that he only cares about himself, which does not seem like the attitude she would have at the beginning of the film. She plays the aimlessly searching twenty something year old very well, but one person's performance really stood out.
Bradley Cooper. He was only in the movie for a total of about 5 minutes, but he was on full blast for every second. His character has a reckless abandonment and short fuse before he blows. He threatens to murder Gary's brother, he throws a trashcan through a window, and he threatens to blow up the whole gas station if the guy does not let him cut in line and fill up his container. His intensity is so high that you want to see him more, but it would dilute the performance, so it was perfect the way it was. Sean Penn also shows up for a short period of time. He oversees the casting for a role that Alana is trying out for, but Penn’s character is more interested in Alana than just for the role, he takes her out and is trying to wine her and dine her, but then he becomes too self-interested. An old friend comes up to him and starts gassing him up, so they go outside to do a motorcycle stunt that literally results in Alana being thrown off the back, and Gary comes to her aid, after maliciously eyeing her all dinner from across the restaurant.
This not quite the same as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but it has a similar vibe and intention. Once Upon a Time was Quentin Tarantino's love letter to Hollywood in the era that he grew up in. Paul Thomas Anderson also recreated his childhood home and a whole era. One of the best ways in which movies can create atmosphere is from the soundtrack. All the 70s rock that was used as the background helped the feel. Very rarely do I go and immediately start listening to the soundtrack once I have finished a movie, but I was drawn to so many of the songs that I had to go back and find the ones I liked. They are still stuck in my head days later. Also using all the older cars and old logos for the gas stations and store help to place the viewer back in time.
During the movie the petroleum crisis hits, and the amount of driving slows down, and there are many scenes where Gary or Alana are running through the streets. Most of the movie Gary and Alana are trying to show how grown up they are, and that they can be successful adults, but the running scenes really add a whimsical and childlike nature to them that shows that they are not as grown as they are trying to convey. It also gives them another vessel to show off the city up close and in personnel, and as a bonus I enjoy running, so watching people run through a city is always great. Also, the gas crisis caused Alana and Gary to do an insane scene where Alana navigates going down a massive hill backwards with the car in neutral, so that they do not get found at Bradley Cooper’s car.
The relationship between Alana and Gary is interesting. He starts out by smooth talking her and getting her to meet him at a bar, if not as a date, just so he can see her, and he literally stares at her silently in admiration for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then after that they both go back and forth falling in and out of love with each other. They are both such cult of personalities that they are continually drawing in new suitors, and they never seem to turn the new suitors down. This inevitably leads the other to become jealous and try to butt in. No matter what they always seem drawn back to each other, despite their differences in goals and beliefs, they seem better together. When they are on the same page their businesses are more successful, and they get out of some sticky situations.
The stories they decide to base on facts are also interesting. Apparently, there was a time when pinball was outlawed. In the 1970s California reinstated pinball, it had been outlawed in the 1920s in places like California and New York because it was “thieving” the money that children had earned. It was looked at in a gambling sort of way because it was a game of chance, so they deemed inappropriate to play, especially for children, and so many of them got put into storage. In the ultimate scene of film Gary has obtained pinball machines and other arcade games and is opening an arcade downtown, and thus creating a beautiful nostalgic arcade. Places like that do not exist today, now everything is much more massive and commercialized like Dave and Busters, the classical arcade is all but extinct, but it can live on beautifully in the images of movies like this.
Licorice Pizza is one of the best films of the year, it is a joy from start to finish. The performances are also great. The film transports you to a different time that seems much simpler and enjoyable. Just let Gary Valentine sell you on all his schemes and you will not be disappointed. This gets 4 Stars and a high recommendation to go see it in theaters!
Other Movies This Week:
Being the Ricardos: Quick dialog that at times can be biting and contain a hidden insult. I did not care much about the story, but Sorkin makes good movies nonetheless.
Joe Bell: A dad goes on a cross country walking trip to spread awareness about bullying.
Toy Story 2: Toy Story cannot miss. I remember not liking this one as much as the original when I was younger, but this was way better than I remembered it being. It was also a little dark. "Etch draw that man in a chicken suit!"
Al would undoubtedly be an online king today. He would moderate the reddit page on toys, and he would troll toy reviews on YouTube.
Isle of Dogs: A story about xenophobia/genocide but with dogs, or is it Wes Anderson being an oracle about covid?
Spiderman 2: Sometimes you have to get yourself right before you can help others. A very modern outlook for mental health for the early 2000s.
Elf: I would probably rank this higher if I was watching it for the first time, but since this is the 50th, it does not hit the same.
The Matrix Resurrections: Still too much and not for me. It got way too self aware, and as interesting as the concept seems, it just never hits.
Sing 2: Some animals trying to make it big have to fight to make their space rock opera.
New Rankings:
Being the Ricardos: 3.5 Stars
Joe Bell: 2.5 Stars
Toy Story 2: 4.5 Stars
Isle of Dogs: 3.5 Stars
Spider Man 2: 4 Stars
Elf: 3 Stars
Matrix Resurrections: 3 Stars
Licorice Pizza: 4 Stars
Sing 2: 3 Stars
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