Entertainment
R-Rated, Coming Of Age Comedy On Netflix Is A Raunchy Rite Of Passage
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Young love is never easy, especially when you’re only 15 and the girl of your dreams is 25 and well into adulthood. While that dynamic may seem creepy by today’s standards for obvious reasons, 2021’s Licorice Pizza, written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and set in 1973, never quite pushes into the uncomfortable territory you might expect. A true coming of age story about a forbidden relationship that should, by all measures, never work, Licorice Pizza is light and quirky yet surprisingly disarming and wholesome.
It’s a film about a young man with an entrepreneurial spirit tactfully zeroing in on the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with, and most of the humor comes from the fact that he’s still just a boy despite the maturity he exhibits outside of his romantic pursuit. There’s an expected amount of sexual tension between our protagonists, but there’s also a level of innocence from both parties, as if they want the same things out of their lives and from each other, but are afraid to pull the trigger and commit to the relationship.
Not Your Typical Raunchy Comedy
While Paul Thomas Anderson is no stranger to pushing plots to their extremes (Boogie Nights comes to mind), Licorice Pizza takes a more subdued approach to its storytelling without skimping on the familiar motifs we’ve come to love from his films. We’re introduced to 15-year-old actor and serial entrepreneur Gary Valentine (Cooper Hoffman), who quickly becomes smitten with photographer’s assistant Alana Kane (Alana Haim) on school picture day. If there’s one thing you need to know about Gary, it’s that he’s an opportunist with a wildly disproportionate amount of confidence compared to most kids his age.
Alana is charmed by his advances and can-do attitude, which results in the two becoming friends of sorts when Gary asks her to chaperone his press tour in New York City after his mother can’t make the trip. Their relationship is platonic at best, but Gary wants more, while Alana is convinced they’re meant to be nothing more than friends. However, when Gary gets into trouble, Alana immediately comes to the rescue, which is exactly what happens when he’s mistakenly suspected of a nearby murder, arrested, and then quickly released.
Gary eventually gets into the waterbed trade, and Alana ends up working for him in sales. While their professional relationship seems to be going well, the 15-year-old part of Gary’s brain can’t get over the fact that she uses a sensual voice when talking to leads on the phone. He’s also upset to learn that if she ever landed an acting role requiring nudity, she’d do it without question, even though he’s never seen her naked. It’s territorial and immature, but it works in this context because we’re dealing with an otherwise decent kid blinded by teenage hormones.
Escalations Keep Making Them Closer
Licorice Pizza thrives on bizarre escalations. Alana falls victim to a botched motorcycle stunt thanks to Gary’s agent landing her an audition on a film starring acting legend Jack Holden (Sean Penn). Gary finds himself in trouble after installing a waterbed in Jon Peters’ (Bradley Cooper) mansion, prompting a fiery getaway in an 18-wheeler barreling backward down the Hollywood hills, driven by Alana. Gary jumps into yet another business venture while Alana tries to put the waterbed days behind her, but they still can’t stop thinking about each other, even as their paths diverge.
There’s a charm to Licorice Pizza that’s hard to pin down, and it likely comes from just how innocent both Gary and Alana really are. Social norms keep them from openly announcing their affection, and they have their fair share of blowups over their frustrating dynamic. At the same time, they function as each other’s ride-or-die, even as their circumstances keep their hearts and their heads at constant odds.
At the end of the day, a kid who’s not old enough to buy his first pack of cigarettes is head-over-heels in love with a woman who’s old enough to rent a car. He knows it’s weird, and so does she, but Licorice Pizza works by leaning into how guarded both Gary and Alana are when it comes to fully committing. Gary is aggressive in his pursuit, but he never crosses the obvious boundaries that would make him unsympathetic. Alana doesn’t know what she wants, but all signs keep pointing back to Gary. We can only hope they eventually see eye to eye and live happily ever after as the world around them grows more confusing and hostile.
Licorice Pizza is currently streaming on Netflix.
Entertainment
NYT Strands hints, answers for February 11, 2026
Today’s NYT Strands hints are easy if you’re a snacker.
Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game, requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.
By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.
If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.
NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Crack and snack
The words are related to snacks.
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Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained
These words describe small, crunchy snacks.
NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?
Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.
NYT Strands spangram answer today
Today’s spangram is Go Nuts.
NYT Strands word list for February 11
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Pecan
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Filbert
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Macadamia
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Go Nuts
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Cashew
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Pistachio
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Almond
Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!
Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.
Entertainment
NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for February 11, 2026
The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult to solve if you’re head over heels.
Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.
If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
What is Connections?
The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.
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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.
If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.
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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.
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Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories
Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:
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Yellow: Infatuated
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Green: Money in
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Blue: Densely packed
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Purple: Has wheels
Here are today’s Connections categories
Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:
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Yellow: Act lovestruck
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Green: Earnings
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Blue: Compact mass
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Purple: Roller ___
Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.
Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.
Drumroll, please!
The solution to today’s Connections #976 is…
What is the answer to Connections today
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Act lovestruck: MOON, PINE, SWOON, YEARN
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Earnings: GAIN, NET, RETURN, YIELD
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Compact mass: BLOCK, BRICK, CAKE, PUCK
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Roller ___: BAG, COASTER, DERBY, RINK
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.
Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.
Entertainment
Hey, maybe dont apologise for cheating in front of the entire world?
Winning your first individual Olympic medal is a moment worth celebrating. It’s a colossal achievement beyond most people’s wildest dreams. It is not, however, an opportunity to confess to cheating on someone and attempt to win them back in front of the entire world.
On Tuesday, Sturla Holm Lægreid won his first individual Olympic medal in the 20-kilometre individual biathlon in the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Shortly after winning, Lægreid gave an interview to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, divulging that he had been unfaithful to his now ex-girlfriend and that he had told her one week ago. The confession exploded on social media and even the most cursory glances at the comments reveal that the internet is almost unanimously not on his side.
“Six months ago I met the love of my life — the most beautiful and kindest person in the world. Three months ago I made my biggest mistake and cheated on her,” Lægreid said, breaking down mid-confession.
“I had the gold medal in life, and I am sure there are many people who will see things differently, but I only have eyes for her,” he continued. “Sport has come second these last few days. Yes, I wish I could share this with her.”
Why share this very private information with the world, you may well be wondering? Lægreid later elaborated on his reasons for doing so in an interview with Norwegian newspaper VG.
“My only way to solve it is to tell everything and put everything on the table, and hope that she can still love me,” he said.
“I’ve done that for her, and now for the whole world. I have nothing to lose,” he added. “I want to be a good role model, but I have to admit when I make mistakes.”
Lægreid didn’t stop talking, though. In yet another interview, he said he had not received a response from his ex-girlfriend. “I haven’t got any reactions from the girl that I mentioned,” he said during an Olympic press conference. “I’m happy because maybe she hasn’t seen it, maybe she will see it at the right time. I hope I don’t make anything worse for her.”
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“I hope there’s a happy ending in the end,” he said.
Firstly, she has almost certainly seen it. Secondly, there’s a high risk that going public in this way will make the situation worse for her. Thirdly, expressing the hope of a “happy ending” now puts additional pressure on his ex. And commenters are commenting.
“This is emotional manipulation packaged as a grand gesture,” reads one comment on the BBC Sport Instagram Reel of Lægreid’s follow-up interview. “The happy end is: she won’t forgive him!” declares one comment on the same post, which received over 15K likes. “If guilttripping were olympic, he’d win gold,” writes another commenter.
TikTokkers have started posting. Podcasters too.
“It’s hard to forgive. Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world. I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it.”
The problem with televised declarations of remorse is that they expose the wronged party to the court of public opinion, a court that has already delivered its verdict. And yeah, it’s not looking good for Lægreid.
By opening this story up to the press and social media, Laegreid has invited further attention to the already painful situation. VG, for one press outlet, said it “has been in contact with Holm Lægreid’s former girlfriend. She wishes to remain anonymous in this matter, a request VG has accepted as she has not sought publicity regarding a private matter.” VG later reported that Lægreid’s former girlfriend had provided a written statement: “It’s hard to forgive. Even after a declaration of love in front of the whole world. I did not choose to be put in this position, and it hurts to have to be in it,” she wrote. “We have had contact and he is aware of my opinions on this.” When asked by VG, Lægreid declined to comment on her response.
Perhaps Lægreid thought this would come off as a romantic gesture to grovel for forgiveness at the expense of his own reputation. For all we know, he may have exhausted all other private options for communicating his remorse. I’ve heard tales of guys who’ve been blocked by all means of communication, so they resort to trying to contact their exes on Vinted or via transferring small sums of money (we’re talking pennies) over bank transfer along with the word “sorry” as the payment reference. These acts of desperation are almost always unwanted. And in many cases, they are intrusive and manipulative.
This private pain has now been turned into public internet fodder. But, what about the woman who might be sitting at home nursing a broken heart, who now has to deal with the additional pressure to react, respond, or even acknowledge his apology?
If this woman were to take him back, she would also face the judgement of large swaths of the internet which is currently imploring her to not give him another chance. Conversely, she may also be judged if she chooses not to respond further. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Whether he wanted to or not, Lægreid may have added to this woman’s pain and has placed her in a difficult, public position.
It’s only been a week since she learned of his betrayal and this woman could still be processing hurt feelings. Even if she were to take him back — heavy emphasis on the ‘if’ here — it would probably take a hell of a lot longer than one week for her to reach a point of even considering that.
Let the record state: it is perfectly acceptable — and dare-I-say advisable — to ignore this gesture. We all make mistakes in life and some of those inflict real emotional pain on people. But these are sensitive conversations which should happen in private, behind closed doors. You can’t force someone to forgive you. Send her an email instead. And if she doesn’t respond, you need to respect that silence.
Lægreid later released a statement expressing regret for his confession:
“I deeply regret that I brought up this personal story on what was a festive day for Norwegian biathlon. I am not quite myself today, and I am not thinking clearly,” he wrote in a statement published by VG.
“My apologies go to Johan-Olav, who deserved all the attention after the gold. It also goes to my ex-girlfriend, who involuntarily ended up in the media spotlight, I hope she is doing well. I can’t change this, but I will now put this behind me and focus on the Olympics. I will not answer any further questions about this.”
I hope that this woman has turned off her phone and gone to a spa with some supportive friends. It’s time to log off.
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