Updated Post: Licorice Pizza – A Wholesome, Goofy Romp Through the SoCal 1970s

Updated Post: Oops. Somehow, I deleted the music paragraph of this post before publishing it. Music is an important component of the movie, so if you’re interested check out the full post.

Did you grow up in the 1970s? If so, Licorice Pizza could be for you. If you were raised in Southern California, particularly the San Fernando Valley, then it’s a must-see film. I grew up in the 70s, but on the westside of L.A. over the hill from the Valley. The experiences were similar at our age; we just had the beach closer by. Inspired by Fast Times at Ridgemont High and American Graffiti, the film transports you back to the 70s as an unlikely pair run through the Valley in search of love, purpose, and adventure.

Licorice Pizza is written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. I have to say, that his films are a mixed bag for me and have often left me wanting a little more clarity, never more so than The Master. I thought I’d enjoy Inherent Vice – set in the 70s along the L.A. beach communities- but it was incoherent at times, as well, maybe because it was the first film adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon book. The astounding Daniel Day Lewis couldn’t engage me in the forbidding and cold Phantom Thread. There Will Be Blood was darkly terrific and flipped the script of one of my favorite books, Oil, by Upton Sinclair. The dramatic rom-com Punch Drunk Love was a completely likeable change of course for Anderson and Adam Sandler. Boogie Nights is probably my favorite Anderson film with Mark Wahlberg, Julianne Moore, and many others involved in the Golden Age of Porn, also set in the 70s in the San Fernando Valley.

Paul Thomas Anderson works with a regular core of cast and crew. Same goes with the music. Johnny Greenwood, multi-instrumentalist of Radiohead, has composed numerous film scores, including five with Anderson. His score for Licorice Pizza reflects the ambiance of the 70s and is bolstered by a stellar list of artists representative of the era: Stephen Stills, Taj Mahal, Blood, Sweat, & Tears, Paul McCartney & Wings, Mason Williams, James Gang, Donovan, Gordon Lightfoot, Seals & Crofts, The Doors, and David Bowie.

Licorice Pizza stars Alana Haim as Alana Kane and Cooper Hoffman as Gary Valentine in their feature film debuts. Haim is one of the sisters in their namesake pop rock band and Hoffman is the son of frequent Anderson collaborator, Philip Seymour. Anderson is close with the Haim family and directed a few of the group’s videos. Alana’s two sisters and parents are all in the film (along with the director’s partner, Maya Rudolph, and their kids). Haim is remarkable in portraying her character’s search for an elusive something to hold on to. It’s not that she’s lost, but she’s going through the motions of life without any goals for the future. Valentine is just the opposite. A childhood performer, budding entrepreneur, and insanely confident from the moment he introduces himself to Alana. Oh, did I mention that he is 15 years old, and she is 25? Under other circumstances this would be an inappropriate relationship, but not here. There’s nothing sexual unless you count the moment when she flashes him her boobs (and that scene is shot from behind Alana). Also, he is the adult in many ways. He holds court at the iconic Valley restaurant Tail o’ the Cock like he’s a movie producer who instead of bourbon orders Coca Cola. She doesn’t have anywhere else to be and can’t resist going along for the ride. They are the joy of this movie, particularly Haim and her understated realizations as she finds herself.

Licorice Pizza is another unique, disjointed, and unconventional story from Paul Thomas Anderson. It’s authentically 1973, the good and the bad. The clothing and hairstyles, cringe-worthy stereotypes, long lines for gas, the music, and the dawn of waterbeds and pinball arcades. It keeps you guessing, introduces some mystery storylines (the #12 guy), and is too long at 2:13. Bradley Cooper and Sean Penn even show up as a producer/Barbra Streisand’s boyfriend and aging Hollywood actor, respectively. It’s a cluttered film, but I had a good feeling coming out of the theater. It keeps growing on me, but I’m not quite sure why. Part of it had to be the trip down memory lane. But more than that, being in the company of Alana and Gary. They’re the glue that holds it together. Their relationship is wholesome, funny, crazy, and conceivable.

D² Rating ◼◼◼☐☐

Trivia ? – Where does the title of the movie, Licorice Pizza, come from?

Answer: A defunct Southern California record store chain that had 34 stores in the 70s.