Licorice Pizza Reviews

Since I’m a huge fan of Paul Thomas Anderson’s work, I was really eager to see this movie. Unfortunately, pretty much like with ‘Phantom Thread’, ‘Inherent Vice’ and ‘The Master’, even though I admired the work done, to be honest, the damned thing never really grabbed me though. For some reasons, it did remind me of the last movie directed by Quentin Tarantino, ‘Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood’. Indeed, pretty much like Tarantino did, Anderson focused on a time and place which was really dear to him, the San Fernando Valley at the beginning of the 70’s. However, except for Anderson, did anyone else really care about this subject? Well, I didn’t, at least, not really. On top of that, there was something really awkward about this burgeoning romantic relationship between this 15 year old kid and a 25 year old woman. I mean, can you imagine if they would have switched around the genders? If a 25 year old dude was circling around a 15 year old girl? It would have been even more cringe-inducing. When I was around the same age, I have to admit that I was seriously fantasizing on my older sister’s friends so I could definitely identify with the main character but these girls were all 3 or 4 years older than me, not 10. There were also some details that bothered me. For example, what was the time line? How come Gary never had to go to school? How could a 15 year old teenager manage to open a shop selling water beds and later on some pinball palace? There was also the fact that the two main characters both looked really average and were hardly charismatic but I have to admit that it did make them really relatable. On top of that, there is no doubt that Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim, both with no acting experience, did deliver some really strong naturalistic performances. I think I will have to re-watch this movie in a few years to get a better grip on the damned thing but I doubt it will then blow me away. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn’t really work for me, it was still an intriguing watch and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Paul Thomas Anderson’s work.