I Love Boosters

by Mike McGranaghan

There has never been a movie like I Love Boosters. This can be said with great confidence. Rapper Boots Riley proved himself a fresh voice with his debut feature, 2018’s Sorry to Bother You. That film’s success obviously liberated him to follow every weird, crazy impulse he has, the result being this uncategorizable live-action cartoon. It sort of defies description, but that unrestrained quality is what makes it enthralling to watch.

Aspiring designer Corvette (Keke Palmer) is a “booster” – someone who steals high-end clothing items, then sells them at a discount. She works in conjunction with friends Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie). When Corvette learns that her favorite fashion designer, Christie Smith (Demi Moore), stole one of her designs, she decides to get even. The ladies get jobs working in an upscale boutique that sells her clothes, run by the stylish and superficial Grayson (Will Poulter). They plan to steal Christie’s most expensive wares. Eventually, they are joined by disgruntled employee Violeta (Eiza González), as well as Jianhu (Poppy Liu), a worker from the Chinese factory that makes the clothes.

Early scenes in I Love Boosters are pure goofy comedy. Everything is exaggerated, from the clothing to the characters’ personalities. Christie works in a slanted skyscraper, so her office is pitched at a 45-degree angle. Riley makes it clear immediately that he won’t be bound by things like “reality.” Anything can happen in his world. It is therefore perfectly natural when Jianhu introduces a wacky sci-fi element to the tale, and when LaKeith Stanfield shows up as a guy who may be a demon. If I told you about the stop-motion animated people who factor into the ending, you probably wouldn’t believe me. Same goes for the bizarro sex scene where… actually, I have no idea how to describe that. Not knowing what will come your way next proves cinematically exciting.

The movie is also stylish. Riley uses bold colors and quirky camera tricks to take Corvette’s journey to another level. During the finale, an automobile chase is carried out with miniature cars on a miniature city set. Honestly, this approach is far more in tune with the overall aesthetic than real cars and streets would have been. The production and costume designs are similarly inventive and eye-popping from beginning to end.

For all the visual and storytelling madness, the actresses manage to avoid getting lost. Keke Palmer is a winning heroine, delightfully mixing smarts with sass. The others provide excellent comedic back-up, especially Paige, who drops one-liners with expert precision. Demi Moore, meanwhile, continues her late-career hot streak, making Christie a believably egocentric villain. Coming on the heels of The Substance, Moore is strongly reminding us of what a compelling actress she is.

Anyone familiar with Boots Riley knows he’s politically active, so he doesn’t miss a chance to throw in a message having to do with the problem of billionaires hording money while the people they employ are underpaid and overworked. You wouldn’t think there’d be room for something like that here, but it’s yet another way I Love Boosters awesomely subverts expectations.