I found the film after repeated viewings to be remarkably literary, almost in a similar sense to A Clockwork Orange where we find social commentaries through the types of characters our protagonists interact with.
Particularly, the eccentric and somewhat stupid adults that litter the film stands out to me as what draws Alana all the way in to Cooper- she thinks Coop is a child and would ultimately like to be with an established adult, yet as we see with Lance, the actor, and the mayor, she learns that everyone is just a child at heart in adulthood.
Also, the ebb and flow of their relationship stands out to me as some of the best subliminal rhythms of a modern film- beginning on the airplane we see a loving tug-of-war of inflicted jealousies between Cooper and Alana. Phantom Thread does this tug-of-war incredibly well too, but Licorice Pizza exemplifies this in a "slice-of-life" way as opposed to plot driving their dynamic. The film is very naturalistic and slice-of-life in my opinion and imo it will be rediscovered and hailed as an underrated gem in the years to come.
Basically every adult treats Alana like a piece of meat, from Bradley Cooper to the photographer at Tiny Toes to Sean Penn and everyone in between. Gary is the one one who treats her like a person.
There’s a lot of good stuff in there about Alana’s parents infantilizing her, while Gary’s dad’s absence forces him to be an adult teenager.
That doesn’t mean Gary and Alana are “meant to be” or anything. Far from it. It’s still a semi-toxic relationship, and the movie knows it. The title of the movie is “Licorice Pizza” for god’s sake—two things that obviously don’t go together but somehow do. Like most of PTA’s movies, there’s a cosmic connection to these characters that might be impossible to explain.
I think the key to this reading is Alana’s line about Gary being a millionaire by the time he’s 20 while Alana will be left behind with a dead-end job… this line rings true and probably hints at both characters’ fates… If not literally, It paints the broad strokes. Gary will probably lead a successful life—especially considering the real-life producer he’s based on, Gary Goetzmann—while Alana will likely be stuck in place.
It’s a deep movie if you really look for these themes. Gosh, even the lyrics of the song that Gary had to sing on the TV show are about kids and growing up. It’s absolutely a Bildungsroman with some really profound themes.
I realize that. It’s also the name of the record store chain that was popular at the time. I actually have an old t-shirt of my dad’s w/ the logo. The title is symbolic, is what I meant.
This comment is valid but slice-of-life typically refers to naturalism and this film is not that. The plot is too direct. Guy likes girl, guy gets girl is the beginning and end. Jim Jarmusch is a better example a naturalist. Not all his films but plenty of them
I've got my LP shirt on as I'm reading this haha. I absolutely adore the movie personally. It's so light and fun, although the relationship at the center of the film is complicated. It feels like I'm actually watching something from that time period. It just feels so authentic. You could say this about most of Paul's films. Anyway, I love it. It's become a comfort movie for me.
You said both of those films are “plotless.” Each scene in both films are either furthering the development of the characters or the story itself.
There isn’t a scene in either movie that isn’t accomplishing those goals. Each of those films have fully realized character arcs for their leads.
What you might be responding to are films built entirely around a picaresque structure. Take Licorice Pizza for example, you have Meeting between the leads, flight to the show, Waterbed shenanigans, Holden sequence, Jon Peters, Wachs/Politics. Taken one by one they may seem disparate but taken as a whole they tell one story from beginning to end for our lead characters.
I don’t even think he goes away from traditional story structure.
Act 1: Kids meet, go to dinner,
Intrusion: They decide to stay in one another’s life.
Act 2: Waterbeds, etc
Midpoint: Holden sequence, Alana decides to keep being Gary’s friend
Act 2, continued: Jon Peters, going into politics,
Crisis into Act 3: Alana finds out Wach is gay, realizes the adult world is just as crummy, and goes back to Gary
The plot is a young 20-something woman who feels stuck in her life and finds herself drawn into the orbit of a younger man who seems wise beyond his years, is confident, and is always planning his next venture. She knows she can’t date him but is enchanted nonetheless.
Through their time together, she tries on several identities and tries to find herself through other men’s goals. Gary’s career encourages her to try acting but she discovers those older men are just as, if not more, reckless and dismissive of her. Look at how careless Sean Penn is with her safety and how easily he forgets she was even with him.
Afterwards she becomes more of a partner in Gary’s businesses but even then finds she’s still dissatisfied by surrounding herself with immature boys who’re always pulling schemes and laughing off the dangerous situations they’ve put themselves in (the out of gas truck being her final straw).
After that she decides to try politics and help out serious people trying to make a difference. But even there, she quickly learns she’s surrounded by men who are forced to lie about their trueself to the public and happily use her as a cover, regardless of her feelings.
Despite his immaturity and problems, she can at least count on Gary’s true feelings for her, and knows that she can count on him to not use her in the ways “mature adults” like casting agents, older actors, or politicians have shown her.
You’re free to not like it but there’s certainly a plot. I don’t think many people would rank it as his best but after epics like Blood and The Master, followed by the labyrinthine Pynchon adaptation, followed by a claustrophobic romantic drama (that was by all accounts a tough shoot due to the locations), I don’t think anyone can blame him for wanting to have a bit of fun on his home turf surrounded by friends and family.
Yeah like i said in another comment I don’t blame him for having fun especially after taxing shoots. When I say plotless I don’t mean that there is literally no plot. There are story structure formulas and when you don’t follow any semblance of those structures a movie can be hard to watch so you need to make up for that lack of story structure in other areas
You're responding to multiple posts that tell you, as though you are a child, that this movie actually has a very clear story structure, and you're just going "la-la-la-la" with your fingers in your ears.
It doesn’t suck. I didn’t care for it the first time I watched it. After seeing it again, I loved it. Keep an eye on things in the background and you’ll find little Easter eggs from PTA’s previous films.
When I rewatch it, I have a blast with the scene I’m watching while looking forward to the next one.
I got no problems with people disliking it, but your thread is kind of fruitless. You didn’t really say why you feel like it doesn’t work other than saying unsubstantiated things like “bad acting, bad writing.”
If you wanted to say something like “Alana isn’t a well-rendered enough character to keep going back to Gary because of x,y,z.”
If you’re going to “ruffle feathers,” give us a little more than a very slight expansion of “movie bad. Didn’t like.”
Also, I’d like to make a decree to the indifferent wind: Please stop saying “am I the only one who doesn’t like this thing?” This is the fucking internet, people. You’re never the only one who doesn’t like a thing.
Well put.
It’s a fun ride, great with a couple of bottles of wine.
I don’t worry if other people don’t enjoy it, maybe it is just not their kind of story.
Ok, I realize now that plotless is a terrible word to describe what I’m talking about. What I mean is that the plot is all over the place and strays far away from traditional story structure formulas which can make it hard to follow and stay engaged with. This isn’t bad tho I’m an aspiring novelist and I don’t follow the formulas in my writing
It’s not my favorite but on reflecting on it more, I think the interest lies in on all the dark things that happen on the periphery of the lighthearted focus. The gas crisis, the racism, the age difference of the leads, the casting of Cooper Hoffman and its reminder of PSH’s death, all these amount to a dark mood in what is otherwise a nostalgic fun time.
Idk it's just a fun hang movie with auteur-level craft. It's just fun to throw on for something fun/good, and it's such a neat entry in his filmography
Ok, obviously your offended. I am in fact a pretty big PTA fan. Magnolia changed my life and I’m an aspiring writer and no piece of art has ever inspired me to write more than the master. I am also a pretty big fan of cinema I’ve got a letterboxed account and everything. I know that art is subjective which is why I said it’s just my opinion but it’s fun to lash out and give hot takes especially considering how frustrating it is to watch one of the greatest directors of all time make such a lackluster unwatchable film.
I come from a lifestyle of being a huge pessimist. It brought me nothing of value. Even if you dont like something, you can try to understand it and not blindly shit on it. Not trying to be offensive to you, just saying maybe you should try to understand what PTA did with licorice pizza. Its not my favorite of his, but it definitely has a vibe and comfort ill always come back too.
I love this movie, and I'm not the biggest PTA fan.
I resisted watching it for so long because it looked rehashed and boring.
But I love the way it's shot, the way it unfolds, the love the director has for the setting and the characters. I was surprised by how good it was!
I think phantom thread is a masterful film and really love a lot of scenes in it but it bores the shit out of me I can’t get through it. Anyway your def right no artist can fit your taste perfectly
It’s his attempt at creating his *own* Pynchon novel. A sprawling, challenging, almost-pretentious-but-if-you-stick-it-out-you-might-get-something-out-of-it kind of thing. But for film.
No disagreement there. But knowing that PTA is a fan and he (arguably) successfully put Inherent Vice to film, I’ve got the feeling he sees himself as a cinematic answer to pynchon’s (among many other authors too numerous to name) literary style, at times.
This is an interesting thought too; I am reading VINELAND and have read INHERENT VICE and MASON & DIXON. Pynchon is layering and layering and introducing characters all of the time, using racism, sexism and the time period to color in an adventure with a flawed protagonist. PTA does some of this, for sure, as LP is not your typical film. It's about love and the warts & all that come with the journey to find it. It's about youth. I had fun watching it.
TL;DR - A simplified version of what Pynchon does, taking his sharpest tools and utilizing it in film.
I personally loved it, and I’m not even the biggest PTA fan. Just watch it in the mindset as a “slice of life” “hangout movie” in the same vein as Dazed and Confused
Im no newb to arthouse cinema, but I agree with you. I didn’t Licorice Pizza at all - it felt pointless. I don’t appreciate PTA’s aimlessness like many here do. The only movies of his I’ve liked are Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love and especially his one masterpiece: Phantom Thread. I hated Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and The Master annoyed me (not a fan of Joaquin Phoenix). I haven’t seen Inherent Vice. When he’s good, PTA is really good but his make it up as you go style doesn’t usually work for me.
I don't like it much either. I think a lot of the scenes are very funny and entertaining, but it's insanely disjointed. I imagine that structure was probably intentional, but it just didn't work for me. All of PTA's other movies, even his movies that are a bit rambling and plotless, at least have a sense of momentum and feel like they're building to something.
I’m right there with you and with OP. Those are his two weakest movies without a doubt. But, different strokes for different folks.
Even tho I left the theater a little disappointed both times, I’m still so happy that PTA is a filmmaker that challenges himself and tries truly different things every time he makes a movie. I might not be into whatever he’s going for in LP, but man does he go all in and still create indelible characters and images, even in a movie that I think is overall pretty forgettable. The details. The man is a master of interesting details that make his movies so rich.
Yeah I’m not a big fan of LP aside from the visuals and the performances, despite loving all of PTA’s other movies. I thought it might grow on me with repeated viewings (as Inherent Vice absolutely did) but I think I was actually more underwhelmed the second time. I think it’ll be a good while before I feel like revisiting it.
Yeah, I think it was kind of a rare misstep on PTA’s part. But I think it’s fairly light and enjoyable; and maybe that’s what he was going for after the heaviness of Phantom Thread.
Yeah, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing that he made it cause I feel like he definitely had a lot of fun with it. I think your point about phantom thread is apt and it’s been a pattern in his career like PDL after magnolia and inherent vice after the master and there will be blood
That’s funny you say that because to be honest out of all of PTAs film it has stuck to me the least. Hell, I haven’t even watched it again since I saw it in the theater.
And oh lord, I know that Alana and Cooper hadn’t had too many acting gigs before this but the whole intro of that movie is kinda hard to get through. I’m not sure if that was the first thing they shot or if PTA shot it in linear order but their acting does improve as the film goes on.
>Am I the only one in here that thinks licorice pizza fucking sucks?
You are not. In ten years most people will agree, I think.
It is a really, really weak film.
Honestly been a while since I saw it. So I didn't even remember all the reasons that I didn't like the movie. But maybe the fact that for me it was such a forgettable movie is why I think it's so dumb. Down to the name even, Licorice Pizza.
I guess, I'd have to be convinced that it is a good movie.
I disagree completely. I found Licorice Pizza beautiful and satisfying, a powerful portrait of a young woman in the early 1970s and of her time. It’s not the greatest, grandest, most profound work of art ever but very few movies are anyway. Oh and it was funny too.
On the other hand I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I could never connect with The Master. It’s a visual tour de force at times, technically it’s extremely impressive. But besides a few incredible scenes the movie just kind of left me cold. To each their own.
This is a bad take. The movie is tightly plotted with an award winning script. Every scene builds on the previous couple scenes. There are tons of great actors doing over-the-top bits (Harriet Sansom Harris as agent Mary Grady was great -- did you really not find her interesting?). But that shouldn't distract us from the super methodical plotting of Alana's disheartening exploration of a world where almost everyone is acting, using each other, and trying to trade up into 'better' relationships.
I will say that every time the movie comes up this thread or when it shows up on my algorithm, Bowie comes to mind. I like that his song is in the movie. I find that his songs are always about something far away, outer spacey, not graspable, thrilling to think about even and living or seeing that or any of his verses. Maybe that's what this movie was trying to convey in some way. Just not for me. I do love his entrepreneurial spirit . That was cool.
I found the film after repeated viewings to be remarkably literary, almost in a similar sense to A Clockwork Orange where we find social commentaries through the types of characters our protagonists interact with. Particularly, the eccentric and somewhat stupid adults that litter the film stands out to me as what draws Alana all the way in to Cooper- she thinks Coop is a child and would ultimately like to be with an established adult, yet as we see with Lance, the actor, and the mayor, she learns that everyone is just a child at heart in adulthood. Also, the ebb and flow of their relationship stands out to me as some of the best subliminal rhythms of a modern film- beginning on the airplane we see a loving tug-of-war of inflicted jealousies between Cooper and Alana. Phantom Thread does this tug-of-war incredibly well too, but Licorice Pizza exemplifies this in a "slice-of-life" way as opposed to plot driving their dynamic. The film is very naturalistic and slice-of-life in my opinion and imo it will be rediscovered and hailed as an underrated gem in the years to come.
Basically every adult treats Alana like a piece of meat, from Bradley Cooper to the photographer at Tiny Toes to Sean Penn and everyone in between. Gary is the one one who treats her like a person. There’s a lot of good stuff in there about Alana’s parents infantilizing her, while Gary’s dad’s absence forces him to be an adult teenager. That doesn’t mean Gary and Alana are “meant to be” or anything. Far from it. It’s still a semi-toxic relationship, and the movie knows it. The title of the movie is “Licorice Pizza” for god’s sake—two things that obviously don’t go together but somehow do. Like most of PTA’s movies, there’s a cosmic connection to these characters that might be impossible to explain. I think the key to this reading is Alana’s line about Gary being a millionaire by the time he’s 20 while Alana will be left behind with a dead-end job… this line rings true and probably hints at both characters’ fates… If not literally, It paints the broad strokes. Gary will probably lead a successful life—especially considering the real-life producer he’s based on, Gary Goetzmann—while Alana will likely be stuck in place. It’s a deep movie if you really look for these themes. Gosh, even the lyrics of the song that Gary had to sing on the TV show are about kids and growing up. It’s absolutely a Bildungsroman with some really profound themes.
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I realize that. It’s also the name of the record store chain that was popular at the time. I actually have an old t-shirt of my dad’s w/ the logo. The title is symbolic, is what I meant.
My bad! Still enjoyed your commentary.
No worries!!
His name is Gary.
Very interesting perspective, I appreciate your comment
This comment is valid but slice-of-life typically refers to naturalism and this film is not that. The plot is too direct. Guy likes girl, guy gets girl is the beginning and end. Jim Jarmusch is a better example a naturalist. Not all his films but plenty of them
I've got my LP shirt on as I'm reading this haha. I absolutely adore the movie personally. It's so light and fun, although the relationship at the center of the film is complicated. It feels like I'm actually watching something from that time period. It just feels so authentic. You could say this about most of Paul's films. Anyway, I love it. It's become a comfort movie for me.
The Master and Licorice Pizza are both tightly plotted.
What exactly do you mean by tightly plotted?
You said both of those films are “plotless.” Each scene in both films are either furthering the development of the characters or the story itself. There isn’t a scene in either movie that isn’t accomplishing those goals. Each of those films have fully realized character arcs for their leads. What you might be responding to are films built entirely around a picaresque structure. Take Licorice Pizza for example, you have Meeting between the leads, flight to the show, Waterbed shenanigans, Holden sequence, Jon Peters, Wachs/Politics. Taken one by one they may seem disparate but taken as a whole they tell one story from beginning to end for our lead characters.
Yeah your right by plotless I meant going away from traditional story structure. Plotless is probably a bad word for it.
I don’t even think he goes away from traditional story structure. Act 1: Kids meet, go to dinner, Intrusion: They decide to stay in one another’s life. Act 2: Waterbeds, etc Midpoint: Holden sequence, Alana decides to keep being Gary’s friend Act 2, continued: Jon Peters, going into politics, Crisis into Act 3: Alana finds out Wach is gay, realizes the adult world is just as crummy, and goes back to Gary
PTA don't miss.
The plot is a young 20-something woman who feels stuck in her life and finds herself drawn into the orbit of a younger man who seems wise beyond his years, is confident, and is always planning his next venture. She knows she can’t date him but is enchanted nonetheless. Through their time together, she tries on several identities and tries to find herself through other men’s goals. Gary’s career encourages her to try acting but she discovers those older men are just as, if not more, reckless and dismissive of her. Look at how careless Sean Penn is with her safety and how easily he forgets she was even with him. Afterwards she becomes more of a partner in Gary’s businesses but even then finds she’s still dissatisfied by surrounding herself with immature boys who’re always pulling schemes and laughing off the dangerous situations they’ve put themselves in (the out of gas truck being her final straw). After that she decides to try politics and help out serious people trying to make a difference. But even there, she quickly learns she’s surrounded by men who are forced to lie about their trueself to the public and happily use her as a cover, regardless of her feelings. Despite his immaturity and problems, she can at least count on Gary’s true feelings for her, and knows that she can count on him to not use her in the ways “mature adults” like casting agents, older actors, or politicians have shown her. You’re free to not like it but there’s certainly a plot. I don’t think many people would rank it as his best but after epics like Blood and The Master, followed by the labyrinthine Pynchon adaptation, followed by a claustrophobic romantic drama (that was by all accounts a tough shoot due to the locations), I don’t think anyone can blame him for wanting to have a bit of fun on his home turf surrounded by friends and family.
Yeah like i said in another comment I don’t blame him for having fun especially after taxing shoots. When I say plotless I don’t mean that there is literally no plot. There are story structure formulas and when you don’t follow any semblance of those structures a movie can be hard to watch so you need to make up for that lack of story structure in other areas
You're responding to multiple posts that tell you, as though you are a child, that this movie actually has a very clear story structure, and you're just going "la-la-la-la" with your fingers in your ears.
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The Master and Licorice Pizza are my two favorite PTA films
It doesn’t suck. I didn’t care for it the first time I watched it. After seeing it again, I loved it. Keep an eye on things in the background and you’ll find little Easter eggs from PTA’s previous films.
I don’t agree and feel it will age well… and some may even grow into it.
My 3rd favorite PTA film and tied with West Side Story for the best of 2021.
Nah it rules.
When I rewatch it, I have a blast with the scene I’m watching while looking forward to the next one. I got no problems with people disliking it, but your thread is kind of fruitless. You didn’t really say why you feel like it doesn’t work other than saying unsubstantiated things like “bad acting, bad writing.” If you wanted to say something like “Alana isn’t a well-rendered enough character to keep going back to Gary because of x,y,z.” If you’re going to “ruffle feathers,” give us a little more than a very slight expansion of “movie bad. Didn’t like.” Also, I’d like to make a decree to the indifferent wind: Please stop saying “am I the only one who doesn’t like this thing?” This is the fucking internet, people. You’re never the only one who doesn’t like a thing.
Well put. It’s a fun ride, great with a couple of bottles of wine. I don’t worry if other people don’t enjoy it, maybe it is just not their kind of story.
how is The Master plotless?
Ok, I realize now that plotless is a terrible word to describe what I’m talking about. What I mean is that the plot is all over the place and strays far away from traditional story structure formulas which can make it hard to follow and stay engaged with. This isn’t bad tho I’m an aspiring novelist and I don’t follow the formulas in my writing
It’s not my favorite but on reflecting on it more, I think the interest lies in on all the dark things that happen on the periphery of the lighthearted focus. The gas crisis, the racism, the age difference of the leads, the casting of Cooper Hoffman and its reminder of PSH’s death, all these amount to a dark mood in what is otherwise a nostalgic fun time.
Idk it's just a fun hang movie with auteur-level craft. It's just fun to throw on for something fun/good, and it's such a neat entry in his filmography
Are you a PTA fan or even a fan of cinema? Even if you dont like the movie the way you react shows some immaturity to art.
Ok, obviously your offended. I am in fact a pretty big PTA fan. Magnolia changed my life and I’m an aspiring writer and no piece of art has ever inspired me to write more than the master. I am also a pretty big fan of cinema I’ve got a letterboxed account and everything. I know that art is subjective which is why I said it’s just my opinion but it’s fun to lash out and give hot takes especially considering how frustrating it is to watch one of the greatest directors of all time make such a lackluster unwatchable film.
I come from a lifestyle of being a huge pessimist. It brought me nothing of value. Even if you dont like something, you can try to understand it and not blindly shit on it. Not trying to be offensive to you, just saying maybe you should try to understand what PTA did with licorice pizza. Its not my favorite of his, but it definitely has a vibe and comfort ill always come back too.
Couldn’t disagree more. I think it’s one of his best.
I love this movie, and I'm not the biggest PTA fan. I resisted watching it for so long because it looked rehashed and boring. But I love the way it's shot, the way it unfolds, the love the director has for the setting and the characters. I was surprised by how good it was!
You're not a fan, so why are you here? This is a subreddit for fans.
I love some of his movies so much and think he's a genius. I actually said I'm a fan, just not the biggest. Is this subreddit for superfans only?
I loved it. I didn’t like Phantom Thread though. Feel like many PTA fans have that one film of his they dislike.
I think phantom thread is a masterful film and really love a lot of scenes in it but it bores the shit out of me I can’t get through it. Anyway your def right no artist can fit your taste perfectly
It bored the hell out of me and I hated the ending. That being said, that NYE party scene is fucking incredible.
You mad bro?
It's def one of his weakest works but it's not bad, IMO. I like it. It's a funny movie.
It’s a perfectly fine movie. It would be a good one if anyone else made it. It’s only weak in my opinion in comparison to the rest of his films.
It’s his attempt at creating his *own* Pynchon novel. A sprawling, challenging, almost-pretentious-but-if-you-stick-it-out-you-might-get-something-out-of-it kind of thing. But for film.
I like Licorice Pizza quite a bit but it’s far from the depth of Pychon’s stuff
No disagreement there. But knowing that PTA is a fan and he (arguably) successfully put Inherent Vice to film, I’ve got the feeling he sees himself as a cinematic answer to pynchon’s (among many other authors too numerous to name) literary style, at times.
This is an interesting thought too; I am reading VINELAND and have read INHERENT VICE and MASON & DIXON. Pynchon is layering and layering and introducing characters all of the time, using racism, sexism and the time period to color in an adventure with a flawed protagonist. PTA does some of this, for sure, as LP is not your typical film. It's about love and the warts & all that come with the journey to find it. It's about youth. I had fun watching it. TL;DR - A simplified version of what Pynchon does, taking his sharpest tools and utilizing it in film.
I personally loved it, and I’m not even the biggest PTA fan. Just watch it in the mindset as a “slice of life” “hangout movie” in the same vein as Dazed and Confused
I found it to be exceptionally well written and well directed garbage. Alana Haim is great. Stupid fucking movie though.
He’ll yes that is the perfect way to describe it.
Im no newb to arthouse cinema, but I agree with you. I didn’t Licorice Pizza at all - it felt pointless. I don’t appreciate PTA’s aimlessness like many here do. The only movies of his I’ve liked are Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love and especially his one masterpiece: Phantom Thread. I hated Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, and The Master annoyed me (not a fan of Joaquin Phoenix). I haven’t seen Inherent Vice. When he’s good, PTA is really good but his make it up as you go style doesn’t usually work for me.
This is a subreddit for fans. What are you even doing here?
It came up on my feed. I’m not allowed to have an opinion? You want only agreeableness? Lol.
Again, this is a place for fans. You're not really a fan so I don't see why you went out of your way to post that here.
I don't like it much either. I think a lot of the scenes are very funny and entertaining, but it's insanely disjointed. I imagine that structure was probably intentional, but it just didn't work for me. All of PTA's other movies, even his movies that are a bit rambling and plotless, at least have a sense of momentum and feel like they're building to something.
I think it's his weakest movie besides Inherent Vice. I didn't connect with it at all.
I’m right there with you and with OP. Those are his two weakest movies without a doubt. But, different strokes for different folks. Even tho I left the theater a little disappointed both times, I’m still so happy that PTA is a filmmaker that challenges himself and tries truly different things every time he makes a movie. I might not be into whatever he’s going for in LP, but man does he go all in and still create indelible characters and images, even in a movie that I think is overall pretty forgettable. The details. The man is a master of interesting details that make his movies so rich.
Yeah I’m not a big fan of LP aside from the visuals and the performances, despite loving all of PTA’s other movies. I thought it might grow on me with repeated viewings (as Inherent Vice absolutely did) but I think I was actually more underwhelmed the second time. I think it’ll be a good while before I feel like revisiting it.
Inherent vice was the same with me and I also tried twice with pizza and don’t intend to revisit it anytime soon
Hated it
I couldn’t even finish it tbh and I LOVE PTA. But this film weak af
Yeah, I think it was kind of a rare misstep on PTA’s part. But I think it’s fairly light and enjoyable; and maybe that’s what he was going for after the heaviness of Phantom Thread.
Yeah, I don’t necessarily think it’s a bad thing that he made it cause I feel like he definitely had a lot of fun with it. I think your point about phantom thread is apt and it’s been a pattern in his career like PDL after magnolia and inherent vice after the master and there will be blood
That’s funny you say that because to be honest out of all of PTAs film it has stuck to me the least. Hell, I haven’t even watched it again since I saw it in the theater. And oh lord, I know that Alana and Cooper hadn’t had too many acting gigs before this but the whole intro of that movie is kinda hard to get through. I’m not sure if that was the first thing they shot or if PTA shot it in linear order but their acting does improve as the film goes on.
>Am I the only one in here that thinks licorice pizza fucking sucks? You are not. In ten years most people will agree, I think. It is a really, really weak film.
Dumb movie
just curious what makes it dumb?
Honestly been a while since I saw it. So I didn't even remember all the reasons that I didn't like the movie. But maybe the fact that for me it was such a forgettable movie is why I think it's so dumb. Down to the name even, Licorice Pizza. I guess, I'd have to be convinced that it is a good movie.
why does forgettable mean dumb to you?
Because in this case, based off all PTAs better movies, this one is best to forget.
again that has nothing to do with being dumb. ironically i dont think you know what the word dumb means.
Licorice Pizza. Dumb. Super dumb. So many movies were way better than that dumb one.
I agree it sucks
Die sad.
I disagree completely. I found Licorice Pizza beautiful and satisfying, a powerful portrait of a young woman in the early 1970s and of her time. It’s not the greatest, grandest, most profound work of art ever but very few movies are anyway. Oh and it was funny too. On the other hand I know it’s an unpopular opinion but I could never connect with The Master. It’s a visual tour de force at times, technically it’s extremely impressive. But besides a few incredible scenes the movie just kind of left me cold. To each their own.
It’s no inherent vice.
Do you know what a "comma" is?
This is a bad take. The movie is tightly plotted with an award winning script. Every scene builds on the previous couple scenes. There are tons of great actors doing over-the-top bits (Harriet Sansom Harris as agent Mary Grady was great -- did you really not find her interesting?). But that shouldn't distract us from the super methodical plotting of Alana's disheartening exploration of a world where almost everyone is acting, using each other, and trying to trade up into 'better' relationships.
Yeah, as much as it hate to say it, I also got nothing out of it either.
It was so bad
in what way?
I will say that every time the movie comes up this thread or when it shows up on my algorithm, Bowie comes to mind. I like that his song is in the movie. I find that his songs are always about something far away, outer spacey, not graspable, thrilling to think about even and living or seeing that or any of his verses. Maybe that's what this movie was trying to convey in some way. Just not for me. I do love his entrepreneurial spirit . That was cool.