Has ‘Licorice Pizza’ Aged Well?

There’s a 35mm screening of Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza” that I’ll be attending at the local rep cinema tonight.

Has this film aged well? That’s what I’ve wondered and why I’ll be catching it again tonight. I saw it just once in November of 2021, and haven’t since. It’s certainly not in the same league as 2017’s “Phantom Thread,” the last masterful statement from PTA.

From what I remember, Alana Haim was absolutely lovely. Ditto Cooper Hoffman who plays her “romantic” partner. The film’s first hour deals with their relationship and the ever-elusive dilemma of sex. She’s 25-years-old, and he’s 15. They’re both very well aware of that. And then, PTA pulls a 180 and starts messing with his audience …

The last 40 or so minutes are what will likely be the make-it-or-break-it for viewers of the film. That’s when total disinterest for plot comes into fruition. What started off as a fairly “straightforward” film, at least by PTA standards, turns into a strange and sometimes very dark assembly of episodic vignettes.

When it came out, “Licorice Pizza” earned all-out raves, 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, 90 on Metacritic and the second most cited film on critics top 10 lists. The grouches over at Cahiers du Cinema had it as their #2. I raved about it in my review, and it ended up in my own list of year’s best films.

I wrote in my review: “Licorice Pizza” is messy, passionate, flawed, brilliant, and, really, just all over the place. It’s going to polarize many. Some of the shots here are stunning. You really do wonder how PTA and DP Michael Bauman pulled them off. There are beautifully rendered period details scattered throughout the film. You live and breathe ‘70s California.”

A good movie, said legendary Howard Hawks, is one that has “three great scenes and no bad ones.” I’ve decided to use Hawks’ measuring stick for Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Licorice Pizza.”

Certainly a scene that should get mentioned is when Gary is arrested, brought to the police station and subsequently released. A great shot is where Ilana hugs Gary after he's released from the police station — the camera hangs on them embracing each other through the reflection of the glass door.

Another is Gary and Ilana’s first meeting during his high school’s photo day. There’s a great long-take of their first conversation, and PTA just glues you to their chemistry.

The cringe-inducing Shabbat dinner scene, with Ilana’s atheist boyfriend, Lance, is another memorable highlight — a sweet and accurate depiction of a Jewish family’s Friday night dinner gone haywire. Haim’s actual parents and siblings are in this scene.

Oh, and possibly the piece de resistance, having absolutely nothing to do with core romance is when Ilana drives the truck backwards and down the San Fernando Valley hills. The tension is relentless as the shadow of Bradley Cooper’s insane megalomaniac looms large in the background.

Shot during the pandemic, many believe this to be a minor statement from PTA, certainly not in the same ranks as some of his best films, but, still, I remember it being a wonderful film. I’m looking forward to catching up with it later tonight.