Say what you will about Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia). Whether you are a fan of his directing or not, his movies feel like they are so much longer than they need to be. Painfully so, sometimes. He hooks you with his rich characters (often played by some of the finest actors in the industry) and what feels like is going to be a soft, gentle story. But then his movies tend to drift aimlessly, going down so many different wormholes before finally arriving at an unsatisfying conclusion. Such is the case with Licorice Pizza, a boy meets girl, coming-of-age story that is likely to earn some Oscar nominations despite its waning story and crawl to the finish line.

Hands down, the best parts of Licorice Pizza are its two leads. Set in 1973 San Fernando Valley, CA, 15-year-old high school sophomore Gary (newcomer Cooper Hoffman) and 25-year-old photographer’s assistant Alana (newcomer Alana Haim) strike the perfect balance of sweet and awkward in their budding are they together/aren’t they together romance. Despite the age difference between the two, this movie isn’t intended to be creepy and doesn’t feel that way. Gary has the persona of someone slightly older, while Alana looks and acts like someone who could very well be in high school herself. She also lives under the roof of a strict but loving father who does everything he can to protect his daughters (Alana is the youngest) as long as he can.

Licorice Pizza is a dreamer’s movie. Gary is as likable as any character I’ve seen on film this year. His zest for life is matched only by his contagious optimism. Though barely a teenager, he’s already a hopeless romantic. Though his day job is as a student, he moonlights at his mother’s public relations firm. Gary also has had minor success as an actor, appearing as an older son (one of nineteen children) in a successful film called Under One Roof, starring an established actor). The cast reunites in New York, where they perform a live rendition of one of the successful songs from Under One Roof. Alana accompanies Gary on the trip after his mother is unable to attend. For Gary to participate as a minor, he needs a chaperone to escort him on the plane ride across the country. Even though Alana gets pressed when arriving home at 10 p.m. after dinner with a friend of her father, she’s still able to take a plane a few days later to the other side of the country. But that’s neither here nor there. A dream of his is to continue his acting career. While in New York City, he has a couple of auditions for commercials. There is a gleam in his eyes.

At times, the age gap between Gary and Alana doesn’t matter. But, at other times, it’s clear that he has some puppy eyes for a beautiful older woman who has plenty of suitors chasing her. There are instances where we want not to like her (because we see the unintentional hurt she’s causing Gary). Still, Thomas Anderson doesn’t allow us to make Alana as flawed and uncertain as our lead protagonist. However, Gary is sometimes jealous, which makes this story pleasing. These are two good people doing their best to improve while also trying to experience the world’s joys.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Bradley Cooper (American Sniper, A Star is Born) and Sean Penn (Flag Day, Milk) each of a couple of small scenes late in the film. Cooper’s, I knew. Penn’s, I did not. Each performed his role adequately. In a way, each agreed for a small part in the movie as a favor to Thomas Anderson. However, Cooper is getting a lot of critical acclaim for his performance as Jon, a movie producer who is a bit of a neurotic nutcase. He’s a favorite to earn a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award. I don’t see it. While one of my favorite actors felt like Cooper received a script to “act crazy” for five minutes in two separate scenes, it felt like nothing special to me. Moreover, it felt like anybody could have acted this role out. He’s receiving much of the acclaim that should be reserved for Hoffman and Haim. As two actors who had never appeared in a movie, he had natural magnetic chemistry that would make even veteran actors known for starring in romance movies envious.

I didn’t dislike Licorice Pizza. But I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I did like the first half—a lot. I became disinterested in the second half with shifts in a story that didn’t advance. It could (and should) have been 30 minutes shorter. But like most directors working with the material they have written themselves, I’m sure it was difficult for Thomas Anderson to trim it. Ultimately, he should have. There were only so many similar yet segmented stories that viewers could sit through before they started looking at their watch. The longer the movie went, the less I cared about how it ended. When the two-hour and fifteen-minute runtime had finished with an all-too-predictable ending, like most of Thomas Anderson’s other movies, I could only wonder about all of the hype.

Plot 7/10 (there was great intent, but we know that intent doesn’t equal execution)
Character Development 7.5/10 (the acting and the connection between our leads were overshadowed by characters who changed throughout the film but didn’t necessarily grow as you would have hoped)
Character Chemistry 9.5/10
Acting 9.5/10 (Cooper is getting entirely too much credit for his two scenes…Hoffman and Haim stole the show as the most unlikely likable couple you’ll see on screen this year)
Screenplay 7/10 (I know Thomas Anderson was trying to say more than what was received)
Directing  6.5/10 (I expected more. This is another argument against a director adapting their screenplay)
Cinematography 10/10 (perfect)
Sound 7/10 (missed opportunities…so much material that could have been worked in…though the sound as a whole was subtle when the time called for it to be)
Hook and Reel 7.5/10
Universal Relevance 7/10
79.5%

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