The first trailer for Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza has finally made its way online after physical prints of the trailer made their way to select theaters earlier this month. The trailer marks a return to the San Fernando Valley during the 1970s, a setting previously seen in Boogie Nights.
The film stars Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Alana Haim, and Cooper Hoffman, son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. Cooper seems to be playing Jon Peters the real-life producer behind such hits as Barbra Streisand's A Star is Born and Wild Wild West.
The film was previously known as Soggy Bottom, which is arguably a worse title than Licorice Pizza, which is a reference to a chain of record stores in Southern California that offered free licorice as well as the latest albums during the '70s.
The trailer promises a coming-of-age tale in the backdrop of '70s Hollywood, with Hoffman playing a child actor that befriends Cooper's producer, who is very keen in explaining the correct way of pronouncing Barbra Streisand's name.
The trailer gives serious Boogie Nights vibes, with a bit of Inherent Vice sprinkled on top, as David Bowie's "Life on Mars" introduces us to a group of teens navigating life, dreams, and the pains of youth. With most coming-of-age movies nowadays focusing on the 1980s, it is refreshing to see a film pick a different decade. You can almost taste the braces emanating from the trailer.
Anderson both wrote and directed Licorice Pizza, which does not have an official release date, it is expected to be released this holiday season. The trailer specifies this will be a theatrical exclusive release, so don't expect a streaming release for a while.
Watch the trailer for Licorice Pizza below:
