The Review

The Review: Paul Thomas Anderson’s Coming Of Age Story ‘Licorice Pizza’

 

Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn

Four years since Phantom Thread (2017), Paul Thomas Anderson is back with something completely opposite in Licorice Pizza. Anderson delivers a light, delightful, nostalgic experience set in the San Fernando Valley in 1973. Based on several anecdotes he’d experienced over the years, Anderson stitches together a coming age, romantic comedy that hits the sweet spot of those genres. A frequent collaborator with Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who passed away in 2014, Anderson introduces Hoffmans son Cooper Hoffman, in his film debut as the 15-year-old smooth talking and business curious Gary Valentine.

 

Alana Haim, member of the popular pop rock band ‘Haim’, plays Alana Kane, a quirky but spoilt 25-year-old photographers assistant. Valentine, also a successful child actor, meets Alana on his high school picture day. Although 25 years of age, Alana is charmed by Gary, and she agrees to go to dinner with him. What follows is a layered, semi confusing, but never not entertaining story of the two falling in love while running around sunny California.

Star cameos include Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, Maya Rudolph, John C Reilly, John Michael Higgin, Skylar Gisondo and the entire Haim family. While these cameos pack in an extra punch of fun, it really is the stellar performances and chemistry between Haim and Anderson that carry the film. Although inexperienced, the banter between the two actors always seems completely natural and doesn’t seem forced even for a second. Both leads successfully capture the emotional accuracy of young love and the possibilities of the 1970s.

The film flows from start to finish in an unpredictable but easy-going nature. With every scene is always a new joke, a new smile or new character escapade that leads to a pleasant viewing experience. But overall, it is the sweetness and complexity that Haim and Hoffman bring to the role that make this film truly joyful and captivating.

Licorice Pizza is in Australia cinemas December 26th

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

emma-thay@hotmail.co.uk

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You May Also Like

ENTERTAINMENT

Anne Hathaway has been cast in a feature film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s Verity. This film will come from Amazon MGM Studios’, with Michael Showalter set to...

ENTERTAINMENT

David Spade and Theo Von will lead the upcoming comedy Busboys. Production is currently scheduled to begin on January 10, 2025 in Los Angeles. “Set in...

TV

Netflix has unveiled the first photos from XO, Kitty, the latest installment to its To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before spin-off series. In the photos we get...

ENTERTAINMENT

A first-look photo has been released for Netflix and Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. Guillermo del Toro’s new Frankenstein movie is based on Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel....

Movies

The synopsis for the movie reads “In the new action-packed chapter from DreamWorks Animation’s acclaimed comedy smash about a crackerjack crew of animal outlaws,...

TV

Peacock has released the trailer for Laid, it’s newest dark comedy series which stars Stephanie Hsu. It will debut on Thursday, December 19. “A woman finds...

Movies

A24 has debuted the first trailer for Parthenope, the upcoming coming-of-age drama from Paolo Sorrentino. In the trailer we get to see the story of...

ENTERTAINMENT

A new photo has been unveiled from Daredevil: Born Again, in which we see Elden Henson’s Foggy and Deborah Ann Woll’s Karen Page return. Empire...

Copyright © 2024 Outloud! Culture

Exit mobile version