WRITER & DIRECTOR
Boots Riley
Sorry to Bother You

STARS
Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle and Demi Moore.

A whirlpool of colour, I Love Boosters critiques human rights, fashion, and late-stage capitalism through maximalist, trippy, seemingly never-ending visuals that follow a trio of professional shoplifters, named the Velvet Gang, on a journey that has you questioning reality itself.

Boots Riley directs this mind-altering, absurdist production, starring an array of talent, including Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Demi Moore, and more. Corvette (Keke Palmer) is a professional shoplifter and aspiring fashion designer who believes in a destiny beyond her own and sets her sights on millionaire fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore) and her company, Metro Designers, after allegedly stealing Corvette’s own fashion designs. A ‘fashion war’ begins between the two, and as tensions rise, so do the film’s various meta-narratives, which ventures everywhere from teleportation to global worker resistance, all to dethrone Christie Smith.

Scattered throughout the film, satirical news clips poke fun at everything from soaring rental prices to unemployment, turning the absurdities of everyday life into quick-witted puns. These snippets, alongside new, dazzling, unique characters being introduced every so often, keep the film moving at a relentless pace, offering a comedic breather while reminding us that, beneath all the chaos, the world outside the screen isn’t that different. With so much happening at once, I Love Boosters isn’t necessarily a film to keep track of, but one to sit back and enjoy. Its increasingly bizarre storylines into worlds far beyond our own have you laughing, questioning, and mesmerised by the madness unfolding on screen.

The film takes a while to find its footing and fully embrace the absurdist comedy it sets out to deliver. At the beginning it feels directionless, introducing so many unusual characters, ideas and visuals that make it difficult to figure out where the story is heading. However, as the film focuses on the antagonist, Christie Smith, the chaos begins to take shape, and the characters who initially seem random, begin working together in pursuit of a bigger purpose. One that encourages us to question everyday mechanisms around us like the supply chains that make our clothes and the rising prices that affect everything around us. A movie that has you rooting for the underdog, I Love Boosters manages to make something meaningful out of the chaos, keeping you entertained and strangely invested until the end.

I Love Boosters is showing in selected cinemas across Australia from November 12th, 2026.

Moviedoc thanks Maslow Entertainment and Nixco for the invitation to the screening of this film.

Review by Janer for Moviedoc

Follow on Instagram – @cksjaner

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