By Lily Whittle
When January blues hit hard, Licorice pizza provides the light relief, with the story of a summer of young love that goes straight to the heart.
Set in the San Fernando Valley (LA) in the early 1970s, Paul Thomas Anderson tells the unconventional love story of Gary (Copper Hoffman) and Alana (Alana Haim). The unconventional part being the ten-year age gap. While Alana insists she is too old and too cool for Gary, the two are seemingly drawn together, complementing each other with their equally stubborn and contrary personalities.
Gary, a 15- year old actor stroke entrepreneur has the aura of someone old beyond his years. Maybe it’s his funky car salesman-esque shirts that means he looks like someone’s Dad, but Gary certainly has the charisma to go with it. Alana, on the other hand, at 25 is unsure of what she wants to do with her life but is dogged in her determination to not like Gary. Gary insists Alana is “the girl I’m going to marry one day”.
Set with the background of the LA hills, this ‘not-a-couple’ couple get into an assortment of mischief, coasting backward down a hill in a removal truck or setting up their own waterbed company- only in LA. Jumping between their eccentric antics, which either bring the couple closer together or exaggerate their age gap, the film has the classic ‘will they, won’t they’ narrative. With scenes of the pair childishly running along their suburban-town streets to an electrifying 70s soundtrack of Sonny and Cher and David Bowie, there is a strong sense that anything is possible when you’re young and in love.
The debut performances from Alana Haim and Copper Hoffman are entirely charming, even with the (uncomfortable if you think about it too much) age gap, they are convincingly meant to be. Haim perfectly captures the awkward struggle of wanting to be adored by all the men around her, while also never wanting to be told what to do, while Hoffman portrays a boyish magnetism that makes it clear why Alana just can’t seem to get rid of him. With other performances from major Hollywood stars such as Bradley Cooper and Sean Penn, the film oozes 70s LA star quality. Bradley Cooper’s character, the real-life hairdresser to the stars Jon Peters, underpins this with his mention of his girlfriend, Barbra Streisand.
Certainly, this film captures an era ‘of its time’ with uncomfortable bottom slaps and racist impersonations, obviously indicative of the reality in the 1970s, it often made for uneasy watching. With Alana continually appraised as a sex symbol, it did sometimes feel like the sexist comments went too far. The redeeming factor for me was Alana’s character. Her stubbornness, particularly in her relationship with her own sisters, (played by her real-life sisters and other two members of the band Haim, Estee and Danielle) gave her character a multifaceted complexity and showed that she was more than just a pretty face. Later going out and starting her own career in politics when she’d had enough of Gary’s entrepreneurial nonsense, she undoubtedly will do whatever she wants; she’s the feminist protagonist Hollywood needs.
Arguably a film about nothing, there is no seminal moment, no big turning point, this film starts as it means to go on. With Alana saying, “I’m not going on a date with you”. But, just as the characters can’t seem to stay away from each other, I couldn’t stop watching this ever too true story of imperfect love. The film made me drunk on nostalgia for a time I never knew. Perfectly embodying the teenage years where everything and nothing matters.
Hey! I’m Lily. I’m a first year Geography student. I love all things film, literature, music, food, art. I have a particular soft spot for Wes Anderson movies and will unashamedly admit I believe Paddington to be the best movie ever made. I am always open to suggestions of what to watch (not Marvel)/ read/ see. Find me on Instagram @lilywhittle ☺
