I Love Boosters

Description

I Love Boosters (also known as Velvet Gang) is a story about philanthropic thieves who steal high-end fashion to resell it at a fraction of the price. Through these actions, they attempt to destroy the business empire of a world-renowned designer, played by Demi Moore.

I’d say the film is made using the same formula as his stylish satirical masterpiece Sorry to Bother You (and I say this without irony, I absolutely loved it). But in my opinion, I Love Boosters falls far short of it.

Boots Riley is undoubtedly a very talented and multifaceted figure. Besides directing, he’s a musician and a well-known socialist. And all of this is reflected in his films. I think even the original title I Love Boosters is a reference to one of the songs by his band.

It feels like there’s just too much madness and surrealism here, pushing it past the edge of comprehension, even for marginals and lovers of unconventional cinema (within reason) like me.

Either the film turned out to be a misfire, or it’s just too niche. It seems to lack that something that could really hook me. It has irony, madness, and true arthouse, but it feels like none of these elements are fully fleshed out.

But I had no such misunderstandings with Sorry to Bother You. I understood that film from beginning to end. While watching it, I was in awe of the level of irony and satire. You know that feeling when it seems like a movie was made just for you, because you understood and fell in love with every single scene?

Boots Riley loves to give free rein to his imagination, and it seems there are no barriers to implementing these crazy ideas in his films. And this insane cocktail of ideas worked perfectly in Sorry to Bother You. But I Love Boosters just couldn’t find its way to my heart.

In any case, we all desperately need such multi-layered films with hidden depths. In an era of stable, mathematically calculated cinema, films like this are a breath of fresh air. They give us a chance to see the other side of filmmaking—from real creators, not marketers whose only goal is to make a quick buck rather than shoot a good movie.

Demi Moore is great in her role. It seems The Substance breathed new life into her fading acting career. Eiza González also perfectly slipped into the image of a punk revolutionary fighting for the rights of fashion industry workers and everyday working stiffs.

What I remembered the most:
The scene where the main character brings a guy from a nightclub back to her place.
And the dialogue in the store with the loud music, featuring Eiza González.

If you haven’t seen Sorry to Bother You, I highly recommend watching it first, and only then I Love Boosters.

P.S.
Boots Riley also has a series about a giant teenager called I’m a Virgo. But I still haven’t watched it.