Licorice Pizza

Ten Second Review: I’m not sure what xxx was going for, but I’m not sure who I’d recommend this one too.

I’m by no means immune to the power of advertising, but I am certainly more susceptible to recommendations. I’m not one to trust or blindly agree with people’s opinions, but I’m far more intrigued to watch things people around me like than watching what an advert would like me to. I haven’t seen one ad, print, TV or digital for Licorice Pizza, but I have had several friends tell me to see it.

Gary is an actor, among other things, and he’s 15. Alana helps out at a portrait photographer’s studio, she’s 25. After striking up an unlikely friendship tensioned by sexual frustration, we see the pair navigate their relationship, businesses and dreams.

I recently read an interview with Paul Thomas Anderson. What has held my attention since was a comment about television. Regarding making episodic content he said, “That’s not the solution. The solution is not to just use a lot of B-material and make a longer-form thing. The solution would be cut down, get to your good material, tell your story properly, and make a film. So, I’ve never thought about it in a very serious way.” and I must admit I have thought about it several times since. Most recently I thought about it at what I would soon realise was only two thirds through his latest film. The thing is, I think he’s right. We shouldn’t take for granted the changing landscape of television and the quality and stylings of its current output. What I would say is missing from his comment is qualifying that not all media fits the medium it may seem intended for. I have certainly watched shows that may have been better as films and in the case of Licorice Pizza, a film that may have been served better by being a show. 

I may have some quibbles with the writing, mostly down to one or two very specific decisions, but the dialogue was incredibly engaging. I don’t know where I would fault the acting. For me, the cast nailed it and sold the snappy dialogue just as well as they did the slower beats. The photography, the style, the sets, there was something indescribable warmth that surrounded the characters and each scene was in their own way a joy to watch. 

That however reveals my major gripe; there was a lack of connection throughout the film as a whole. It was more a collection of vignettes and stories about these two enjoyably written characters rather than a cohesive and consistently engaging film. I can’t help but see how well it would have broken down into episodes that would have also allowed a little more elaboration and extension for the story as a whole. 

I can’t help but wonder if as a film director by trade, PTA worries that there is a status problem by moving to TV work.

When all is said and done and the credits rolled, there were several problems I had with the film, but the insistence on it being a film may be its greatest sin.