Film: Licorice Pizza

 

GENRE: Drama, Comedy, Romance
RATING: R for language and sexual material
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 13 minutes
PLATFORM: Download
STARRING: Alana Haim (newcomer; Haim music videos)
Cooper Hoffman (newcomer; son of Philip Seymour Hoffman)
DIRECTOR: Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, The Master)
WRITER: P.T. Anderson (Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights)
PLOT: 25-year-old Alana strikes up a friendship with 15-year-old Gary who wants to be more than friends.   

FULL DISCLOSURE: Just watching this for Oscars.

STORY STUFF: It’s a coming of age story in the San Fernando Valley in 1973. There are lots of back and forth dialogue that prides itself on its repetitiveness. There are a few quirky characters and moments but that’s to be expected from PT Anderson. Maybe I missed something but I’m not sure how the teenager was able to run a couple of businesses. Was he just a smooth talker? In any case, the story didn’t grab me. Maybe if I was a teenage in the seventies I would feel nostalgic about it. Oh well.

ACTING STUFF: Hoffman does well for his first foray in film. He is outgoing and interesting. Haim plays the conflicted young adult trying to find her way well. I like that she had her actual family play her family in the film. The Sean Penn and Tom Waits cameos didn’t do much for me. I enjoyed Bradley Cooper’s mini-part; he’s so sleazy.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The seventies are well represented in this film. The film colouring and music play a big part as does the fashion. Anderson knows how to set a mood and time period.    

VERDICT: Two stars out of five
SEE IT IF: You want to watch all the Oscar best picture nominees.       
UPCOMING REVIEW: The Batman