More of a dreamlike snapshot of time in the 1970s than a potent story in its own right.

Narratively structured around the friendship between a teenager with grand ambitions and a twenty-something with an immaturity streak, and the romance/not-romance developing between them.

Mostly it’s a series of moneymaking schemes strung together over a single summer, not really coalescing into any more plot than the emotional journey of its two protagonists requires.

In the grand ouvre of PT Anderson films, this one kinda sits around the middle — pleasant enough and very well executed, but not as gripping as a Boogie Nights or a There Will Be Blood.

Still, worth a watch.