Licorice Pizza (2021) ****1/2

Despite the fact that I love both licorice and pizza, the two together sound like a gross combination. Licorice Pizza (2021) the film, on the other hand, is comfort food. This is Paul Thomas Anderson right in his zone and it goes down so smooth. It's PTA at his most whimsical—in the hands of a lesser director that would translate to saccharine, but not so here. 

This Pizza is like Boogie Nights (1997) with less sprawl, and minus the danger, but that doesn't detract from it in any way. There is plenty of magic and trademark PTA humor present. Alana Haim and Cooper Hoffman are both a delight, imbuing their young and carefree characters with endearing qualities—making you wish you inhabited their world.

You can find my Paul Thomas Anderson Feature Films Ranked list here.

You can find my Top 20 Directors list here.