Licorice Pizza - Speculation & General Reactions

[pynchonikon]

#2 and #1 in Adam Nayman's and Sean Fennessey's Best of '21 lists.

https://www.theringer.com/movies/2021/12/8/22822892/best-movies-2021-licorice-pizza-dune-drive-my-car

Nayman: I've already written some thoughts on PTA's freewheeling teen comedy. The only thing I want to add in this year-end context is that of all the top-tier auteurs who've released new work in 2021, Anderson seems to have been the most inspired by shooting under limited conditions. Part of what's so beguiling about Licorice Pizza is how it seems to take place in a world where grown-ups aren't really around—the San Fernando Valley circa 1973 becomes a playground for characters on the verge of maturity, whether growing up too quickly or not soon enough. The slightly uncanny quality of the location shooting can be chalked up to the director's mandate to shoot closer to home (including some family cameos), but the vibes aren't wholly cozy or nostalgic. Amidst all the hijinks, there's a feeling of encroaching crisis, or maybe a bubble about to burst. Time keeps on slipping throughout Licorice Pizza, faster and faster, and Anderson and his ever-agile camera take it in stride. This is filmmaking that doesn't break a sweat.

Fennessey: Anyone who has read or listened to me over the years knows that Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite filmmaker. I'll admit I sometimes struggle to put to words why I remain ensnared by his films. I think the word is "ineffable." Of course he's a master filmmaker—he's seen it all and knows what he likes. But what do I like? Perhaps it's the overweening sense of intensity meeting the sneeringly hilarious disposition of his characters. ("There are times when I look at people and I see nothing worth liking.") Maybe it's the absolute delight he takes in capturing his characters in motion. It's possible we share a sense of humor, and his frequency is coming over the airwaves loud and clear to me. He makes movies that feel Important, but I think that's a feint. What we want from artists is purely individualized expression—PTA makes movies only he can make. Licorice Pizza feels like a perfectly reconstructed memory, like someone hopped in a time machine and brought a 35mm camera. Which is not to say it's a documentary—it has all the clever set-ups, brisk editing, and euphoric climaxes of great filmmaking, like Hal Ashby got lost in the Valley and pulled over for a bite. He gets remarkable performances from Cooper Hoffman and Alana Haim, two first-time actors representing the sensation of infatuation, if not consummation. He selects songs impeccably, as if touched by John Peel. He shoots L.A. like it's Babylon, a place where people are born and eventually entombed in the glorious, dumb history of this company town. Licorice Pizza is a showbiz movie about all the reckless, dangerous ghouls who haunted the industry, and also a pie-eyed picture of kids just trying to make something of themselves. It's hard to describe why I loved it. But I know that I did.

[wilberfan]

Another new promo, I believe.

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[pynchonikon]

https://twitter.com/licoricepizza/status/1469351209739894784

(I will be seriously disappointed if those scenes are deleted, too  )

[itwasgood]

Spoiler: ShowHide

They sure didn't make the final cut for some ridiculous reason. This is a very funny scene indeed.

[WorldForgot]

Freddie Quell would be proud.

[AlRose]

The same fart sound effect thats used in the Master outtake

[Drenk]

https://twitter.com/licoricepizza/status/1469351209739894784

(I will be seriously disappointed if those scenes are deleted, too  )

What was that?

[pynchonikon]

https://twitter.com/licoricepizza/status/1469351209739894784

(I will be seriously disappointed if those scenes are deleted, too  )

What was that?

Spoiler: ShowHide

A promo that included a fart joke.

Just Paul messing with Film Twitter, I assume 

[wilberfan]

You're gonna have to describe it for us...   

[Drenk]

Maybe he should send an email to YouTube and reset his Al Rose password.

And. This is funny:

https://twitter.com/bronstudios/status/1469382960193290240

[WorldForgot]

You're gonna have to describe it for us...   

It featured two deleted scenes not in the film:

Spoiler: ShowHide

Super 8 filming for Wachs in the car, someone farts in the back seat. Super 8 reverse on Wachs as he asks "should we stop?"
Then later, in the same set-up as the cigarette scene that IS in the film, Alana asks Gary if it was him who farted because " I know that smell"

[wilberfan]

Apparently tickets are ON SALE NOW.

https://twitter.com/licoricepizza/status/1469364591888977926

[Yes]

So far two locations near me. Sadly one is closed-captioned.

Hoping it gets added to my Cinemark which is local

[Drill]

Q&A in Sherman Oaks tomorrow night.

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[wilberfan]

(That's 1st AD Adam Somner playing the photographer...)