I Love Boosters Is a Little Too Cartoonish
Stylin' and profilin'
Rapper and activist turned filmmaker Boots Riley hit the ground running with his spectacular debut Sorry to Bother You, a hilarious, madcap satire that was the rare American film to deliver a genuinely anti-capitalist/leftist message. Naturally, my expectations were high for his follow-up, I Love Boosters, but sadly, while generally entertaining and funny, it didn't quite meet them. The film is a joyful, candy-colored send-up of the fashion industry that takes the silliness a little too far while lacking much of the satirical bite of his audacious debut.
Corvette (Keke Palmer) and her friends work as "boosters," people who shoplift clothes from high-end boutiques and resell them at discount prices. But when they meet another booster (Poppy Liu) who has stolen a secret Chinese teleportation device, they take their business to a whole new level, triggering a potential fashion revolution and attracting the ire of a ruthless clothing CEO (Demi Moore) and a mysterious fashion model (LaKeith Stanfield).
Like Sorry to Bother You, the film has a lot of fun with its populist/anti-capitalist themes, but it lacks that movie's edge – more cartoonish farce than absurdist satire. Also, Riley's screenplay isn't as sharp, with subplots that end with a whimper rather than a bang. That said, it is still very funny at times, and the actors do great work with their larger-than-life characters. The story ends on a very positive note that feels painfully naive. I was going to criticize it for that, but that says more about my own views than the film's. In fact, in this age, maybe a little naive positivity is exactly what we need.
Written and directed by Boots Riley // Starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza Gonzalez, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Kara Young, Jason Ritter, Eric Andre, Viggo Mortensen, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore // Focus Features // 105 minutes // Rated R
