‘I Love Boosters’ review: Keke Palmer goes wild in Boots Riley’s new sci-fi satire

Nobody makes movies like Boots Riley. The bold American filmmaker who got critics excited about his stunning 2018 debut. Sorry to bother you is back with I love boosters, a decidedly anti-capitalist satire with a deluge of crazy spectacle and ferocious fashion.

While the filmmakers are absent of the Berlin Film Festival in February aimed to avoid politics in promoting their work, SXSW kicked off with an opening-night movie that uses car chases, teleportation, stop-motion animated monsters, and an expansive story about shoplifters to raise a big bedazzled middle finger in protest against a capitalist society that treats workers’ rights and self-expression like a luxury item.

With a dynamic cast including Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, Will Poulter, Demi Moore, Don Cheadle and LaKeith Stanfield, Riley delivers an outrageous, provocative and truly fun sophomore effort.

What is this I love boosters all that?

Credit: SXSW

Written and directed by Boots Riley, I love boosters centers on a trio of “boosters”, known as the Velvet Gang, who steal designer clothes from fancy stores and resell them at discount prices. But each of these promoters has their own motivations for this risky version of entrepreneurship. For single mother Sade (Ackie), it’s all about money, whether through boosting or a pyramid scheme called Friends Being Friendly. She is determined to provide a better life for her children, whatever the cost.

Meanwhile, Mariah (Paige) considers their group “edgy filanthropists.” [sic]” who give back to their community by making awesome gear affordable. (Yes, she knows that philanthropy isn’t spelled with an “f” – but “branding, though.”) Then there’s Corvette (Palmer), a fashionista who dreams of becoming a great designer like her idol, Christie Smith (Moore). I love boosters a caricature of mischief.

Angry at the boosters hitting her stores, Smith declares war on shoplifters whom she calls “low-class urban sluts – all due respect to the urban sluts.” From there, the Velvet Gang steps up their game with the help of new allies, less interested in reselling designer duds than in starting a workers’ rights movement against Smith’s sweatshop industry.

Along the way, they’ll incorporate not only a dizzying barrage of stunning outfits and fabulous wigs, but also an ultra-sci-fi device capable of deconstructing, transforming, or teleporting anything from clothes to people with a sloppy squirt of glittery goo. And without spoiling, I can say that if you thought about the horses in the climax of Sorry to bother you were a strange treat, you’ll be delighted by how supporting players like Don Cheadle, Jermaine Fowler and Jason Ritter come into play in this chaotic climax.

Keke Palmer is a shining star in I love boosters.

Don’t twist it. Palmer has had a storied career with many terrific performances that showcase his irresistible charisma and kinetic screen presence. But often in films she is the love interest (Chance, The pick-up) or half of a double act (No, One of these days). While I love boosters is about the Velvet Gang, there is no doubt that Corvette is its protagonist and Palmer is its star.

Riley gives this dynamo room to move. From the opening frames, cinematographer Natasha Braier follows Corvette as she moves across a dance floor, cool and confident. Braier frames her closely for shots of desire, as when Corvette crosses paths with a mysterious man (Stanfield) who is so sexy that his POV close-up from Corvette’s point of view vibrates in the frame. It’s as if we can see her brain short-circuit as she observes the prince-like curls that hang over his face, his sexy smudged eyeliner, his raspy voice and his burning expression that make this man a dangerous distraction to his recall mission.

But the comedy lives in the big picture. So in scenes involving wacky physical stunts — like when Corvette tries to sneak out of Christie’s penthouse, where the floor is at a 45-degree angle — Palmer engages with his whole body. Whether she’s falling face down, running like a cartoon roadrunner, or escaping a challenging trip with a velor tracksuit so full of stolen items it makes her look like a pink Stay Puft marshmallow man, she delivers comedy on the level of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, pulling off the physical affair without so much as a wink at the camera.

From there, costume designer Shirley Kurata builds Corvette’s ambition to become a fashion designer through each look. Palmer is alternately wrapped in turquoise vinyl, Harajuku streetwear, ’90s kids’ club wear, and highlighter yellow menswear. Some actors might get swallowed up by so many looks, but Palmer carries it all with ease, conveying Corvette passion every step of the way.

And it may go without saying, but no one hits a punch line like Palmer. It’s not just that his interpretation of Riley’s wacky dialogue is laugh-inducing. A line in the film’s final sequence sparked bursts of laughter that erupted into scattered cheers and applause. It’s exciting to see a film give Palmer such a well-deserved showcase – especially one that pits him on screen against Moore, whose own bizarre showcase The bottom has become a surprise awards season contender. Could I love boosters do you have a similar increase? I would like to live in this world.

I love boosters is filled with laughs, twists and turns, and a killer supporting cast.

Palmer leads this crazy adventure, but everyone around her is fully on board with Riley’s radical vision. Ackie has been crying lately, playing all the role of a serious cop (The Thursday Murder Club) to a perverted soldier (Mickey 17) to a caring best friend (Sorry, baby) to a party girl seeking revenge (Blink twice). Here, she’s the tough love interest of the Velvet Gang, bringing an intensity and determination that crackles against Palmer’s dream and Paige’s comically constant fear. Watching Paige playfully rip off the stuffed nipples on a big, fluffy naked suit while the rest of the team gets into a heated argument is a lesson in low-key comedy genius.

A kinetic Poppy Liu has fun with a side quest full of color, real-world horror, and high-energy action. Eiza González bubbles and sizzles as a union-minded saleswoman, while Will Poulter is a perfect bastard as her classy, ​​ruthless manager. Stanfield thrives as sultry eye candy, but he’s at his best when that subplot turns completely evil. Then there’s Moore, who gives a scathing and hilarious portrait of American wealth and entitlement.

Moore spits monologues about art rather than commerce with such conviction that you might be tempted to believe Christie Smith’s sales pitch. But Moore also delivers shiver-inducing growls. And many scenes in her absurdly tilted penthouse (perhaps inspired by real, ultra-expensive skyscrapers that aren’t up to par) expose her fashion manager as ridiculous.

There are equally scathing visual critiques of wage gap politics, like Corvette and Sade preparing for their impossibly short lunch break by placing their feet in the starting blocks, ready to literally run for food. And with each exaggerated visual gag, Riley draws his audience into an exhilarating surprise. It presents our world with its exaggerated worst and best aspects – just like a certain MacGuffin in this film. And in doing so, he invites us to think not only about the absurdities of our own society, but also about how we might imagine something better and bolder.

I love boosters plays like a fever dream. Its narrative veers off on tangents, with subplots buried beneath sensational settings and big ideas. It’s undeniably messy, with new characters, strange conspiracies and an astonishing avalanche of disjointed images. But I wouldn’t do it any other way.

Riley doesn’t just reject the status quo of American capitalism with his films. He rejects the tidy boxes that filmmakers are asked to put their stories into to make them more marketable, whether boxes of form or genre. Like the film’s fashion, Riley mixes whatever fits her vision without apologizing. By delivering something so messy and wonderful, Riley makes a statement about the glory that lies outside the box. And make no mistake: I love boosters is glorious.

I love boosters was reviewed at SXSW. The film hits theaters on May 22.