Review of Licorice Pizza (2021) by Compi24 — 19 Jan 2022

I still can't 100% stand behind the film's central relationship in good faith, but the overall experience of "Licorice Pizza" remains decidedly enjoyable, with the film's breezy feel and goofiness ultimately winning me over.

I actually also really enjoyed the episodic nature of things at hand as well, with the part-by-part, "a year in the life" approach to the narrative hearkening back to movies like "Lady Bird," "Dazed And Confused" and even "Napoleon Dynamite" for me.

Sure, there's a bit of an overarching story, but still it's all a bit loose, which is cool. This also really does feel like a culmination of a lot of different throughlines within Paul Thomas Anderson's career.

Cooper Hoffman (son of frequent collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Alana Haim (member of the band Haim, for whom Anderson's directed several music videos for) star, with the plot involving real-life characters and events that influenced Anderson's childhood.

Kind of a neat assortment of details. Again, it's by no means my favorite of Anderson's, but I don't regret watching it overall.