Licorice Pizza

Cooper Hoffman in Licorice Pizza

Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza is a fine work of nostalgic Americana circa 1973. The film concerns a mismatched romance between a fifteen year old actor named Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and a stunted twenty five year old cameraman's assistant named Alana (Alana Haim). Set amidst the sights and sounds of the San Fernando Valley, the film is an awkward romance leavened with satiric comedy. A largely pleasant effort, the film does not reach Anderson's previous heights, but will reward his fans.

As I've noted before, Anderson's films are variably Altmanesque ensemble films that celebrate alternative families (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Inherent Vice) or colder, Kubrickian films featuring an egotist at war with the world (There Will Be Blood, The Master, Phantom Thread). Licorice Pizza belongs to the former category and its strong supporting cast gives the film a new shot of juice every five minutes or so. Christine Ebersole, Tom Waits, Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Skyler Gisondo, Isabelle Kusman, and Jon Beavers all contribute memorable bits. As in all Anderson's work, making a living in a rapacious system requires a hustler's cunning. Gary Valentine knows his time as a child actor is running out, so he engages in side hustles like selling water beds, running a P.R. firm, and operating a pinball arcade. Similarly, Alana, despite being drawn to Gary, strives to keep her options open both romantically and economically. 

The film is weakest when satirizing the racism and sexism of the era. Anderson's touch is so leaden with the racism of the owner of a Japanese restaurant that it brought accusations of racism upon Anderson himself. A tracking shot of motorists waiting in a line for gasoline falls flat, a faint echo of Godard's traffic jam tracking shot in Weekend. Still Ms. Haim and Mr. Hoffman are well-cast and appealing romantic leads. Licorice Pizza is certainly the sweetest film in Anderson's impressive canon.