I Love Boosters
Written by Cameron Geiser
Nothing speaks to me more than a film clearly made by artists, but especially ones that feel handmade. Now if that picture happens to actually have something of substance to say, then that my friends is what you might call a triple crown feature in my book. A rare mythical creation. A Unicorn of storytelling actually. This is akin to what I experienced with I Love Boosters, the second feature from filmmaker Boots Riley. His first film, Sorry to Bother You, was similarly themed around anti-capitalist views alongside wild creative swings so I knew I’d be getting into something unique when finding my seat in the theatre.
I Love Boosters follows The Velvet Gang, a trio of black women in the Bay area that shoplift expensive brand name clothes and resell them at a fraction of the value in the community. They each have different motivations for the thefts. Sade’s (Naomi Ackie) reasoning is simple but clear, she’s got kids. Mariah (Taylour Paige) has her eye set on starting a movement called Fashion Forward Filanthropy. The third F is for marketing purposes. Lastly, Corvette (Keke Palmer) is the most ambitious. She’s a designer at heart and wants to get a foot in the industry’s door. The person with the keys to that door however is Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a celebrity fashion mogul keen on keeping her grip on power tight.
Beyond the stellar cast, the lovingly crafted production, and the over abundance of bold colors and ideas- I think what I appreciate most about Boots Riley’s films so far is the sheer unpredictability of his work. Yes, by now we have two films where you can expect several factors going in, like broad style and an anti authoritative stance, but as to what the story will be and how it evolves- I only know to expect the unexpected. These are stories told by a strong creative voice that knows what they want to say which makes for a film that stands apart from the crowd.
From vibrant colour schemes to exciting characters, Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters is electrifying, entertaining cinema.
I Love Boosters may be slightly more unfocused than Sorry to Bother You, but it wears its heart on its sleeve and has a fiercer tenacity in the characters’ personalities. It’s also willing to be goofier than Sorry to Bother You. Not only is I Love Boosters funny, but it’s clever in its comedy. Reality is in play in this film and the rules of life don’t always apply. Things are a bit more cartoonish here and things can be moved on with a bit of hand wavey exuberance at times, but the film is so earnest when it comes to the things that matter that I find even the “flaws” endearing. The story also digs into the fashion industry as a whole with the inclusion of Jianhu (Poppy Liu) a factory worker in China that uses a new technology to stand up against the crushing weight of an international and industrial machine to demand equal pay, reasonable safety standards, and less taxing shifts.
I Love Boosters is anti-capitalist, pro-working class, pro-wealth redistribution, anti-elitism, anti-creative theft, and pro-collective solutions that benefit the many over the few. It’s also covered in bold floor to ceiling colors, meshed with stop motion, or claymation and frankly creative ways to showcase special effects on a budget. Unpredictable, hilarious, charming, and just plain weird- I Love Boosters was a riot and will likely make it into my Top Ten films of 2026. Please, go see this movie.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.