3. Licorice Pizza; movie review

 

LICORICE PIZZA

Cert 15

134 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language, sex references

Here it is, the feel-good film of the summer - at the beginning of January.

Apparently, the award fervour around Licorice Pizza determined that it should be released during the run-up to the Oscars.

That’s a pity because it is the sort of movie to be watched while taking shelter from the beating sun.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s film makes even old fogeys feel young again.

Set in early 1970s California and with a wonderful soundtrack, it rekindles memories of when anything seemed possible.

Holding the baton of joy are Alana Haim (of the rock band Haim) and Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman).

Haim’s bandmate sisters (Este and Danielle) are also in the movie and her real-life mum (Donna) and dad (Moti) play her parents - his hilarious reactions to her character's antics were unscripted, apparently. 

Anyway, she is a spiky young woman who is in a dead-end job organising school photos when she meets ambitious 15-year-old, Gary, (Hoffman).

He has the gift of the gab and so, despite their ten-year age gap, manages to persuade her to go for dinner with him.

It is the beginning of a tempestuous and often hilarious relationship.

Gary is the Alan Sugar of Hollywood, always on the lookout for a fast buck and most often making it.

Consequently, she is dragged into a host of crazy schemes and they encounter some weird and wacky characters along the way.

These include an ageing actor (Sean Penn), the psychopathic boyfriend (Bradley Cooper) of Barbra Streisand and a Japanese restaurant owner (John Michael Higgins).

Higgins elicits four belly-laughs in the short time he is on screen.

Paul Thomas Anderson's work is unique and occasionally brilliant. There Will be Blood is one of my favourite films.

He polarises opinion and that will again be the case with Licorice Pizza. 

As always, he brings out the very best in his actors - Haim and Hoffman have an extraordinary chemistry considering their lack of movie experience while veterans Penn and Cooper's cameos are remarkable.

On the downside, Licorice Pizza is a bit stretched. It goes over similar ground a tad too often.

Mrs W wasn't as enthusiastic as me but I loved its optimism. It is a counterbalance to the world we currently live in.

Let's hope we can return to happier times.

Reasons to watch: Has great zest

Reasons to avoid: Goes over the same ground a bit

Laughs: Five

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8.5/10

Did you know? Paul Thomas Anderson with Philip Seymour Hoffman in Hard Eight, Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, and The Master. Hoffman passed away in 2013 but the collaboration has been revived here through his son, Cooper.

The final word. Alana Haim: "I think when PTA talks to you and says, "I have this movie, would you want to ever consider playing a part in it?" Of course, you're going to say, "Yes, of course. Why not?" I mean, I love new adventures. I'm a true Sagittarius. I love new things, and I immediately said yes. And then I think once I hung up the phone with Paul, all my confidence just kind of fell to the ground. I was like, "Oh my gosh, what did I just do? What happened?" Screen Rant

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