Paul Thomas Anderson making the film he was always destined to make in Licorice Pizza. A breezy, rambling teenage romance, exploring the eccentricities of being a California kid in the 1970s. The film succeeds by the PTA screenplay and the two leading performances. Cooper Hoffman, son of PTA’s former collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman, is marvelous and the dynamic with Alana Haim is so alluring. Yet, the plot is nonexistent, making the character work crucial to falling in rhythm with the storytelling. 
… More Licorice Pizza is the California hangout film Paul Thomas Anderson was destined to make