Licorice Pizza (2021) and the Gay Stereotype. D-

Licorice Pizza

We are about sixty minutes into Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s ode to the Valley circa 1973. Our hero (Cooper Hoffman), aided by his older girlfriend (Alana Haim) and many hangers-on, has now turned their attention to selling water beds. LA being LA, he runs into erstwhile hair stylist Barbra Streisand‘s boyfriend and soon-to-be big-time movie producer Jon Peters, played by Bradley Cooper.

Licorice Pizza

Peters has a gay assistant who is a cringe-worthy, over-the-top gay stereotype. Here is a mincing queen with a sibilant S that could be heard from Encino to Toluca Lake. On the phone with Barbra, he is bringing her up to speed on Jon’s doings. He is also a gossipy little snitch. It is his only scene. His raison d’etre is to give the audience a cheap laugh. He is the pathetic fag with no backstory and no character arc. He is “played” by Sia’s choreographer, Ryan Heffington – shame on you, Ryan.

Licorice Pizza (The Eiger Sanction)

Growing up gay in the seventies and eighties, I had to steel myself for moments like this in every movie I saw. And from “Vanishing Point” (1971) to “A Touch of Class” (1973) to “Mandingo” (1975) to “The Eiger Sanction” (1975) to “Teen Wolf” (1985) to “Once Bitten” (1985) with its haunting refrain “Fag Alert – fags in the shower, fags in the shower,” the degradation just kept coming. It had been a while, but Mr. Anderson brought it all back.

Licorice Pizza (Punch Drunk Love)

And this is not the first time. For some reason, Anderson has a bit of a fixation with same-sex attraction. In his 2002 movie “Punch Drunk Love,” Adam Sandler’s character must endure the slings and arrows of his family, calling him a fag at every opportunity. There are other gay characters, real and imagined, in this movie. It being 1973, they are all in the closet but treated with sympathy and respect. However, this disparity only makes the earlier display appear even more egregious. It is also interesting to compare Anderson’s careless take on the vicissitudes of queer life and the carefully calibrated career of his partner Maya Rudolph who is half-Black (her mother was the great Minnie Riperton). Would Anderson dream of insulting Black people like he insults gays in this carefree, shaggy dog look at seventies California? I don’t think so.

PT Anderson: Licorice Pizza.

After the screening, there was a Q&A with Anderson and his cast. I could have stayed and asked him what in God’s name he was thinking and what he was trying to achieve in those 2 minutes. But I was just too disgusted and upset. I could not even look him in the eye.

65 Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code (1934-1967) – TheBrownees

65 Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code (1934-1967) Part One. – TheBrownees

65 Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code (1934-1967). Part Two. – TheBrownees

65 Queer Films Made Under the Hays Code (Table) – TheBrownees

45 Queer Films from 1967-1976: Queer Cinema Comes Out – TheBrownees

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