Licorice Pizza Sounds Gross, But The Movie Starring Alana Haim Looks Great

In 2016, Haim began a fruitful partnership with acclaimed filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, beginning with a live in-studio video for their song “Right Now” that was released the following year. In the months that followed, Anderson directed several Haim projects, including the wonderfully choreographed “Little of Your Love” music video, a live performance of “Night So Long” filmed at Los Angeles’s Greek Theatre, and a short documentary about the making of their second album, Something to Tell You, called Valentine. This partnership was great, and sisters Danielle, Este, and Alana continued it by having Anderson helm stunning visuals for their 2020 album, Women in Music Pt. III, as well.

Thankfully, this collaboration has shown no signs of stopping, as the trailer for Anderson’s latest feature film reveals. That movie is called Licorice Pizza and stars none other than Alana Haim in the lead role, appearing alongside Cooper Hoffman, the son of late actor and frequent Anderson collaborator Philip Seymour Hoffman. It looks delightful.

The trailer makes great use of David Bowie’s “Life on Mars?” to denote both the setting of the film (the 1970s) and its high-stakes teenage drama. Great things happen when Anderson tells a story set in the ’70s (see also: Boogie Nights, Inherent Vice), and Alana Haim’s entire vibe seems to fit right into that particular era. This all means Licorice Pizza is shaping up to be an exceedingly hyped movie; it’s due for a limited release on November 26 before going wide on Christmas.

Joining Alana and Cooper in the cast are Bradley Cooper, Maya Rudolph, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Benny Safdie, and more. At one point in the trailer, around 1:18 in, Alana’s character asks, “Do you think it’s weird I hang out with Gary and his friends all the time?” to another person who looks a whole hell of a lot like her sister Danielle. That means at least two-thirds of Haim appear in this movie. Sound the alarms.

Filming for Licorice Pizza took place in California in August 2020. A widely shared tweet from that time saw Bradley Cooper on set assuming a fighting pose opposite Anderson, who sported a white surgical mask. He looks manic. It’s going to be great.

Relatedly, “licorice pizza” as an actual food sounds gross. But Licorice Pizza the movie? Looks great! Check out the trailer above.