By Jacob Cameron

“You don’t have the balls. I’m cooler than you. Don’t forget it.”

That quote from Alana to her on-and-off relation Gary highlights the up-and-down nature of their relationship in 2021’s Licorice Pizza. The film received widespread praise and criticism upon its release. It has since become one of Paul Thomas Anderson’s more divisive films in specific aspects. At the same time however, the movie was nominated for many awards including 3 Oscar nominations. This is not one of the better PTA films but it’s still largely enjoyable.

Licorice Pizza tells the story of Alana, played by Alana Haim and Gary, played by Cooper Hoffman. The two meet at Gary’s school picture day; and this meeting would trigger a relationship that would see the two in and out of each others lives in the early 1970’s. Ultimately culminating in a more committed relationship.

Acknowledging the elephant in the room, the aforementioned controversy is thus. The film has Gary, a 15 year old, getting into an on-and-off again relationship with Alana, a 25 year old. Needless to say, on paper, this is a problematic age difference. Especially considering that the film aims to portray Gary and Alana in a romantic relationship. In the context of the film itself, there is some nuance in the relationship itself. But there are insinuations that are made as well. It is a plot point that is notable and should be discussed, but it ultimately is not as gross as other movies that do something similar.

Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman do have good chemistry with each other. They have a great dynamic with each other, and it was fun to see them work together. Haim was especially good; she was nominated for a Golden Globe, and it was earned. Considering this is a PTA film, the cast is full of good to great actors. Including Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, and Skyler Gisondo, aka Jimmy Olsen from 2025’s Superman.

The cinematography was also really well done. It was done by the tag team of Michael Bauman and Paul Thomas Anderson himself. The movie is set in 1973 in the San Fernando Valley and there is a lot of character taken from that setting. One of the better scenes is when a series of events leads to a recreation of a motorcycle chase scene on a golf course from the director Rex Blau, played by Tom Waits.

The biggest issue here comes from how busy the story gets sometimes. Plot points end and begin with no real explanation and with little to no warning. Gary goes from an actor, to selling waterbeds, to owning a pinball arcade. The movie is overly busy for no real reason.

Ultimately, there is a lot to like in the film across the board. It is a very well-made film and one that is worth a modest recommendation. This is not a top 3 PTA film, but this is a film of quality and should be sought out if desired.

4 stars