Inherent Vice

“Inherent Vice,” is the seventh feature from Paul Thomas Anderson and the first ever film adaption of a Thomas Pynchon novel. 

When private eye Doc Sportello’s ex-old lady suddenly out of nowhere shows up with a story about her current billionaire land developer boyfriend whom she just happens to be in love with, and a plot by his wife and her boyfriend to kidnap that billionaire and throw him in a loony bin…well, easy for her to say. 

It’s the tail end of the psychedelic `60s and paranoia is running the day and Doc knows that “love” is another of those words going around at the moment, like “trip” or “groovy,” that’s being way too overused - except this one usually leads to trouble. 

With a cast of characters that includes surfers, hustlers, dopers and rockers, a murderous loan shark, LAPD Detectives, a tenor sax player working undercover, and a mysterious entity known as the Golden Fang, which may only be a tax dodge set up by some dentists... Part surf noir, part psychedelic romp—all Thomas Pynchon. 

The film stars Oscar nominees Joaquin Phoenix (“The Master,” “Walk the Line”), Josh Brolin (“True Grit,” “No Country For Old Men”) and Owen Wilson (“The Royal Tennenbaums,” “Midnight in Paris”); Katherine Waterston (“Michael Clayton,” “Boardwalk Empire”); Oscar winners Reese Witherspoon (“Walk the Line”) and Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic”); Martin Short (“Frankenweenie”); Jena Malone (“The Hunger Games” series); and Joanna Newsom (“Portlandia”).