Wednesday, January 12, 2022

Licorice Pizza

























There is something inherently charming about Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza, with it's intriguing characters, period setting and relaxed narrative. At it's heart, it's a unlikely romance but it's also about it's characters as they inhabit a very specific place and time, in this case 1973 in the San Fernando Valley. It's quirky and different in a way that only a Paul Thomas Anderson film can be and I couldn't help but fall in love with it. 

Gary Valentine (played by Cooper Hoffman) is a somewhat successful child actor who has appeared in a few movies and T.V shows by his age of 15. On school picture day, he crosses paths with Alana Kane (played by Alana Haim), who is significantly older at the age of 25 and works for the company doing the school photos. Smitten, Gary strikes up a conversation and although she rebuffs his advances ultimately accepts to meet him for dinner and a friendship develops. When he needs a chaperone for a press appearance in New York, he recruits Alana to accompany him when his mom Anita (played by Mary Elizabeth Ellis) is unable to go. When roles begin to dry up, Gary begins a Waterbed company with his friends and Alana. When Alana decides she wants to try acting, Gary introduces her to his agent, leading to a very successful audition with actor Jack Holden (played by Sean Penn). She goes out to dinner with him that night, she gets roped into participating in a motorcycle stunt with Jack on a golf course cooked up by a very inebriated film director, Rex Blau (played by Tom Waits) and Jack. Meanwhile, their Waterbed company takes off, leading them on such assorted misadventures as a extended encounter with notorious hairdresser turned Hollywood producer Jon Peters (played by Bradley Cooper). 

The film was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and is in a way a return to form of his earlier films which centered on unique characters populating the San Fernando Valley in films such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and perhaps most directly to this one, Punch Drunk Love. Much like the latter film, this one is a very unconventional romance. Much of it is one sided, with Gary very much infatuated with Alana, but Alana understandably rebuffing his advances. Still, there is something that keeps her coming back to him and soon a friendship and partnership develops between the two. It is not like anything I really have seen in a film before. The closest I can think of is the unrequited love William has for Penny in Almost Famous (which, curiously, also takes place in 1973). The film itself takes on an almost episodic nature as it traverses Gary and Alana's various adventures together, whether it is on a press appearance for a film Gary was in (leading to an amusing run in with the film's star, Lucille Ball expy Lucy Doolittle (played by Christine Ebersole) or setting up their waterbed company and everything beyond that. Anderson drew inspiration for the character of Gary from the early life of former child star and current Hollywood Producer Gary Goetzman, based on stories Gary had told him. He then peppered the story with assorted oddball characters that occupied Hollywood at the same time that Gary and Alana would have run into, some fictionalized, some not so much.  Anderson, who shot the film with Michael Bauman, did a fantastic job not just capturing the time period, but also the look and feel of 1970's films. It probably helps that they used older film lenses and shot on 35mm film.     

The film has a fantastic cast, starting with the two leads. Cooper Hoffman is great as Gary. He really captures Gary's drive and maturity well beyond his years. He's a fascinating character in that he's only a teenager, but can keep pivoting from one thing to another when something doesn't work out, always able to pounce on the next opportunity. It's these qualities that keep drawing Alana back to Gary. Alana Haim is equally fantastic in the role of Alana, a role Paul Thomas Anderson wrote specifically for her. She wonderfully captures how lost Alana feels as she tries to figure out what she wants her future to be. She tries several things throughout the movie and yet keeps getting drawn back to Gary who comparatively seems to have it all figured out. The film is also populated with a number of actors in smaller parts that nonetheless leave memorable impressions in the film. Sean Penn has an interesting turn as Jack Holden, clearly based on Hollywood actor William Holden. Alana meets him when she is auditioning for a film and he initially seems like a potential romantic prospect, despite being significantly older. Of course, he turns out to not quite be the person he appears during the audition later on when Alana joins him for drinks in an amusing turnabout that Penn handles quite well. Christine Ebersole has an amusing bit as Lucy Doolittle, clearly based on Lucille Ball, during a press promotion appearance with Gary and assorted other cast members for the film "Under One Roof" (clearly Yours, Mine and Ours). But easily the most memorable one for me was Bradley Cooper as the eccentric and wild Jon Peters. He shows up late in the movie but just steals every scene he is in and is hilarious in the role. What should be a simple waterbed delivery for Gary, Alana and his friends turn into a pretty crazy adventure they probably could not have predicted. 

Overall, Licorice Pizza is one of my favorite movies of 2021. It has a fun, unique plot led by two fantastic actors playing unique and interesting characters. It is a Paul Thomas Anderson film through and through, with it's episodic and sprawling storyline that I was never quite sure where it was going. I was absolutely enchanted with this film from beginning to end. Based on some of the reactions I've read to this film, it is certainly one where one's mileage may vary. But, if what you've read so far sounds appealing, chances are you will enjoy it too.