Oscars 2022: Teenage Love at Licorice Pizza

Licorice Pizza is a coming-of-age romantic comedy. In it, Gary, a 15-year-old boy, persistently tries to woo Alana, a 25-year-old girl. More than a single story, Licorice Pizza is a series of stories in which these two characters have adventures that inevitably lead to a final kiss.

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It is very different from other films by its director, Paul Thomas Anderson, which is usually darker, slower and with more content. This time, for a change, we see a comedy with characters without a problematic psychology. This new tone is not the only angle of the freshness of Licorice Pizza: the actors who play the protagonists are also fresh, as this is their first appearance in the cinema. Alana is played by Alana Haim, from the band Haim; and Gary is played by Cooper Hoffman, son of Philip Seymour Hoffman, much loved by Paul Thomas Anderson.

Tributes and excesses

Much has been said about the tributes and parodies that LicoricePizza. The film is set in 1973 California and pays homage to the movies of the time. References to the stars of this decade are amusing even (though not to the same extent) to the unsuspecting viewer who doesn’t understand them. There are parodic sequences that cause longing laughter but not mockery. In this aspect of the film, the appearances of Bradley Cooper and Sean Penn stand out, who know how to satirize not only the characters they play but also know how to laugh at the very nostalgia of the films of the time, which is the axis of Licorice Pizza.

All these references and tributes are made in a fresh and fun tone in which the two protagonists move with ease. Another characteristic of Licorice Pizza will be, then, the excess. Not excess as a theme, but excess in its form. The film contains many stories in which many characters participate, who in turn scream, kick, laugh out loud. This, far from being a Paul Thomas Anderson show off, is also a great embrace of the overflow of the time to which it refers and which, of course, resembles the overflow of adolescence, the other time honored in this film.

A Teenage Love

Teenage love can be overflowing, sexy, absurdly attractive (and in this sense also parodiable), crazy and inevitable. It is usually represented as a love that cannot be and that sometimes must even go against destiny. In teen movies, lovers face various obstacles to get to this last kiss in which they both realize that they have been dragged into that moment and that they had to grow up to get there.

This is not necessarily the case with Licorice Pizza, in which we see, rather, a game of seductions, jealousy and rejection more similar to what happens in reality. In the first sequences we already see Gary in love with Alana: he knows from the moment he sees her that she will be his wife and that he will do everything to achieve it. This, again, is an exaggeration that is somewhat laughable but more of longing and tenderness than mockery towards Gary. Thus, this series of encounters and disagreements between our protagonists is full of excesses that not only refer to the 1970s but also to adolescent love, in which nothing else is thought of or done except for that love.

Thus, we see Gary and Alana going towards their destination: each other. But this does not appear in the film in a solemn and serious way, but rather seems more like a coincidence, a natural ending for these two friends, that is how organic their story is.

Will the movie win the Oscar?

Although Licorice Pizza is fresh and fun, it is clear that Paul Thomas Anderson’s genius is in the darker and more elegant genre to which he has devoted most of his work. This minor opus from the director sits alongside other coming-of-age comedies that have also pleased the Academy, such as Lady Bird, whose leading lady resonates with Alana’s personality. We have already said before that the Academy usually rewards solemnity before comedy. However, this may be the first time that a comedy directed by a director recognized for its seriousness has been awarded, as it was, on this occasion, a successful mix. We will see.