Paul Thomas Anderson in shaggy loose mode is an off and on prospect for me. Licorice Pizza roams where it wants to… it lopes and ambles and just hangs. It’s got a similar structure as The Master but I hated The Master (sorry, ya’ll) but I loved Licorice Pizza. I think this is a winning film due to its characters, actors, and milieu. It’s just so casual and charming and goddamn weird without being quirky.

Licorice Pizza is set in 1973 Southern California. It stars the phenomenal Alana Haim (aka the musician Haim) and Cooper Hoffman (Philip Seymore’s kid)… both in their very first film. He’s fifteen and a bit of an actor and waterbed salesman with cockiness to spare. She’s twenty-five and more skeptical of (yet intrigued by) this teenage player. They just… do things… some of them very funny, some of them a little dangerous, some of them frustrating.

This movie feels like you are just hanging out with a couple of friends while they regale you with random events of their lives. All the disconnected, sometimes crazy, things that happened to them in the early 70s. I’m not sure why it works other than fantastic acting, directing, and the discreet feeling that you have no idea what’s going to happen next. Hello Bradley Cooper all hopped up on something, rambling about Barbara Streisand and an empty fuel can during a waterbed delivery. Because… why not?

I didn’t like The Master for about the same reason I dig this film. I guess it’s the difference in setting and character… I found The Master impenetrable and Licorice Pizza totally approachable. And it’s not because I personally relate to it… I’ve never been a wanna-be actor or waterbed salesperson in the early 70s. I’ve never lived in California or done the majority of random things these character do.

Alana Haim is the star of the film and this should move her star pretty high up in the Hollywood ranks. And the same goes for Cooper Hoffman. Both actors feel like they’ve been around a long time… they are just so natural and relatable. You’ve met them before… you just can’t remember where and when.

Those actors, that writing, and that direction just sell it. Two hours and change of ambling, shambling, rambling life. And I dig it.

Score: 91