Licorice Pizza Is Paul Thomas Anderson’s Kindest, Gentlest Movie Yet

As a film title, Licorice Pizza suggests something revolting, a mix of the medicinal tang of anise and the greasy salt of a cheap slice. If that were the intended association of the filmmaker, Paul Thomas Anderson, it wouldn’t come as a surprise. Over his brilliant, wandering career, Anderson has shown us plenty of scuzz and grime, alongside flashes of kinetic verve and primordial howl. But Licorice Pizza is, by some measure, his most deliberately pleasant film to date. It’s a lively, messy coming-of-age story which turns the clashing elements of that title into reflections of a certain youthful folly… Read Full Article