Paul Thomas Anderson’s love letter to seventies Los Angeles Valley culture is brought to full fruition in Licorice Pizza. The story is filled with outcasts and oddballs and features some very funny cameos by Sean Penn, Bradley Cooper, and Tom Waits. It also features to prominence the acting of the late great Philip Seymour Hoffman’s son Cooper Hoffman.
Experiencing life in Southern California in the seventies and actually visiting many Licorice Pizza record stores and also owning a waterbed, this film and Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood have been an interesting experience in nostalgia. While Q.T.’s take was more visual and grand, Anderson’s focus is more character-driven and less extravagant.
The inhabitants of this world are not superheroes (well maybe Bradley Cooper’s take on Jon Peters might qualify) but normal folk just trying to find their way in an ever-changing landscape. It’s particularly emotional watching Cooper Hoffman act as his father feels very present in almost all his actions. Alana Haim is also very effective as the gawky coming of age Alana.
Licorice Pizza feels like a very personal statement from Paul Thomas Anderson and as such fits nicely in the film universe he has created thus far with films like Boogie Nights and There Will Be Blood. His art and action seem on the subtle side this time but the underlining truth feels universal. Ultimately it should become a valued addition to his oeuvre.
Rob Hudson
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