I Love Boosters: Film Gang Review

With surrealist, colorful visuals and powerful, uplifting messaging, I Love Boosters is a breath of fresh air in a cinematic landscape relying on reboots and nostalgia. Written and directed by Boots Riley, which you might also know from his 2018 film Sorry to Bother You, this film centers on a ragtag group of boosters attempting to create a better reality for themselves and their community. Set in Oakland, a group of friends that call themselves the Velvet Gang make a living by boosting, or stealing, all the high-end fashion items they can and selling them at a remarkable discount. Our protagonist, Corvette, played by the inimitable Keke Palmer, has dreams of becoming a fashion designer herself, but has limited opportunities to pursue that. She seems suffocated by the weight of her current circumstances, often seen under way too many boosted clothes or being chased by her vision of an ever-growing ball of trash after shoplifting. Her friends Sade, played by Naomi Ackie, and Mariah, played by Taylor Page, have different outlooks on their boosting, simply looking to make quick cash or rebranding it as paying it forward to their community. Their crimes have caught the attention of the fashion designer Christie Smith, played by Demi Moore, after the Velvet Gang targets one too many of her stores, called Metro Designers. Corvette looks up to Christie, finding her designs and life story inspiring, but the adage about meeting your heroes rings true when their paths cross. Metro Designers is a soulless store that only sells clothes of one color at a time, a saturated setting that pokes fun at chain retailers. Corvette, Sade, and Mariah plan their biggest heist yet and start by getting jobs at Metro Designers, but their plans are thwarted by someone with a contraption that sucks all the merchandise in the store into their bag. This is Jianhu, played by Poppy Liu, an employee of Metro Designers’ overseas clothing factory. After the Velvet Gang learns of the inhumane conditions that Jianhu and her fellow workers are subjected to, they team up to finally get revenge on Christie and fight for better working conditions. I Love Boosters sticks to a pretty simple plotline but keeps the audience on their toes with elements like science fiction machines and stop-motion animation. The black comedic edge of the film allows for both moments of hilarity and genuine recognition with the characters, such as learning of Jianhu’s plight or witnessing the contradictory practices of Metro Designers. It’s an overt reminder that the struggle of workers and the oppressed all over the world are connected. This film uplifts creation rather than consumption and crafts an inspiring, kaleidoscopic call to action for collective liberation. For KSQD’s Film Gang: Isa Cortez