For my sins, I haven't seen any of Paul Thomas Anderson's last three films. I think it might be time to do a bit of a retrospective to catch myself up. But, with the release of "Licorice Pizza" at the cinema, I saw a chance to reacquaint myself with his particular style of shaggy dog stories. I think, overall, I liked this one, but it's definitely one for people familiar with PTA's work.
Precocious 15-year-old child-actor Gary (Cooper Hoffman) takes his chance to ask out 25-year-old Alana (Alana Haim). Though she doesn't see him in a romantic fashion, she's taken in by his charm and spirit and ends up involved in his life, and that of his circle of friends. They begin a business together as Alana struggles to establish her adult life thanks in no small part to her emotional immaturity. All the while though Gary's love for her threatens to ruin their delicate friendship.
Your enjoyment for the film is probably going to be linked to your endurance for the rambling nature of the film's narrative. It weaves it's fictional story around the events of the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970's. The petrol shortage, the legalisation of Pinball, Joel Wachs first run at Mayor of Los Angeles all feature, as do real life people Fred Gwynne and Jon Peters as well as homages in the form of Sean Penn's Jack Holden, Christine Ebersole's Lucy Doolittle and Tom Waits' Rex Blau. We jump in and out of Gary and Alana's lives, never quite being told the full story, but getting something more akin to vignettes to establish what's happening. I dug it, but I can understand people who didn't.
The age difference is a weird one. Neither actor really convinces for the ages they're supposed to be, even though both are only a couple of years off. It feels a bit like the story and the casting aren't related. Like Anderson had this specific story in mind, but really wanted to work with Haim and Hoffman so just decided to run with it. To be fair to him, I do think they are star making turns from both performers, Haim particularly is wonderful as the volatile and damaged Alana. The films best moments come with Bradley Cooper's manic and hilarious take on hairdresser turned producer Jon Peters. It isn't necessary for the age gap to be as large as it is. If, say, they were 17 and 19 you could make much of the same points, and you would have handed the films critics such as obvious stick to beat it with.
Overall, I liked it though. It's funny and the performances are really strong. It's not PTA's most accessible film though, so you may need to start with your "Boogie Nights" or "Magnolia" to get into the groove.
Precocious 15-year-old child-actor Gary (Cooper Hoffman) takes his chance to ask out 25-year-old Alana (Alana Haim). Though she doesn't see him in a romantic fashion, she's taken in by his charm and spirit and ends up involved in his life, and that of his circle of friends. They begin a business together as Alana struggles to establish her adult life thanks in no small part to her emotional immaturity. All the while though Gary's love for her threatens to ruin their delicate friendship.
Your enjoyment for the film is probably going to be linked to your endurance for the rambling nature of the film's narrative. It weaves it's fictional story around the events of the San Fernando Valley in the early 1970's. The petrol shortage, the legalisation of Pinball, Joel Wachs first run at Mayor of Los Angeles all feature, as do real life people Fred Gwynne and Jon Peters as well as homages in the form of Sean Penn's Jack Holden, Christine Ebersole's Lucy Doolittle and Tom Waits' Rex Blau. We jump in and out of Gary and Alana's lives, never quite being told the full story, but getting something more akin to vignettes to establish what's happening. I dug it, but I can understand people who didn't.
The age difference is a weird one. Neither actor really convinces for the ages they're supposed to be, even though both are only a couple of years off. It feels a bit like the story and the casting aren't related. Like Anderson had this specific story in mind, but really wanted to work with Haim and Hoffman so just decided to run with it. To be fair to him, I do think they are star making turns from both performers, Haim particularly is wonderful as the volatile and damaged Alana. The films best moments come with Bradley Cooper's manic and hilarious take on hairdresser turned producer Jon Peters. It isn't necessary for the age gap to be as large as it is. If, say, they were 17 and 19 you could make much of the same points, and you would have handed the films critics such as obvious stick to beat it with.
Overall, I liked it though. It's funny and the performances are really strong. It's not PTA's most accessible film though, so you may need to start with your "Boogie Nights" or "Magnolia" to get into the groove.