I think the main reason why I've enjoyed PT Anderson's movies so much is for something cited here -- the stories unfold in a way that's more like actual life, instead of endlessly rehashed Hollywood cliches. There are many setbacks and diversions in our daily existence that go along with our slow forward trajectory through life, and that simple fact is present in the structure of most Anderson movies. Despite the fact Licorice Pizza has such a rambling plot, full of these same setbacks and diversions, by the time the film was at the halfway mark I felt I knew the people in it and I cared about where their lives were going. I thought Alana Haim was absolutely charming and a total natural in front of the camera -- even more proof of the idea that real-life musicians often make very good movie actors.
This analysis sheds soooo much light on the film, the film is very well put together you just have to understand it and view it a few times. Just as good as PTA’s other films
Also my favourite film of the year, and i loved your analysis. In the two times i've watched it, i wasn't able to analyze it consciusly because its so good to just let myself slip into the emotional and cinematic rollercoster that it is. Now looking back at it more consciously through your analysis, i find myself loving it even more. I generally hate romantic movies because they never feel honest, and this one cured that wound for me confirming PTA as one of my favourite guys out there.
I finally watched Licorice Pizza last night. I really liked it! Yeah, the plot is a bit all over the place, but Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim kept my attention. Not bad for their first acting roles! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna listen to all of Haim's records and fantasize about my own Alana Kane (albeit an age-appropriate one, of course).
Great video. I also was not bothered by the episodic story as it reflected how life just goes on from one incident to the next -- especially for young people with no definite plans (much like American Graffiti).
God damn mate, well done. Just. Well done. All the comments here summarize your work very well. You really brought life and color to this movie for me. Hats off to you sir. Cheers
I’m always fascinated from peoples breakdown of movies. I like experience movies and not being rigid about how the movie should go. It almost felt like tv show where the main characters always seem to fall in love but never seal the deal. The wings let me roll it scene is probably my favorite part.
If this is disjointed I don't know what you call Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. This was an almost perfectly plotted Altman-esque film, I've seen far more disjointed films that don't have interesting characters to keep you engaged.
I viewed this film the same way I viewed Fellini’s Amacord which to me is a story about childhood adolescences amidst a changing world. For Fellini’s character in Amacord it was the rise of fascism. There are many scenes where this evil insidious ness is made ever present but it seems that character and the characters that are his age group don’t give a shit. Like Gary they are very sex obsessed evidence by the numerous sex fantasy scenes throughout the film. Even at the end of the film when the most desirable woman is married off, the boys run off in search of the next adventure. In Licorice Pizza there are numerous scenes where the real world makes itself present. The gas crisis to which Gary jokingly calls the end of the world as he runs through the long line of cars waiting for gas completely oblivious to what Jimmy Carter referred to as “The Malaise” a feeling that Alana is all to familiar with and despite her best efforts to make Gary aware of that, fails. Gary smokes a cigarette not because he likes to smoke because he perceives it as adult and cool unaware of the dangerous side effects. Loved Licorice Pizza. Brilliant analysis. I’m learning that watching video essays on films isn’t cheating but can often encourage me to watch the film again and keep an eye out for certain things such as screen direction and tracking shots which you’ve highlighted in your essay. And not just in that film but in other films and considering all the numerous ways such a film technique could be interpreted as. Thanks again Julian. Still working on that Truffaut essay.
Love Amacord! Didn't make the connection myself, but I see where you're coming from. The bike race scene made me think of Fellini and Antonioni though.
My girlfriend also noticed that Gary was the one who was shout at when he was still a kid actor and made his boss angry. Then he grew up, became his own boss and at the end it is him who shout at customers.
I did not know Cooper Hoffman was Philip Seymour Hoffman son. The part in the movie where he asks ‘These cigarettes ?’ ….he sounds just like his dad. He’s a great actor you need to focus more on his ability in this film.
I loved the episodic nature of Licorice Pizza. I find this kind of movie is similar to 'Great Literature' in that we see how the characters respond in different situations, how they relate to each other and how they progress as people. This is the core of great, humanist cinema. On the other hand, I was impressed by how well written, how rounded these characters were, how they were both annoying and likeable, contradictory and predictable all at the same time. Another element is how...natural it all felt. I could've been watching a group of real people in real circumstances, it didn't feel stagey at all. What's more, I found the this video has added something to my understanding of the movie. So...thanx for that!!!
Though coming of age movies are most popular in American film, filmmakers from other countries have created films in the genre, including The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) and The 400 Blows (1959).
In my point of view this is a sort of Paul’s hommage to Nouvelle Vague films and his own 70s references. The characters always running in crazy ways is very reminiscent of Band of Outsiders. Which by itself is a reference to Fools Gold by Dolores Hitchens, a pulp fiction writer. Was cute, kinda made me smile that Paul still has some magic left in him. :)
like Inherent Vice, a PTA retro tribute to his early 70s California. it's a pretty one-note movie between two main characters (girl-boy) without much subtext. there are a litany of 70s references of course, but the music is pretty outstanding overall. PTA even dials up the same Bowie 'Life on Mars" song Wes Anderson used to similar fantastic emotional effect in a long shot on Life Aquatic. The movie does pick up in the 2nd half, great extended scenes with Sean Penn and Tom Waits, and another classic track ("Let me Roll It" - McCartney/Wings) in a love doves scene,,, although it's a bit rambling and meandering overall, like when Bradley Cooper takes over for now clear reason. the ending scene of the young, passionate, crazy lovers running to each other - cheesy and cliche', yet effective
Great analysis on a main level of the film. Having been born in the 60's and lived some of my youth in SoCal, I'd like to add that we're also seeing the naivete of 1970's American culture, allowing us to laugh at ourselves regarding where we were and where we've gotten.
Excellent Review. A tad more nuanced and detailed than some of the "I couldn't get past the age difference" reviews. This movie was absolutely fantastic.
wondeful video! Your observations are so spot on, and excellent. Licorice Pizza *is* a subtle understated masterpiece. And the cherry is the perfect soundtrack.
This movie was so good. Feels like I’ve been waiting ages for the blu ray to release. Every other 2021 movie has been out for weeks now but no sign of Licorice pizza
I really wanted to like this and it was ok. Most of the scenes didn’t feel like they had a point, stakes, or consequences. Compared to how focused and tight something like phantom thread was it just felt so underdeveloped. Well made, entertaining, but ultimately unsatisfying. I get what he was going for but movies aren’t real life for a reason. For me, you can capture the truth of real life in a more entertaining and in a way that pays off.
Your analysis adds a depth, interest, and artistic perspective to this story that, sadly, PTA and his cast utterly failed to convey with even an ounce of clarity or interest. The most brilliant concept in the world means nothing if executed in the most uninteresting, mind-numbing way possible. I am more than capable of enjoying movies that I don't "get." I rather enjoy following up movie viewings with a deep dive into the RU-vid rabbit hole of analysis and "explainer" videos. But even your incredibly insightful take on this film does nothing to make me hate its execution any less.
I think I’ve come up with a really good analogy for licorice pizza. It’s PTA’s Zabriski Point. Antonioni thought he could make a film with out professional actors. It looks stunning but doesn’t work. I feel the same about LP.
This was one of those rare MASTERPIECES. The chemistry between the two main actors are AMAZING!! Master film-making. The "Napolian-Dynamite" syndrome at work here.
Without watching: it's not disjointed or if it is it's disjointed like a track list. Each sequence is a song. The other issue: even though this movie plays like cotton candy (coming of age sex comedy), the script does nothing to hold your hand. It doesn't underline jokes, tell you how to feel, outside of those big long (conventional) sequences of them running each other down (ala a bazillion great romantic teen comedies). That means: we may feel it's disjointed because we don't understand PTA's specific language here (mostly, in my opinion, because he subverts convention). I'm still not sure why he subverts convention though. That is the puzzle I can't get my head around. What is the purpose of leaving the sugar out of the cotton candy?
I'm not sure i get your question right but if you're asking why he doesn't hold your hand more in the way of a conventional romcom, i think its because it comes out more honest. I dislike most romcoms like this but i think i loved this one so much for that reason. Everything that happens tells the story of their relationship but it never feels like the whole world revolves around them. Its just the subtlety of PTA's pen and camera, whispering the love story in the midst of all the chaos. When its told like this, i don't feel cringe watching them run towards each other at the end.
@@edoardoruini199 Fair. I'd also say the sugar is in there but it's hard candy and you got to suck on it a long time before you realize how sweet it is...
I remember growing up siphoning gas from cars, running from police, skinny dipping in public pools, helicopters flying overhead, Drinking alcohol. Wow youth. Good Times.
I was hugely disappointed and possibly slightly annoyed by Licorice Pizza. It's my least favourite PTA movie. Disjointed is definitely the most apt description of the film. For me the worst part was the lack of chemistry between the leads. I just didn't buy into it like I did the odd couple dynamics of Vicky Kries and Daniel Day Lewis in Phantom Thread or Adam Sandler in and Emily Watson in Punch Drunk Love. When Gary and Alana eventually get together at the end of the movie I really had no emotional involvement whatsoever. I didn't think either actor was particularly talented but equally they were working with a meandering script that didn't make you root for the characters or buy into their "romance" in any way.
@jess cro - absolutely. 100% agree. Red Rocket was a great film. Witty and subversive and beautifully shot. Sean Baker's a wonderful director and writer. I adore Florida Project & Tangerine too. I thought Mike Mill's "C'mon C'mon" was a much more focused and charming movie than Licorice Pizza as well.
_Licorice Pizza_ is so disjointed because it's the way Paul Thomas Anderson planned, scripted, framed, shot, directed then edited it. that's my theory. be sure to hit that Like button.
Also, glad the reviewer noted why the age difference is not that significant- Gary with a single mother plays an adult role at home whereas Alana is very much a child in her religious patriarchal family
I have come to appreciate PTAs style. I thought HARD EIGHT and BOOGIE NIGHTS were "emperor has no clothes" indulgences. Results in a Hollywood attempt to hoist up a prefab indie upstart. As if Kevin Smith was deliberately created inside the movie industry. But I realize now he is a great filmmaker. He has a unique voice. His style may seem meandering and scattered. Vignettes that barely fit together. I still have a lot of issues with THERE WILL BE BLOOD. But overall he knows what he's doing. By the way, I absolutely loved the backward truck scene! Pure cinema, works in the movie and on its own.
It's not so much about the disjointed, ala Catcher In The Rye meandering storytelling, but more so I personally don't like the actual stories and even the two lead characters themselves. Perhaps that's the point, they're so flawed, they're definitely a product of the 70s the director and his friends that draw influences from at that time. I definitely appreciate it's naturalistic portrayals of a time period I don't know as well as just how too real it is regarding how teens and new adults are just doing their best with their lives. I definitely praise it's cinematography and being so off-beat in the usual plotted films in most mainstream films. The little plot details just aren't my thing, but I also think it's a good film. I also saw this film quite a bit drunk with wine lol 🍷
This movie just went nowhere and didn't make much sense. But I did really enjoy the acting it was great. Other than that it's more of some art film than a movie.
i feel like Palo Alto or 20th Century Women have mastered what this movie was trying to do. i got nothing from this when i watched it & wish there was more character background/depth to understand their motivations besides “kid wants to grow up, the grown up wants to be a kid”
I still think Alana lies about her age. At one point she tells John she's 28 then corrects herself back to 25. I think she lies to make herself seem cooler to the younger guys. I think she's more like 20, 21.
This movie's time frame makes no sense. The kid runs several businesses which should require two or three years of effort, but he keeps on being 15. He never goes to school. Is this supposed to be one summer? He works all by himself without any help from parents or professionals. Ridiculous. The whole thing is bizarrely fake, despite millions of dollars of authentic production design.
I just started watching it and if it is what it is, it is the best response to the hysteria of Me2 movements and all the nuances that is missed by people 's agenda is something different to what is involved in the complexity of what leads to sex. It is about seduction by casting the roles as such the movie is telling us to stop thinking in stereotypes and look at the details. Then you can see that it is not such a one-sided story, contrary to what appears after the event. Having listened to all the arguments of such social frenzies, I had often thought that a lot of details are missing here. Sex is messy and what takes place before and after are locked forever in the subjective memory that is often polluted with all sorts of what at the time seemed irrelevant. Indeed, after every sexual act I have often asked myself what was that about? It quickly turns into a distant past emotionally that you don't know how and why it started and when and who could have intervened, change its dynamics, or even stopped it does on many occasions with one party suddenly thinking: ah well, maybe, not this time. You ask why and the answer is hardly understandable. A sudden fart or headache or a reminder of an unpleasant memory suddenly running through your brain is all it takes to so called ruin the mood and yet suddenly it becomes the most consequential decision you have taken. This is why it appears disjointed. It is bit like the beginning of 2001, it starts in one place and then on spinning of bone it turns up 100,000 years away. The music is a waltz but if you pay attention, you see the disorientation of point view in the camera. Space is not a place for a waltz. It is all pretend. But few see that contradiction between the music and the environment and come away with the wrong conclusion. This is the genius of the man.
