I Love Boosters Movie Review

I Love Boosters movie review: Boots Riley’s Wildest Fashion Heist Yet

Boots Riley has never done things the safe way. In his latest film, I Love Boosters, he has created a ridiculous crime-comedy which attacks the fashion industry, corporate greed and the ludicrous inequalities within capitalist society.

Packed full of vibrant visuals, interesting concepts and ridiculous imagery, this film blends a robbery story with sci-fi, body horror and anarchic comedy.

The story follows the Velvet Gang, a group of fashionably rebellious thieves. When leader Corvette (Keke Palmer) discovers that rich fashion designer Christie Smith (Demi Moore) has stolen her original designs, she decides to take revenge.

Along with her gang, Corvette plans to steal and redistribute all of Christie’s fashion line. This causes the gang to turn into a fashion version of Robin Hood, but soon the story takes on a ridiculous twist.

I Love Boosters is a fun film. The DIY aesthetic is incredible, the acting is excellently quirky and the political satire hits hard.

But at times Riley’s ambition gets the better of him. There are so many concepts, jokes and visuals within the film that it can be a bit tiring.

The direction of the drama also means that the second half of the film feels very different.

Keke Palmer Leads a Brilliantly Unhinged Ensemble

Keke Palmer as Corvette is the heart of the madness and she is absolutely fabulous. She gives the character so much energy.

Her character is angry, but she also has a natural comedic flair which makes it easy to cheer for her. As well as having a personal reason to target the fashion industry, Corvette’s story is a representation of creative peoples frustration with their work being used by those with money and power.

Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige complete the core of the Velvet Gang, bringing their own personalities and comic flair to the group.

Their friendship gives the heist storyline much of its appeal, and the film is at its best when the three women are working together, challenging the fashion establishment and enjoying the ridiculousness of their own schemes.

Demi Moore is great in her role as Christie Smith, the ruthless billionaire designer that gets caught up in the group’s revenge.

She really captures the high-maintenance and uncaring attitude of Christie, which gives us a great villain that represents all the bad things about the fashion industry.

While her screen time may be less than expected due to her importance in the plot, she leaves a strong impression when on screen.

The rest of the cast are full of wonderful quirky characters. LaKeith Stanfield brings his usual unpredictability, Will Poulter adds to the quirky characters and Don Cheadle is hilarious in his role.

He plays a character so different to what we know him for, as he is linked to the crazy pyramid scheme called Friends Being Friendly. Poppy Liu also stands out in her role as the story becomes more surreal.

Boots Riley’s Handmade Visual Wonderland

A major way in which I Love Boosters stands out is due to its stunning visuals. Riley has created a world that deliberately doesn’t look like a glossy modern film.

It features lots hands on, artisan visuals that make it feel like a live action cartoon. The visuals are very vibrant and the camera work includes some unusual angles and special effects that embrace the fake aspect.

The set design and costume design by Christopher Glass and Shirley Kurata really help create this feeling.

The costume design is beautifully creative and has many detailed outfits and disguises, making the characters of the Velvet Gang look like they have come straight out of a surreal fashion magazine.

The visuals are very vibrant, chaotic and over the top, creating the perfect visual world for the characters.

Natasha Braier is also very deserving of praise in the cinematography department. She worked with custom made Panavison lenses to create a unique aesthetic to the film.

The lens has a unique feel to it with the imperfections of old glass mixed in with modern camera technology. This creates some very vibrant and unusual visuals which make it feel slightly detached from reality.

Riley has taken a very interesting approach to using special effects. He does not hide the fact that many of the models are small but this actually creates a fun, nostalgic feel to the film.

The last third of the film shows how experimental Riley can be. This part uses live action, stop motion animation and miniatures to create an incredible technical achievement that displays how willing he is to take risks with his visuals.

Whilst the story may not be entirely smooth, there is never a lack of interesting visuals.

From Fashion Heist to Full-Blown Science Fiction

One of the most surprising parts of the film was how the narrative changed throughout the film. While the beginning starts off with a relatively simple narrative about a group of shoplifters seeking revenge against a rich designer who stole their work, it’s an engaging concept.

Especially with Riley’s personal interests in class exploitation and faux opulence.

However, halfway through, we’re introduced to an automated teleporter and the narrative takes a much more bizarre turn.

The fashion heist turns into a sci-fi adventure, with body horror and surrealism becoming a large portion of the narrative.

This is very much in line with Riley’s filmmaking style. Much like Sorry to Bother You, the film takes a turn for the more disturbing.

I Love Boosters does not stay within the boundaries of what was set up.

However, it does struggle with some of the transitions. In the first half we get character development and conflict, which makes you think that this should be what the story focuses on.

However, the narrative begins to focus more on the crazy concepts. While some may love this unpredictable nature, others may wonder if the film has lost sight of its original narrative.

While undeniably creative, it does feel like narrative whiplash.

A Sharp Satire of Capitalism and the Fashion Industry

Despite the bright and chaotic nature of the film there are some clear political messages within I Love Boosters.

Riley has always had an interest in the relationship between wealth, power and exploitation. In this movie he looks into the fashion industry and how creativity can be seen as a product.

Christie Smith shows us a system where wealthy designers can get ideas and inspiration from others and appear to be visionary creators.

Corvette stealing the designs back was more than just revenge, it was a way to subvert the idea that those with the most money should automatically own everyone’s work.

The film also satirises corporate greed, consumer debt, sweatshops and the fake exclusivity of luxury brands.

Whilst the jokes aren’t very subtlety done they are part of the characters in the film. Riley does not want to hint at the unfairness of the system but instead wants to show how ludicrous the situation is.

Sometimes the political message can feel a bit forced however Riley’s best work is making sure that these arguments are used within the comedy.

Tune-Yards Give the Film an Unforgettable Sound

Another key element to the identity of the film is the soundtrack. Boots Riley continues his partnership with the Bay Area art pop duo Tune-Yards (Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner) to create an original score.

The music uses noise, rhythm and experimentation. It consists of heavy bass lines, busy percussive sounds, unique vocal loops and electronic interference to produce a chaotic soundtrack.

The score is very varied and sometimes sounds like it contains multiple scores for completely different films.

Whilst this may be confusing, it fits the ever changing tone of the story. It enhances the organic and rebellious nature of the film by creating an uneven score.

The intro credits are very well done. This is an important element that helps to establish the musical identity of the film. It is a further example of how committed to making each element stand out Riley is.

When More Really Does Become Too Much

Despite its originality, I Love Boosters is quite difficult to get into. This is due to it being extremely busy.

There are numerous visual gags and each scene brings a lot of fresh concepts. Due to this there isn’t much time for the characters to breathe between each ridiculous scenario. This can become overwhelming, especially in the latter half of the film.

The change in tone also affects the rest of the cast. Although Demi Moore gives an impressive performance as Christie, she isn’t really fleshed out as much as you would expect.

Whilst Don Cheadle and Will Poulter give some great performances, there are so many side plots that some feel like they’ve been created just to be a bit of fun.

For example, whilst the Friends Being Friendly plot does bring some fun ideas into the film and ties in well with the overall theme of exploitation, it adds another layer to an already busy plot.

The themes around the environment and corporations are interesting, however they do sometimes take away from the main plot.

Finally, there is the issue with how much you can take in from Riley’s visual and comedic style. Although the film is intentionally over the top, there are points where it could have done with a bit more subtlety to make the best jokes and ideas really hit.

Final Verdict

I Love Boosters is an interesting piece of filmmaking. Boots Riley has created a film that doesn’t stick to any rules as it brings together a heist-comedy with fashion, sci-fi, body horror and anti-capitalist satire to create something chaotic and colourful.

Keke Palmer is brilliant in the lead role bringing her charm and emotion to the film. Demi Moore also shines as she plays the rich fashion villain in a very aloof way.

The supporting cast all play into the insanity of the film and the visuals are stunning. The costumes and set design are very creative.

The cinematography is unique along with the stop motion animation. The soundtrack has been done by Tune-Yards meaning there is a ridiculous amount of creativity on show.

However, the film sometimes gets too much. The sudden change into a sci-fi film is exciting but can be inconsistent.

There is a lot going on which can get tiring to watch and some of the supporting characters could have been developed further. Whilst the satire is good, the story doesn’t always match up to the imaginative ideas.

Overall this is a good piece of original and unpredictable cinema. Whilst it is not always consistent and lacks subtlety it does have a lot of character, purpose and a visually unique style.

Boots Riley has once again taken some big creative risks and whilst they don’t always work they rarely get boring.

A crazy, colourful and brilliantly weird comedy that has a lot to say about who really profits from the fashion industry.