Licorice Pizza (2021)
I really don't know what attracted me to this oddball comedy drama other than it's set in California's San Fernando Valley in 1973 that sort of hinted at Dazed and Confused (1994) or American Graffiti (1973)
Other than the setting and some cool tunes - The Doors, Bowie, Chuck Berry and so on - there's really no similarities between Licorice Pizza and the two mentioned, well other than it focuses on youth and some clever very witty dialogue...basically it's not high school kids going mad when school finishes for the summer.
What it is is a year, i think, in the lives of 15-year-old actor Gary Valentine and 25-year-old (although it's hinted at later that she's actually 28) Alana Kane, a photographer's assistant and their flirty relationship across the course of the year. It's difficult to say exactly how long the time period is because California looks the same come summer or winter.
It's Gary whose path we follow during the film as he's a proper entrepreneur setting up a waterbed business when he finds out they'll be the next big thing and later a pinball arcade when he discovers pinball will soon be legalized in the Valley. Meanwhile Alana is there for the ride. However although Gary as played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman's son Cooper is very good it's Alana that's really the star of the film.
Alana is played by Alana Haim, singer with the country pop rock band Haim, and she to put it simply is a f*cking revelation. Licorice Pizza was her first role and she shows right there on screen that she's a ready made movie star.
Licorice Pizza isn't perfect by any means. The fractured way we navigate the first hour took me a while to get used to. It didn't seem to flow and came across as a load of disparate scenes but in time it began to work in it's favour and in the long term will definitely make the film worth repeated viewings. There's also an excellent array of cameo / guest stars including Sean Penn, Tom Waits and Bradley Cooper who plays Hollywood stylist Jon Peters as a proper twat.
Paul Thomas Anderson's best work since Boogie Nights (1997) in my eyes. I found Licorice Pizza both refreshing and hugely enjoyable.
As a blind buy i'm delighted with this disc. There's not much in the way of extras although one scene is expanded upon which at the time i felt was needed but when you see what was cut i appreciate why and it's better for it. The disc comes in a good looking O-Card, with five lovely glossy artcards and a really cool reversible sleeve.
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