By Matthew Moorcroft

Strong Recommendation

• Directed by Boots Riley
• Starring Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Demi Moore
• R

When it comes to Boots Riley as a filmmaker, you both know what you are getting yourself into while also have no idea what to expect. The prolific artist who has run the gambit from hip hop to film to political activism has a unique voice that, try as people might, cannot and will not be silenced. His debut feature from several years ago was something of a standout, with it’s absurdist leanings and themes as subtle as a brick to the face clearly showcasing Riley’s tendencies to lean into the over the top for purposes of making a point.

His latest, the wonderfully named I Love Boosters, is that taken to the upmost extreme. Riley has admitted that the film was his attempt to create something of a crowd pleasing comedy – if Sorry to Bother You was his grand statement, I Love Boosters is that but this time trying to have more fun with it and have a grand old laugh along the way. And while that’s sometimes as overstuffed as it sounds, it’s impossible to not view I Love Boosters as anything more then passionately made, beautifully composed insanity.

And that’s mostly thanks to a funny, always witty script that finely tows the line between taking it’s themes seriously while also never taking the actual film too seriously either. The power of collective action is the real hero of the film and it wants you to remember the plight of the worker, but there are also incredible sequences of slapstick, there are stop motion skinless men who argue like Looney Tunes villains, and lead characters who aren’t afraid to be comedic in their own right. Even the antagonist, played by a game Demi Moore who is chewing the scenery and relishing being as evil as possible, has her own deeply funny running gag of her tower leaning ever so slightly to the side where she is the only one able to walk on it properly.

Though like the best of Riley’s work, it also has texture for days. The incredible, vivid costume work and production design here are some of the best of the year, popping out of the screen with a flurry of Technicolor and memorable looks. It’s all heightened camp that actually manages to work, and the tone setter of the ball of eviction notices that rushes down the hill tells you everything you need to know. That’s not even starting with the miniatures and the aforementioned stop motion on display, which are far and away some of the most unique stuff you’ll see so far this year.

But that’s all standard for Riley at this point, and while I Love Boosters probably doesn’t have the same immediate wow factor as Sorry to Bother You – and might a little bit more disjointed then that film was – it does have that burst of creativity and imagination that more comedy films should be embracing. From lines of dialogue in the background that are hysterical the more you think about them to character beats that are purposefully insane to a second half plot change that I will dare not spoil here, I Love Boosters is wonderfully unpredictable in that predictably Boots Riley fashion. Again – you both know what you are getting into but also have no idea what you are getting into.

It’s unlikely that I Love Boosters will turn people over who aren’t already on the train for Riley as a director, as it doubles down on all of the things that made Sorry to Bother You so unique amongst the world of film. However, for those who are craving a level of absurdism in their flicks as well as a good time at the movies, I Love Boosters is certainly going to deliver on that front and it’s one of the most memorable, unique, and visually arresting films of the year. A blast!