I Love Boosters – Movie Review
Vivid colours, dynamic style, and surreal absurdism are Boots Riley’s game – both as a musician and filmmaker. His 2018 directorial debut, Sorry To Bother You was a kaleidoscopic fever dream of humour, heart, and societal commentary that went into truly insane directions narratively, but put Riley on the map as one of the more exciting and experimental filmmakers to keep an eye on. Eight years later, Riley returns with another stylistic, colour-filled, anti-capitalist tale that builds on his now trademark absurdist foundations with I Love Boosters!
Corvette (Keke Palmer), along with her friends Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie), are a group of boosters – people who shoplift then resell the goods as a discounted rate – known as The Velvet Gang, who specifically target a fashion chain owned by fashion designer Christie Smith (Demi Moore). Deciding that the easiest way to pull off a grand fashion heist is to infiltrate the stores from within, the Velvet Gang become employees of the store and plan their biggest boost yet. But a series of odd and unexplainable events and encounters with otherworldly people and forces take the gang of boosters on a wild, eccentric ride.
From the get-go, Riley injects the absurdism and style into the film, with one of the most vivid and colourful looking films of the year. Being set against the world of fashion lends to some incredible visuals, with the costumes, makeup and sets of I Love Boosters standing out brightly. Riley also captures that vivid aesthetic with a surrealistic use of camera work that heightens the movie outside of “reality”, but still manages to make the film feel real within this unique world. The eclectic score by Tune-Yards is also a wonderfully spry addition to the film’s aesthetic.
When the story takes a more “science-fiction”, perhaps even “spiritual” turn of events, Riley has already laid the groundwork of the surrealism to make sure that it doesn’t feel like the film is just going in a completely different direction for the sake of it, but rather just building on what he has established already, both in this film and even the work he did in Sorry To Bother You. The level of belief and disbelief required to enjoy I Love Booster will undoubtedly vary from viewer to viewer. But if you allow the movie to just take you on the ride the Riley wants you to go on, then there is a lot of wild fun to be had.
Much like Riley’s previous work in film, TV, and music, there is a lot of societal commentary underneath the surface of all of the dynamic substance. His commentary on predatory capitalist business practices, the class gap of the fashion world, and the everchanging landscape of modern sexuality are all themes explored within this story, both intently and subtextually. But all of these themes are explored with a good sense of humour and absurdity that makes the film feel impactful and entertaining. Not all of the story beats and themes work or are explored with enough depth, leading to a complete narrative that is doing a lot of things, with a lot of characters, at a rapid pace. But there isn’t an element of the story that is inherently boring or underwhelming, it can just feel like a lot at points.
The cast are truly fantastic, led by the ever enigmatic and energetic Keke Palmer, who is a true anchor of the film’s style. Her commitment to Riley’s vision is a big part of the reason the film works as well as it does, and is only strengthened by her supporting crew of Ackie and Paige, who are also brilliant. Demi Moore and Will Poulter both get to lean into some very heightened character moments that are hilariously over-the-top, bringing forward the absurdity of the more capitalist elements of the narrative through their characters.
Boots Riley is a filmmaker that has a distinct style and voice, and the fact that he sticks so strongly to his guns once more in I Love Boosters makes him an exciting filmmaker to continue keeping an eye on for whatever he does next.
I Love Boosters is in Australian cinemas November 12
