I am no film critic, but I do have a special place in my heart for coming-of-age films. I even wrote an article on my take on coming-of-age films, and how they can influence people. When I first heard about “Licorice Pizza,” I was very interested in seeing this film. For starters, I do not go often to see films in theaters. Even before Covid-19, I rarely ever went to the movies unless there was a movie showing that interested me heavily. So, when I first heard about “Licorice Pizza,” I got super excited. It was released in November 2021 in select theaters but wasn’t released nationwide until Christmas Day. I was hoping to see it as soon as I could, but my hometown theaters weren’t showing it, so I had to wait until I came back to college for the semester. Luckily a theater thirty minutes from campus was showing it, so my best friend and I went and saw it as fast as we could.
The film was shot in 35mm film, which is what caused the rave over social media. The movie was not shot on modern day cameras, which gave the film an older look and 1970’s texture. “Licorice Pizza” was written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, who is known for movies such as “There Will Be Blood” and “Hard Eight”. He wrote the film based on an event in 2001 when he walked past a middle school and saw the students bothering the female photographer. This popped the idea about a student having a relationship with the adult photographer. The script evolved from the stories that his friend Gary Goetzman told him about being a child actor. The name of the film, “Licorice Pizza,” comes from a former chain of record shops in southern California. Interesting enough, the film was originally supposed to be named “Soggy Bottoms,” before it was changed in September 2021.
Warning: Spoilers!
“Licorice Pizza” is based in the San Fernando Valley, California in 1973. The two main characters are 25-year-old Alana Kane (acted by Alana Haim, for any HAIM fans out there) and 15-year-old Gary Valentine. The two meet at the beginning of the movie during school picture day when Gary bothers Alana into going out on a date with him. Despite the decade age gap, Alana shows up to the to the date with Gary and eventually forms a friendship with him. Gary is a child actor and an entrepreneur. Gary starts some businesses such as a waterbed shop and employs Alana. Throughout the movie, you see him and Alana going back and forth with their feelings (well mainly Alana) about each other. After the waterbed business fails due to the gas crisis, Alana joins John Wachs’ mayoral campaign and tries to separate herself from Gary. Eventually they end up meeting again at the end of the movie and Alana confesses her love to Gary.
This film covered controversial topics that also caused some social media uproar. One of the topics included the racism against Asians. There was a part in the movie where a business owner was treating his Japanese wife in a way that is not favored. The business owner was using his wife to open a Japanese themed restaurant but spoke to her with an accent and slow talking so she would “understand” him. Another topic was the age gap between Gary and Alana. As mentioned before, there was a ten-year age gap between the two characters. I know personally it made me very uncomfortable to see a 25-year-old going after, getting jealous of and even saying she loves a 15-year-old. There were parts of the film where I kind of forgot about the age difference, but when I remembered it, I felt grossed out.
My overall feeling of the film was decent. For the most part, the story is put together well and does portray topics in a way that’s not common to see on screen. I really loved the cinematography that was shown using 35mm film. I don’t know what other movie I have seen that also had that kind of camera set up with it. For the pacing of the movie, it really irritated me. I feel like the writers were trying to put too much detail into the two hours and thirteen minutes that the movie played. There were too many plot twists that kept happening to the point where I kept forgetting what was even going on in the movie. It got to a part where I honestly was begging for the movie to end because there was so much that was going on. Also, to mention, I didn’t really understand the plot till about 36 hours after I saw it. It was very difficult to understand which character I was supposed to put my focus on, Gary or Alana. I finally realized what the movie meant after reading the Wiki page. Even still, I feel like the pacing should have been a bit slower.
Of course, now if you ask me about the movie, I will say it was the best film to come out last year. “Licorice Pizza” has recently been nominated for four Oscar’s, including best picture and best original screenplay. I am a bit upset that they got snubbed for the cinematography award, but the originality of the plot is going to be something hard to top for a while. In all, this movie taught me that there’s people that are desperate to go after a person that’s ten years younger than them, just to feel loved. The film did not excuse the actions but made it clear and uncomfortable for the viewers to watch. I am excited to see what “Licorice Pizza” will spark in the world of Hollywood.