People pile into Oakland’s historic Grand Lake Theatre, with not a seat left empty, for Boots Riley’s latest film, I Love Boosters. It’s the centerpiece of the 69th San Francisco International Film Festival. Raised primarily in Oakland, it’s no surprise that the Bay came out to support their own. Since his theatrical debut, Riley has entertained the masses through storytelling while exploring social issues with a light touch. The giant hats he sports project the larger-than-life ideas he shares on screen. His projects often tackle capitalism, systemic racism, and corporate greed. I Love Boosters is a candy-coated masterclass in disrupting narratives with levity.
Booster (n.)— someone who illicitly procures goods from a store and sells them at a discount price
The film opens in a club where Corvette (Keke Palmer; One of Them Days) locks eyes with someone across the room. As she surveys the crowd, her focus shifts to a tall, handsome man. They exit the club and head back to her place, where the audience might assume it is for a one-night stand, but Corvette instead tries to sell the gentleman some designer shoes. This introduces us to the world of boosting. Corvette is part of a trio of fashion liberators known as the Velvet Gang, who steal designer clothes and sell them to the community at discounted prices. Corvette is also a designer herself and longs to see one of her own pieces standing among the clothes in the very stores she steals from. But when she notices that billionaire fashion mogul Christie Smith (Demi Moore; The Substance) steals one of her designs, Corvette leads the Velvet Gang to rob all of Christie’s Metro Designer stores in the Bay Area.
It’s hard to believe it’s been eight years since Boots Riley’s first film, Sorry to Bother You, and though his 2023 series I’m a Virgo satiated us, his return to the screen has been long overdue. Leave it to Riley to burst back onto the big screen with his signature kaleidoscopic flair, wrapping satire around clear issues and distinct messages of unity.
No film features more stylish heist disguises than I Love Boosters, thanks to costume designer Shirley Kurata. If you’ve seen Boots Riley in person, you know his distinct style permeates his productions. Kurata had creative freedom, resulting in some of the funniest and most stylish moments on screen this year. Even in a year with a Devil Wears Prada sequel, I Love Boosters‘ fashion stands supreme and blends seamlessly into a film that takes on the fashion industry itself.
When it comes to all-star casts, it’s not just who you cast but what their characters do in the production, and this cast is a chef’s kiss of ridiculousness in the best way. You’ve got the Velvet Gang—Corvette (Palmer), Mariah (Taylour Paige), and Sade (Naomi Ackie)—the core boosters who kick everything off. Then we have Violeta (Eiza González), a vape-heavy retail worker fighting for fair wages and constantly in a tussle with her store manager (Will Poulter; Union County), who couldn’t care less about her financial woes. Jianhu (Poppy Liu) pops onto the scene from China on a mission to liberate the factory workers who make the Metro Designer clothes. There’s a street evangelist played by Don Cheadle. Demi Moore is yet another toxic billionaire and faux girl boss. And LaKeith Stanfield, referred to as Pinky Ring Guy, is a catalog model with an intense stare and a secret soul-sucking power. Not to mention the countless cameos from other celebs peppered throughout the film.
I Love Boosters explores the lopsided fashion industry: designs drawn from Black and brown communities, yet priced so high that those same communities can’t keep up with the trends. Factory workers face brutal conditions and poverty wages, while corporate heads amass fortunes. Moore plays a billionaire with endless wealth, indifferent to her workers’ conditions, her employees’ wages, and the origins of the designs she profits from. The film asks: Can billionaires be good people, given what it takes to amass such fortunes? No one working for a billionaire should struggle to stock their fridge or pay bills. Still, as layoffs grow, wages stay low, and prices climb, the rich get richer at consumers’ expense.
For Bay Area natives, the film offers extra treats that’ll draw a chuckle. Christie’s office is located in that leaning SF building we know as the Millennium Tower, which sets the scene for one of Palmer’s funnier moments. There are also shoutouts to cities that don’t normally get name-dropped, like Walnut Creek. It’s admirable that Riley continues to highlight The Town in his productions, one of the many ways he gives back to his community.
The Velvet Gang is the Robin Hood of the community. As Mariah puts it, they practice the Triple F: “Fashion Forward Filanthropy”—and yes, she knows how to spell philanthropy; it’s just good branding. As a Bay Area native, I’d be lying if I said these community vigilantes haven’t come in clutch once or twice.
But that’s the other big theme of this film. At first, Corvette feels alone, isolated by her desire for something more, as if no one understands her. When Christie steals her design, Corvette’s view of her once-idolized designer shatters, and she shifts her goal to revenge. Corvette and the Velvet Gang infiltrate a Metro Designer store—the first step of their heist—where she meets Violeta, who rallies coworkers to demand higher wages. Before the gang can boost the store, Jianhu beats them, popping in with her device to steal the designs and draw attention so the company will improve conditions in her Chinese community.
What began as an individual fight becomes something much bigger. All five women band together and realize that their fights, though they run in different lanes, all lead to the same larger issue, and that fighting together works far better than fighting alone. It’s also a reminder to Corvette that she isn’t alone, even in the moments when it feels like she is. It’s just that everyone is fighting their own battles. Riley reminds us that more progress can be made when we share the burden and stand together. And it’s of no circumstance that the band of vigilantes is all women of color rising against a white woman.
I Love Boosters is a flavor rush satire wrapped in hella Bay Area vibes and neon-drenched costuming, featuring a stellar cast (including fun cameos) and social commentary that’ll hopefully accelerate change within the fashion industry and beyond. The surreal sci-fi shows the power of uprising in entertaining, absurd, sometimes stop-motion, and jaw-dropping ways. So, expect to laugh, feel inspired, and drool over the imagery that Boots Riley uses to remind us that nothing puts up a better fight than unity.
I Love Boosters is now playing in theaters.
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