I LOVE BOOSTERS

I Love Boosters works largely in part to the great performances of Keke Palmer and Demi Moore who never fail to entertain and deliver big laughter, but the ambition of Boots Riley’s vision for his second film gets the better of him as he plays with too many ideas and genres at once, causing the narrative to become a muddled mess by its conclusion that results in an underwhelming trip to the cinema.

Booster. As defined by the FBI, “is a professional shoplifter who steals merchandise from retail stores—not for personal use, but to resell the stolen goods for cash.” It may not be a term that all audiences are familiar with, but it is the entry point into Boots Riley’s second genre blending feature film I Love Boosters. Armed with a great cast featuring Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige and Eiza González, and some staggering visuals from the use of colour and costuming, there is lots to appreciate about Riley’s sophomore film, but the frantic shifting between numerous narrative and social ideas at a rapid pace unfortunately squanders any goodwill created by the film’s first act and results in a confusing artistic vision that fails to have a coherent message.

Is it a heist film with a science fiction twist? A critique on the fashion world? Or social commentary and call to arms? The answer is all of the above, as Riley blends genres in I Love Boosters, which narratively is one of the most ambitious films of the year so far in terms of what he wants to cover. It starts off as a simple heist based film as we meet Palmer’s Corvette, a broke aspiring designer who boosts designer clothes in California, going after Moore’s Christie Smith and her fashion retail empire. As the heist story begins to form, Riley adds in his critique on the absurdities of the fashion industry and the class disparity between the rich and the poor, becoming the driving force behind Corvette’s master plan. But as the film progresses, his true vision for the story is revealed. By introducing the science fiction element in the second act, Riley expands the scope of the story but his quickly paced explanation of the world altering technology flies by too quickly that the audience will be left asking “so wait what does this device actually do…?” And, it is this same fast moving pace that results in a muddle final act to the film.

Like every traditional heist film, Riley saves the big heist itself for the final act of the film, and there is no shortage of excitement during it. As Corvette and her team infiltrate Christie’s big spring fashion show to boost the clothing, complications arise that lead to action, laughter and suspense as the audience waits in anticipation to see if Corvette and her crew will succeed or not. One such moment is a breathtaking chase sequence using miniatures that showcases a true innovative filmmaking style from Riley, which from a technical and visual point of view is inspiring and exhilarating to say the least.

But, this entire final act is riddled with a hyper-active pacing with Riley’s screenplay bouncing between different ideas at rapid fire, making it hard to fully grasp not only what is happening with the characters, but what Riley wants to say with his film. It does Riley’s big finale no favours as his social commentary goes off like whack-a-mole with everything he wants to say while watching the heist sequence, with no control over these ideas as his minds bounces all over the place as he fails to say anything of worth about them, and then suddenly there is an instant out of left field strike movement by garment factory workers demanding better working conditions to conclude the film. The ideas are there, but the manner in which Riley shifts between narrative threads and social ideas leaves viewers behind in the dust, leaving them stunned and trying to figure out what they just experienced… but not in a good Inception kind of way. If anything, Riley needed to pick one or two of these ideas and focus more intently on them, instead of trying to tackle every issue at once.

Leading the film with a whirlwind energy that lights up the screen is Palmer as Corvette. Palmer has time and time again proven her comedic abilities on screen, and they are not wasted in the role of Corvette, while her natural strength, sass, and tenacity creates a compelling lead character ready to take on the fashion establishment. Riley’s chaotic energy is the perfect match for Palmer, and it is her performance that truly ties the film together and brings out the best of Riley’s writing. Moore is no stranger to playing a villain, having done so most notably in Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, and she once again finds that glamorous and sinister energy as Christie Smith. Every second she is on screen, Moore revels in her character’s dastardly corporate control with her feminist facçade, chewing up every second of screen time that makes you wish she had more to do in the film. While sharing the screen with Palmer, Moore and Palmer have a captivating chemistry that plays out like a cat and mouse game as these two talented actresses pose the question to the audience: who is the huntress and who is the prey? Because with the energy and intellectual gymnastics in their line delivery that both of them bring to their scenes together, it is unclear as they are both serving up excellent work.

With a large ensemble cast, many of the talents on screen are left with small roles, but that doesn’t prevent the cast from stealing the spotlight. Will Poulter is hilarious as Grayson, one of the store managers of Christie’s brand, laying on thick his character’s privilege and sass to great comedic effect. LaKeith Stanfield goes full blown crazy with a calm grounding quality as Pinky Ring Guy, letting the absurdity of his character become even more apparent and shocking. Poppy Liu brings an infectious energy to the film as Jianhu that not only matches Riley’s creative energy behind the camera, but generates some big laughs with her dry portrayal of the character in a film with a bouncing off the wall personality. With Ackie, Paige and González in the remaining main roles, and blink and you’ll miss casting choices of some big name celebrities in minor roles, there is some serious talent on screen that helps make I Love Boosters an entertaining watch despite its narrative whiplash.

Without question, the most impressive aspect of I Love Boosters is the visual spectacle that Riley conjures up on screen. The use of colour in the film is immediately apparent, and it remains the striking visual feature of the entire production as Riley uses colour to create an unsettling dystopic view of Christie’s fashion empire that contrasts the bright and happy colouring the audience sees. His use of colours throughout the film matches his hyper-stylized storytelling that is not something common audiences are used to seeing, but it is such a singular manner in which Riley orchestrates the entire film that once you get on the same wavelength as him, it is hard not to be fully invested in his vision for this story.

Being set in the world of fashion, the costumes are an integral part of the film and Shirley Kurata’s costume design matches the colour construction of the film and the ambitious narrative swings of Riley’s screenplay. Delivering forward looking fashion that matches the dreams of Corvette with some truly unique designs, every costume is great and this styling is also reflected in the film’s hairstyling and makeup design. The production design is an essential element in Riley’s social commentary which is used to show the wealth disparity between Christie and the boosters,, with Christie’s slanted office being the ultimate attack on the exuberant excess of the ultra elite. And adding a mischievous and quirky energy to the entire production is Tune-Yards’ musical score which complements everything the audience is seeing on screen, especially with its ear worm of a main hook that you will easily find yourself humming along to mid movie. Even though the narrative of the film may not ensnare the minds of all viewers, it is impossible to deny the zany and propulsive energy that Riley expertly instills in each frame of the film.

In today’s filmmaking landscape, bold and daring original films need to be celebrated for the ambitious swings they take, and on that level you have to give credit to Boots Riley for I Love Boosters. It is unlike anything audiences have seen, or ever will again, due to his wild vision of combining a heist story set within the fashion world with science fiction elements and his own critique of society. Though sadly, Riley has bitten off more than he can chew in a single film, juggling too many ideas that prevent the majority of them from being communicated coherently to the audience, eroding any entertainment value that the film otherwise had thanks to its strong cast and impressive visual and creative elements. While the bright colours and powerful turns from Keke Palmer and Demi Moore are no doubt entrancing, what lies beneath the surface in I Love Boosters is a chaotic narrative that will leave viewers with whiplash as Boots Riley’s chaotic story never truly comes together.