2021 · 133 min · Comedy, Drama, Romance
Licorice Pizza is Paul Thomas Anderson's sun-drenched, freewheeling love story set in the San Fernando Valley in 1973, following the chaotic, tender friendship-romance between 15-year-old child actor Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman) and 25-year-old Alana Kane (Alana Haim). Nominated for 3 Academy Awards including Best Picture, the film captures the feeling of a specific place and time with extraordinary warmth and comic invention.
Licorice Pizza is available to stream on Peacock.
Licorice Pizza follows a 15-year-old former child actor and a 25-year-old woman who become unlikely business partners and romantic interests in 1970s Los Angeles. It is less a traditional plot film and more a series of adventures and misadventures that capture a feeling and a moment.
Cooper Hoffman (son of Philip Seymour Hoffman) makes his film debut as Gary Valentine. Alana Haim (of the band HAIM) plays Alana Kane in her acting debut. Both give remarkable first-time performances.
Licorice Pizza was nominated for 3 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Paul Thomas Anderson), and Best Original Screenplay. It did not win but was considered one of the best films of 2021.
The film is loosely inspired by the real experiences of Soggy Bottom owner Gary Goetzman, a childhood friend of Paul Thomas Anderson. Several episodic adventures in the film are based on real events.