Humor and humanity tied together by two riveting newcomers
Film and TV Critic Jason Evans has made it his mission to tell you everything you need to know about movies in less time than it takes to recall a cherished memory from your youth. Jason’s reviews are exactly 100 words (not 99, not 101). This is his 100 word review of Licorice Pizza.
The Premise – Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie
Nights, The Master, There Will Be Blood) takes us back to the San Fernando
valley of his youth. It is the early 1970s. High school student and aspiring
actor Gary Valentine (Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s son, Cooper) meets and falls
for Alana Kane (singer turned actress Alana Haim), who is helping out on school
photo day. Gary is mature beyond his years and has numerous entrepreneurial ambitions
that he brings Alana in on. As they navigate their way through the fads and
crazes that come and go, they grow closer and closer together. The film also
features Bradley Cooper, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Benny Safdie, and John Michael
Higgins in scene-stealing cameo roles, none of which lasts for more than about
10 minutes.
The 100 Words – A funny and revealing film that will hit
your heart and your head. My face hurt from smiling so much. More a series of vignettes
than a straightforward plot, it moves along nicely and is always tied together by
the endearing relationship between newcomers Hoffman and Haim. You can’t help
but be drawn to Haim’s energy and Hoffman’s confidence. Everything about the
production is first rate as it takes you back to the 70s. I didn’t think Anderson
would ever match the heights he reached with Boogie Nights, but this film
surpasses that. My pick as the best of 2021.
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