Eight years ago musician Boots Riley made his directorial debut with Sorry to Bother You, a film that took a clever premise and stretched it to places you never could have expected. Now nearly a decade later he is back behind the camera with I Love Boosters, a film that further cements his vision for weirdness in a kaleidoscope of colours. I knew going in that I'd have a good time based on what the trailers were promising, but just like his first film I had no idea just how wild this would get. With the release of a new Star Wars movie and the continued (and well deserved) success of Obsession I have a feeling that this may get swept under the rug, but it is more than worth the price of admission.
The film follows a group of boosters, young women who steal from pricy clothing stores to resell at a cheaper price. Their actions draw the attention of a major fashion designer, whose questionable practices also have a Chinese manufacturing plant beginning to fight back. What at first seems like a simple act of corporate defiance turns into a sprawling tale of capitalist greed, art, whistleblowing, and the wild lengths people will go to to stop corrupt people in power.
There are two very clear strengths with this film, the first being the incredible cast. Keke Palmer takes the lead role and is fantastic as always. She is naturally hilarious, but as the main performer she also has to play the straight man and craft a character with nuance and complexity. Rather than question why her character doesn't get a normal job, you root for her and her team to find success. Part of what makes you root for the boosters is also how great Demi Moore is at playing the villain. As the head designer that finds herself the target of the boosters, she delivers almost a cartoon version of Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, constantly running her mouth in ways that would cause a stir in the real world but to no consequence in the world of I Love Boosters. You can tell she's having a blast playing the antagonist and that makes her a fun character to root against. The supporting cast features a handful of great side performances, with Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige as hilarious sidekicks to Palmer, Eiza Gonzalez randomly spitting out long philosophical monologues that killed me, and Will Poulter stealing a handful of scenes as a sleazy store manager. The only cast member that let me down a bit was the star of Sorry to Bother You Lakeith Stanfield, whose role is one part of the film that really didn't fit for me.
It's almost strange that Stanfield's role didn't fit, because the film as a whole is filled with different weird ideas that mostly all work somehow. The second clear strength is the creativity on display. The originality of Riley's screenplay is matched by at times Suessian sets, and some of the brightest and most fascinating costumes you'll see in a movie. I can easily see the film's commitment to taking things to new levels of strangeness to be something that turns people off, but I had an absolute blast with each new twist and turn. The costume work is truly the year's best so far.
I can't recommend this to everyone due to just how weird it is, but if you're in for a comedic ride that will constantly leave you in shock, definitely check out I Love Boosters before it leaves theatres. 4/5
Comments
Post a Comment