Starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie. Written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Running time 134 minutes. Budget $40 mil.
They say the course of true love never runs smooth, and that sure is the case with Liquorice Pizza, the 8th film from Paul Thomas Anderson, who also wrote and directed: Boogie Nights, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, There Will be Blood, The Master, Inherent Vice, and Phantom Thread. Which, if you think about is a simply staggering body of work!
The story sees Gary Valentine, a15 year-old, child actor, (Cooper Hoffman) meet Alana Kane, a 25 year-old photography assistant (Alana Haim). He asks her out for a date and they become friends, start a waterbed company together, before slightly falling out, open a pin-ball aracade (in his case) and dabble with politics (in her case) before finally... well that would spoil it.
Set in LA in 1973, the summer of the fuel crisis and Live and Let Die, this 'coming-of-age comedy-drama', was an utter delight from beginning to end, with a sound track of sheer bliss, to the performances of Phillip Seymour Hoffman's son, Cooper and Alana Haim, to the likes of Sean Penn, Tom Waits and Bradley Cooper in fantastic supporting roles.
I simply cannot fault this film, I adored it, I loved it! I laughed, giggled, and fell in love with the characters! The film felt so naturalistic, so fun and just so damn enjoyable it was impossible not to be whisked along by it. I realised about an hour in that there was no plot at all and it mattered not one iota, just like real life this film didn't need one, it just followed our leads as their lives rolled along and entwined with each others. Sure along the way the likes of Hollywood legends William Holden (Sean Penn) and Jon Peters (Bradly Cooper) and mayoral candidate Joel Wachs briefly intruded, but that's it for shocking third act plot reveals.
It's beautifully written, expertly directed and fantastically acted. Honestly, I doubt I'll see another film this year that delights me more, I even sat right through to the very, very end, not because I hoped there'd be some Marvel post credit sting, but because the music was so good and I was enjoying the graphics of the credits.
I still find myself thinking about it two days later and considering a return visit to watch it again.
Like liquorice itself this film might not be to everyone's taste, but for me, it was a cinematic manna.
I simply cannot fault this film, I adored it, I loved it! I laughed, giggled, and fell in love with the characters! The film felt so naturalistic, so fun and just so damn enjoyable it was impossible not to be whisked along by it. I realised about an hour in that there was no plot at all and it mattered not one iota, just like real life this film didn't need one, it just followed our leads as their lives rolled along and entwined with each others. Sure along the way the likes of Hollywood legends William Holden (Sean Penn) and Jon Peters (Bradly Cooper) and mayoral candidate Joel Wachs briefly intruded, but that's it for shocking third act plot reveals.
It's beautifully written, expertly directed and fantastically acted. Honestly, I doubt I'll see another film this year that delights me more, I even sat right through to the very, very end, not because I hoped there'd be some Marvel post credit sting, but because the music was so good and I was enjoying the graphics of the credits.
I still find myself thinking about it two days later and considering a return visit to watch it again.
Like liquorice itself this film might not be to everyone's taste, but for me, it was a cinematic manna.
10/10
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