Licorice Pizza is the comedy film of the year, a genuinely non-stop fun ride that completely immerses you in the world of 70s LA. PTA is so loose with structure here that it genuinely feels like a glimpse into the lives of these characters, like you’re just hanging out with them, getting into antics and building fleeting friendships.
To me, this is a perfect film, with a few jarring flaws that bring it down from being a masterpiece. This might be my favourite comedy of 2021, however there’s a joke that a white character makes where he imitates a Japanese accent that is just blatantly offensive. It doesn’t serve the plot whatsoever, the joke could’ve been removed and the film would be the exact same, and moreover the joke is recurring, as if we didn’t get enough of it the first time.
The other fault surrounds the age gap. The age gap narratively and thematically makes sense for the story PTA is telling. Alana is a woman struggling in her new found adulthood, unsure how to deal with the pressure and expectation of having to be mature and responsible. Gary is in his adolescence yet longing to rid himself of his childish perception. A budding entrepreneur, Gary is far ahead of his years and wants desperately to be taken seriously despite his fleeting maturity.
The dichotomy posed by the age gap is fascinating as Alana and Gary are two sides of the same coin, both in a transitional phase of their live and unsure what they want. One longing for the future, the other holding onto the past. The film just perfectly captures this idea of human’s fascination with living in another time, romanticising the past or dreaming of the future, but never living in the moment. The one thing that breaks this is our relationships.
In this way, the age gap makes perfect sense, it captures the timelessness that can be found in our precious relationships. Did the relationship have to end up being romantic? I don’t think it did, I was perfectly enjoying the flirty, quirky friendship they had and that spoke to the theme enough. The decision to make the relationship romantic (while not condoning it) just drove this theme home further.
The problem with it though is how characters in this world act towards the relationship being a romantic one. At a point in the film Alana’s sisters actively encourage their relationship and that feels like such a misstep, to condone the two being together despite them knowing the age gap between them. And it’s been said all over the place but if the genders were reversed this film would be privy to an onslaught of criticism.
Despite the strange story beats concerning the central relationship, this film is just a delight to sink yourself into. The film never drags despite its lengthy runtime, the city of stars is shot with such a fluidity that pulls you into the wacky, dream-like world of PTA’s LA. Every single glorious shot of this film feels purposeful and is beautiful, expect the final 5 seconds which I wish were just cut from the film. The lighting across the board was stunning, yet in particular anytime a door or a window was in a scene the decision to suck all the light out of the room and let the beyond be the focal point of the scene was mesmerisingly genius.
The performances are undoubtedly one of the best parts of the film. Alana Haim is a star. She’s magnetic in every single scene, absolutely chewing up the screen in every moment she can. I can’t wait to see more of her and casting her real family as her family in the film was an inspired choice, as all their interactions were incredible. “Oh fuck off Danielle” was delivered perfectly. Cooper Hoffman delivers an incredibly charming performance as well, that completely sells you on both the childlike naivety and forced maturity that’s gotten his character to the point he’s at. Not a single supporting cast member is weak, a lot of their roles felt more like cameos which worked perfectly in building this world. Bradley Cooper really killed it in his small role in particular.
This film invites into the world of 70s LA and makes you not want to leave it, it will leave a smile on your face throughout the runtime and long after it ends. If it wasn’t for some odd choices, in comedy and plot, this film could be perfect, but the damage done by these elements leaves a sour taste in the month, perhaps the taste of licorice pizza.
★★★★
