Hooray for Hollywood - Ian Harrison

I saw Inherent Vice the other day and it's quite fresh in my memory, so I'll submit a review of that. (Spoilers ahead)
Two people create the major draw for this film: Thomas Pynchon and Paul Thomas Anderson, who are among the greatest writers and directors, respectively, of their time. A collaboration of the two is immediately exciting for any cinematic or literary enthusiast, and Inherent Vice does not disappoint. Hilarious performances all around and fantastic dialogue paint a beautiful portrait of America at the end of the psychedelic sixties. It was the beginning of the modern era, and the film paints this transition from the wild and strange to the straight and narrow in multiple ways. One, in the story of stoner P.I. Larry "Doc" Sportello (Joaquin Phoenix). Phoenix's face is perhaps the film's funniest element; he demonstrates a knack for the comic as well as the dramatic of his previous work. However, it is obvious that Robert Downey, Jr. was Anderson's first choice; the dialogue feels as though it was written for him and Phoenix's performance comes off as an impression of him, albeit a hilarious and brilliant one. Another fantastic character is of course Josh Brolin's Christian "Bigfoot" Bjornsen. A detective with a powerful hatred for "hippie scum" like Doc, his powerful yet hysterical anger hides a deeper kinship with the rebels and outcasts of the night that he pretends to so despise. He is a strong example of a suppressed suburbanite desperately wishing for an escape. Finally, I believe the story of Coy (Owen Wilson) and Hope (Jena Malone) Harlingen perfectly embodies the changes a brewing in Pynchon's 1970 Southern California. Both are junkies who, in order to save their newborn child, quit their habit. However, in order to provide for his family, Coy fakes his own death and goes to work undercover for a pro-Vietnam subversive group. Doc is hired by a suspicious Hope to find Coy and bring him home. Coy, realizing he's dove too deep and desperately wanting to see his family again, is rescued by Doc in a rather surprising act of kindness. The family's reunion is perhaps the only uplifting ending for any of the film's characters, as all others begin to be unknowingly and slowly trapped in what is the paranoia-filled and repressed future of America. Though each scene is quite funny, Anderson again demonstrates a great understanding of history and its changing tides. In partnership with cinematographer Robert Elswit, the movie is beautifully entrenched visually in its time period with a nicely ranged color pallet. One of my few complaints is that, for a movie with an intentionally confusing and nearly non-existent plot, there's an awful lot of plot-focused scenes. However, the hilarious performances and beautiful camerawork make these still quite watchable. All in all, it's a great comedy as well is a strong historical piece, and another masterpiece from Anderson.