SXSW ‘I Love Boosters’ Review: God, I Love How Weird Boots Riley Is
4/5 green stores
Sometimes, you have to let the weirdos do their thing and we should always let Boots Riley do whatever he wants. His new film, I Love Boosters, puts us into the world of high fashion, the people who “make” art with it, and those who take it.
A group of boosters set their eyes on the clothing empire of Christie Smith (Demi Moore). The Velvet Gang, comprised of Corvette (Keke Palmer), Sade (Naomi Ackie), and Mariah (Taylour Paige), wants to lift clothes from Christie’s stores and sell them at a lower price. But revenge takes over for the Velvet Gang when Corvette sees one of her designs in Christie’s store.
A fun and wacky look at ideas, theft, and who really comes up with “designs” in the fashion world, I Love Boosters has a lot to say. But in that Boots Riley sort of way. Christie’s stores, Metro Designer, are all color coded and the managers of said stores do not allow their employees a moment of rest. Including Will Poulter’s evil manager of the green turned gold store.
But what makes this something bigger than just a colorful weird take on fashion is the way Riley weaves in questions of “fast fashion,” how ethical it is, and who should really benefit from the consumerism that is rampant through it all. Oh and then there is sex loving demon, LaKeith Stanfield. He’s there to be hot and we have to respect Boots Riley for that.
A fun take on fast fashion that will have you questioning your clothes
Jianpu (Poppy Liu) works in a factor that makes Christie’s clothes. The issue is that the price of her clothes needs to go up but she doesn’t want to pay more to make them. Her greed leads to unsafe working conditions, a transport machine to teleport the packages so she doesn’t have to pay for shipping, and more. Those machines are important to the entire third act of the film but that’s a secret you’ll have to watch to find out about.
For all the oddity that Riley brings to the story, it really is about survival. The Velvet Gang are trying to get by and live the lives they want to but people like Christie Smith make that hard. One of my favorite moments in the film comes from Sade and Corvette actually having a heart to heart and unpacking their feelings rather than continue to talk at each other. It makes for a beautiful friendship moment but also completely colors every interaction the two had before.
It is still a Boots Riley movie. It is weird, out there, and you may want to suddenly dress in monochrome outfits for the foreseeable future, but there is so much more to I Love Boosters outrageousness. Go in with the knowledge that you will get to see fun puppetry and set design but know that you will leave with a lot to think about. And hey, any movie that reminds us how good Palmer, Ackie, and Paige are is a great movie in my book.
(featured image: Neon)
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