LICORICE PIZZA

US, 2021, 133 minutes, Colour.

Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waites, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Joseph Cross, Maya Rudolph, John Michael Higgins, John C.Reilly.

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Chalk and cheese, different as… Licorice and pizza, different as… Ugh as we might imagine what this recipe would taste like! But not Ugh as we review this journey back to 1974 under the guidance of Paul Thomas Anderson (and memories of such strong films as Magnolia, There Will be Blood, The Master).

We are taken back to the different neighbourhoods of Los Angeles, to schools, to homes, a flight to New York for a TV show, selling the new waterbeds, setting up a pinball Arcade after the machines become legal, restaurants and diners, Hollywood mansions, headquarters for a mayoral candidate’s campaign… And more. There is a look at the 1970s, media references, movie references, clothes and style, hair, and, a great pleasure for fans of the music of the period, a large selection of contemporary songs by the most prominent of composers.

This is a kind of LA neighbourhood starcrossed lovers’ story, comic style. At the centre is Gary, 15 years old, going to get his class photo taken, smitten by the young woman that he gazes at, introduces himself, and then the brush off! Gary is played by Cooper Hoffman (yes, we see the resemblance, he is the son of Philip Seymour Hoffman). She, Alana, is played by Alana Haim, of music video fame, who appears at the dinner sequence with her actual parents and her two sisters play her sisters here. There is the awkwardness of the age difference – she is 25, Alana awkward, still not having made up her mind what she wants to do with her life, continually encountering Gary who does give her some sense of security.

In a comically tense sequence, Alana proves that she has great skills in truck driving, even in reverse down LA Hills!

This is a kind of LA picaresque story, not exactly a cause and effect narrative. Rather, it is a series of episodes, many episodes, which also introduces a range of supporting characters, Gary and his friends from the TV show (with a sendup of a rather bitchy Lucille Ball (Christine Ebersole), his showbiz connections, and the range of characters he meets with his hustling and wheeler dealing, especially his franchise with the waterbeds (which rely on oil and this is the time of the 70s scarcity), at his pinball Arcade. Some of them are very effective, brief, like an intense conversation initially between Gary and Alana, or Gary taking Alana to an acting interview with quite an interrogation from the agent.

There are some big star episodes which seem to detract from the Gary and Alana story, an indulgence with Sean Penn playing Jack Holden (with the explicit references to William Holden), and singer, Tom Waites. There is also a bizarre episode with Bradley Cooper playing hairdresser turned producer, Barbra Streisand companion, Jon Peters. (One wonders what Paul Thomas Anderson has against Jon Peters!)

Actually, Alana helps out on all Gary’s projects, is distracted by some of his friends, caught up with the celebrities, finally getting a job as a volunteer for the mayoral candidate (Bernie Safdie).

And then, a cheerful ending. And future? Perhaps Licorice Pizza 2. And, with the title, a suggestion that Alana is licorice and Gary is pizza!

1. Paul Thomas Anderson, offbeat characters, seen in close-up? Strange interactions? Serious, comic?
2. 1974, LA and the neighbourhoods, Sherman Oaks, Encino…? Clothes, styles? The entertainment world, the movie references, television references? The references to cinema personalities of the period?
3. The musical score, the wide range of songs, composers, performances, insertions into the action, commentary on the action and characters?
4. The title, the contrast, a possible recipe? But Alana as licorice? Gary has pizza?
5. The interaction between Alana and Carrie, the age difference, later decades understanding of sexuality and consent, age, abuse?
6. Gary’s story, the showbiz background, his mother and her agency, in Las Vegas, leaving him to himself? At age 15, going to the photo, the glimpse of Alana, following her, talking with her, the photo? The continued contact with Alana, the effect on him? Having to go to New York, the TV background, the child actors, persuading his mother for Alana to be his chaperone, at the studio, the make up, Lucille ball and the performance, Yours, Mine, Hours? Her peachy attitude towards the children? Gary and his being cheeky? The other members of the cast – and the actor flirting with Alana, her later going out with him and Gary’s jealous reaction?
7. Gary, we were dealer, hustler, the example of the waterbeds, his talking with the salespeople, his setting up his own business, the youngsters or helping, Alana helping? The range of customers, the discussions, the advertising? The irony of the oil embargoes, the waterbeds and the need for oil? Going out of business?
8. The pinball Arcade is, becoming legal, Gary setting is up, the young people helping? The customers?
9. The contrast with Alana, her being unsure of her future, the youngest of the three sisters, the family sequences, the meal, the visiting actor, his being a Jewish atheist, the father’s reaction?
10. Alana meeting with Gary, the scenes at the diner, the conversations, intense, revealing each character?
11. Alana, organising herself, importance of relationships, her age, her thinking was weird that she liked being with Gary? The nature of their friendship, intimate, yet friendship? How sexual?
12. The episode with Jack Holden, Sean Penn, Alana and her adulation? Tom Waites and his role, compere? In the bike, the jump, Alana falling off? The relevance of these episodes to the story?
13. Gary taking Alana to the interview for the movies, that she say yes to everything, getting on a tangle, yet the continually excited attitude of the agent? The small sequence being very effective to reveal character?
14. The Jon Peters episode, Jon Peters in real life, with Barbra Streisand, the hairdressing background, film production, the frantic personality, the oil embargo, getting to his date, lacking petrol, leaving Gary and the group in the house, their wanting to get petrol, the huge truck, the youngsters in the back? Petrol out? Alana and driving skills, back down the hills, parking, and then her sitting on the curbside weary?
15. Brian, the contact with Alana, the mayoral candidate, Alana and her work, the sisters suspicious man watching and her confronting him? Brian confronting him? The meeting of the television spots, Alana coming into her own with the work,? Appreciated? The many phone calls and her responses? All Brian and his attraction? Some alienation from Gary?
16. The candidate, summoning Alana to the restaurant, with his companion, sexual orientation is an dangers for campaigns, her having to escort Matthew home, his breakdown?
17. The end, Gary and Alana, the excitement, and his proposal, her acceptance? The future – and the possibility of a sequel?