‘I Love Boosters’ Review
While the film tackles the parasitic nature of the fashion industry as it relates to Black and brown people, the story is ultimately about “loneliness”.
Boots Riley’s (I’m a Virgo, Sorry to Bother You) sophomore feature effort is afro-futurism meets hyper-retro in an inverted fever-dream of a tale about maintaining your soul while and after achieving your dream. Unlike Sorry to Bother You, I Love Boosters has a slightly more optimistic lens about making the all mighty dollar. Its female aspirational characters are trying to fulfill their fashion dreams but because of racial, class, and economic challenges they have to ride the underbelly of the fashion realm, which they eventually realize is really no different from the legitimate one.
Back in 2006, musician Boots Riley’s band The Coup released an album Pick a Bigger Weapon that had a track “I Love Boosters”. The song addresses how the ‘hood has its own economy that manifests stylish clothing which also become pattern pieces for popular culture. The film expands on that notion. Keke Palmer as Corvette leads a trio of Oakland-based female boosters, women who shoplift high quality items and sell them at a discount. Her crew includes Naomi Ackie as Sade and Taylour Paige as Mariah. All of the actresses add their own blend of quirky, off-kilter humor to the upside-down world of Riley’s satire, but Palmer is in top form as the aspiring fashion designer who doesn’t quite fit in until she realizes it’s her off-color nature that will ultimately cause her to fit in. The world is out of sync and she’s oddly in-tune with the universe’s inherently off-beat chorus.
Corvette covets “fashion tyrant” Christie Smith’s (Demi Moore) lifestyle and targets her expensive Metro Designer outfits for boosting. However, when she and her friends cross paths with Jianhu (Poppy Liu), a worker from China who’s being exploited while making Smith’s trendy items, they get a new addition to their team that enhances their purpose. Things aren’t all work and no play for Corvette though because Pinky Ring Guy (Lakeith Stanfield) is constantly trying to seduce her. Stanfield was the lead in Riley’s Sorry to Bother You where his character makes some irredeemable decisions. As Pinky Ring Guy, a mysterious figure who’s a diversion, he’s a perfect foil to Corvette’s vulnerable, yet streetwise character.
The costumes, production design, music, and cinematography all overlap to create Riley’s bold, surreal world. Shirley Kurata (Everything Everywhere All at Once) creates color-blocked, vibrant appearances for the characters, buoying their animated personas. Christopher Glass’s production design captures the funhouse mirror effect of Riley’s off-kilter Technicolor world. Riley told him he wanted things “janky” and janky they are. The idiosyncratic sound of Oakland’s Tune-Yards meshes perfectly with Boosters’ dreamlike world. Cinematographer Natasha Braier manages to establish an “emotional connection” to the characters in this bizzarro world by crafting an elite visual language.
While the film tackles the parasitic nature of the fashion industry as it relates to Black and brown people, the story is ultimately about "loneliness" according to Riley. While Sorry to Bother You was a critics darling, it had mixed reactions from audiences. I Love Boosters could be more palatable to viewers because it has a more fun lens, while still addressing serious topics. One can’t help but note Riley’s Parliament-Funkadelic influence in the style of the film. There are a couple of scenes that are too graphic for children despite the comic-book and animated quality of the film.
When people say there are no original films or filmmakers, they haven’t seen Riley’s work. He’s certainly a fresh entry in the voice of Black filmmakers and in the world of auteurs in general.
Also included in the colorful cast are Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, Eiza Gonzalez, Rachel Walters, and Najah Bradley.
Neon’s I Love Boosters slides into Theaters May 22, 2026.
Sonya Alexander started off her career training to be a talent agent. She eventually realized she was meant to be on the creative end and has been writing ever since. As a freelance writer she’s written screenplays, covered film, television, music and video games and done academic writing. She’s also been a script reader for over twenty years. She's a member of the African American Film Critics Association and currently resides in Los Angeles.
