I Love Boosters

In the new film I Love Boosters, Keke Palmer is the ringleader of a shoplifting crew that squares off with an unethical fashion CEO played by Demi Moore. It's from the bizarro visionary director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) and it may be his most delightfully unhinged project yet. Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at https://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture/letterboxd.com/nprpopculture http://letterboxd.com/nprpopculture Subscribe to Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus at plus.npr.org/happyhour https://plus.npr.org/happy See pcm.adswizz.com https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 0:27Aisha Harris?

  In I Love Boosters, Kiki Palmer is the ringleader of a shoplifting crew that squares off with an unethical fashion CEO, played by Demi Moore. Now, that alone should be enough of a selling point, but then there's this. It's the long-awaited follow-up from Boots Riley, the bizarro visionary behind the great social satire of our times. Sorry to bother you. And true to Riley's form, if you think you know how Boosters is going to play out, you don't even know the half of it. It might be his most offbeat and delightfully unhinged project yet. I'm Aisha Harris, and today we're talking about I Love Boosters on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

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• 2:15Aisha Harris?

  Joining me today is entertainment host, culture commentator and co-host of High Key, Ryan Mitchell. Hey, Ryan. Hi, I'm back. Yes, you are. Welcome. Also with us is freelance music and culture journalist, Brianna Cruz. Hey, Brianna.

• 2:31Speaker 05

  Hi, I'm so stoked to be here.

• 2:34Aisha Harris?

  So stoked to have you here. So I Love Boosters stars Kiki Palmer as Corvette, a down-on-her-luck Bay Area woman with a passion for fashion. Barely scraping by while squatting in an abandoned fast food joint, she and her besties specialize in boosting. That's stealing designer retail off the racks and reselling it for way less. Her crew includes Chade, played by Naomi Ackey, and Mariah, played by Taylor Page. Now, their primary target is metro designer in upscale clothing chain run by the ruthless CEO, Christy Smith. She is played by Demi Moore. Christy, obviously, is not happy about these repeat offenses and vows to track them down and stop them once and for all. For their part, the crew's showdown with Christy leads them to uncover some high-level

• 3:18Aisha Harris?

  corruption and abhorrent business practices and forces them to think beyond their individual plights. I Love Boosters is written and directed by Boots Riley and is inspired by a 2006 banger from his band, The Coup. Seriously, go check out that song and also that entire album that it's on. It's great. And now, I Love Boosters is in theaters. Ryan, I'm going to start with you. I don't know what your feelings were about Boosters before this movie, but having seen it now, do you love them?

• 3:48Speaker 06

  I am so pro Booster. Honestly, anything that makes you look good and if you want to just take it. No, I'm just joking. I would not. I think, you know, Boots Riley is just such an incredible director. He has such a point of view that just makes me excited to go back to like the theater. You know, I never want to watch it on a couch. I actually only want to watch it in a theater because of the world that he just decides to paint. And I love Boosters. I kind of went into it not really knowing a lot about it. I was like, I wonder if the title was as literal as it's giving, and it was. But that was probably the only literal thing that was, you know, happening in that film, because it's just wild. I don't

• 4:28Speaker 06

  think anyone could think that Boots Riley could push his sort of like level of work that he does, but he really does push it forward into a beautiful way.

• 4:38Aisha Harris?

  Yes, yes. Rihanna, I'm so curious to hear what you think about I Love Boosters.

• 4:43Speaker 05

  Oh, I absolutely loved it. Granted, I was already a big fan of Sorry to Bother You. That's been one of my favorite films of the last decade. I talk about it and think about it often. So I had high expectations for Boosters, and I feel like the movie matched them for me. I think I Love Boosters is a more mature movie from Boots Riley. I think it's a little bit more clear-headed than Sorry to Bother You was. And more importantly, I feel like Boots Riley continues to have an incredible handle on tone in whatever he does. And Boosters has this wacky, like, anything goes Looney Tunes-esque energy to it with like, the visual jokes, the colors, even like, there's some scenes where he like,

• 5:25Speaker 05

  speeds up what's happening for like comedic effect. It gives the movie like a little lightness to it. So even when it dives into like, the heavier Boots Riley-esque topics, like anti-capitalist class solidarity and things like that, it does it so easily and effortlessly. And has a vision to me that feels hopeful without going into hope core, which I can find a little cheesy. I teared up at the end. I thought it was kind of great.

• 5:59Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, yeah. I'm on board with both of you. I so enjoyed this movie. And I can't say enough, like, if you've seen Sorry to Bother You, you know that movie goes into

• 6:12Aisha Harris?

  Very strange, unexpected places by the end of it. And I love that you point out that this feels hopeful because I rewatched Sorry to Bother You for the first time in like years. And what I love about that movie is that it is full of the fire and the passion and like the anger while also being whimsical and and fun. But it does end on sort of like a bittersweet tone in a way. It's not fully happy. But here it is surprisingly, even though I feel as though between when Sorry to Bother You came out and now, things have gotten probably worse when you think about the way labor laws and the amount of strikes and work stoppages that have happened in the time since show that we are not necessarily getting better, especially post pandemic.

• 6:57Aisha Harris?

  But there is such a camaraderie here that I think sort of speaks to the value of having movies like this and having someone like Boots Riley, who can make something that is both didactic but also very, very easy to consume. I do want to shout out here Natasha Breyer, who is the cinematographer, as well as Christopher Glass, who's the production designer. And of course, we can't talk about this fashion movie without talking about the costumes. Shirley Karata. Incredible. Like, you can tell that Boots is working with an even bigger budget. And he has more materials and resources here. And there's a very big sort of staged chase scene set piece in like the latter half of

• 7:42Aisha Harris?

  this movie. And yet it all feels so tactical and real and he's using a lot of practical effects and miniatures and things like that. And I just, I love seeing that, right? Like, it's just fun to see those things and see them brought to life here.

• 7:56Speaker 06

  It did not get lost on me, the fact that we have two really big fashion films that are out right now. I mean, The Devil Wears Prada.

• 8:03Aisha Harris?

  The sequel.

• 8:03Speaker 06

  The sequel, yes, too.

• 8:04Aisha Harris?

  Yeah.

• 8:05Speaker 06

  My big issue and something that I felt sort of felt left on the like cutting room floor of like Devil Wears Prada was it was like, it was going to a line of like trying to combat and talk about all these like heavy issues that are happening, whether it's like downsizing, you know, the industry impacts would due to. Big tech and all of these sort of like really big things that I don't know if it actually did very well. But I think it's so interesting that we have these two films out right now in the centering fashion in a really beautiful way. But the one really actually pushes it. One actually allows you the space to think about what is going on. Whereas not to compare, but the other film is sort of like a little bit of more of a surface level feel good film.

• 8:48Speaker 06

  And I think Boots Riley does a great job of like, this is a feel good film, but we're also going to like, make sure you have an understanding of what we're talking about in these really heavy topics.

• 8:57Aisha Harris?

  Yeah.

• 8:58Speaker 05

  It is interesting to me how he's dealing in the nuances of class struggle. And presenting maybe different ways or solutions for people to get out of it without being mean about it. You know, like I, I think this isn't a mean movie. Well, it's a mean movie, but not to the main character.

• 9:21Aisha Harris?

  Demi Moore's character is a mean woman.

• 9:24Speaker 05

  Yeah. Well, I was gonna say, yeah, yeah. It's a mean movie to the white people in it. I think that's great. I think the nuance in which he's able to contain empathy for these characters is really special. Especially considering the idea that some of these characters are wrapped in things that are beyond them. They're victim to the system, but Boots looks at them with, again, like hopeful eyes. And I think that's really great.

• 9:55Aisha Harris?

  Yeah. I mean, to that point, he is also someone who is working within a capitalist system and acknowledges that, right? Like I'm a Virgo, his TV show from a few years ago. Again, go see that. We did an episode on it when it came out. It's so good. Also very weird. Starts Jarrell Jerome as a 13 foot tall black man living in Oakland who's been sheltered all of his life. And finally gets out in the world and learns about a lot of the things that are in this movie. And like all of those things, but like that was released through Amazon. And he acknowledged when that show came out, like, look, I'm. Going to use sort of these tools that I have to try and and even though it's through Amazon,

• 10:36Aisha Harris?

  which has been, you know, reported on as having a lot of labor injustices and practices. He's going to use the tools he has and use that money and put his work out there. And so I think he understands that tension that exists from being an artist. And he knows the best way to get his work out there is you have to work with it. I think that that comes through in this movie, too. Whenever I think of this movie and then I am ever going also sorry to bother you. There's a commonality here, right? There's like, there's the protagonist who is either sort of apathetic or uninformed, mostly out of circumstance because they are sheltered or they are very impoverished or whatever.

• 11:20Aisha Harris?

  And that's Kiki Palmer's character here. That's Lakeith Stanfield's character in Sorry to Bother You. And then you have an agitator who sort of sparks their change. And here you've got two, actually. Aza Gonzalez, who's playing a colleague at one of the Metro Designer retail stores. Who's like, she's pushing for a union, just like so many characters in these movies.

• 11:41Speaker 05

  The exposition character. She's very exposition coded, but I wasn't mad at it. I thought it was done the best it could have been.

• 11:48Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, and then you have Poppy Liu, who's playing Yian Hu, who is a factory worker in like the sweatshops of the Metro Designer franchise. And so I just think like that tension there is really interesting. And I'm curious, actually, let's talk about the exposition here. Because I will say it did get a little naughty and confusing to me when we started. I won't say how it happens, but he gets very, very deep into like communist Marxist lore. And I think it works, but I can also see it being somewhat of a confusing barrier. Because it all flies by sometimes very, very fast. And the rules keep changing, if that makes sense.

• 12:29Speaker 06

  The rules most definitely keep changing. I think that was like my one like little notes that I had about this film. He's just throwing a lot of things at the wall and seeing what sticks. And yes, I think he has a clear vision, but sometimes I was like, Wait, there are a lot of holes, sort of like in this, this story. And I was like, oh, is this one, is this movie going to be about like this designer that is of course like stealing designs and like stealing from the community, all of these things, which it was, but it just also switched to this like wonky, crazy like world. And sometimes it can be a little hard to follow. There is no moment that I could ever pull out my phone and just like quickly look at the time. Like I, I would miss an entire like

• 13:11Speaker 06

  section of a film that is like, wait, what just happened? And now I'm lost. I think that's really interesting. Maybe Boots Riley is like, you know, making sure he is retraining the mind of a viewer of being like, you have to watch every single moment of this film. Yeah, it's by design. And I, I love that. And I always just, I always leave something that I'm watching being like, who is this audience? Who is his intended audience? Like, who does he want to talk to and actually make sure they're understanding his message?

• 13:42Speaker 05

  See, I think what Boots Riley is trying to do here with the exposition is kind of part of this larger fairy tale atmosphere that fills the movie. Like, I really do see the movie as like existing in this alternate universe. And the movie kind of plays into that with some of the visual jokes. Like, I'm thinking of a really good one with Robin Thede that made me crack up.

• 14:04Aisha Harris?

  It's, that is hilarious.

• 14:06Speaker 06

  Oh my god, I screamed.

• 14:08Aisha Harris?

  And pointed social commentary too, about shopping while black.

• 14:11Speaker 05

  Right, right. I was losing it in the theater, but I think some of the heaviness of the exposition and some of the heaviness of the mechanics with which he's explaining. I don't know, it all kind of contributed to this idea that the movie is existing in an alternate universe to me. And I think sometimes that can feel like a cop out where the movie doesn't abide by earthly mechanics. And so really anything goes, but watching it, again, that contributed to the hopeful energy that I felt where I was like, this couldn't exist here. And when they're getting really deep into like,

• 14:53Speaker 05

  You know, Isaac Gonzalez recounting Marxist praxis. Like, it, it, there's part of me that's like, man, like, like, this would be awesome if current society allowed these type of dialogues to happen in, you know, the middle of a regular conversation, which is why it landed for me. I was kind of swimming in it at times.

• 15:15Aisha Harris?

  Yes.

• 15:15Speaker 05

  But I think that's a feature, not a bug.

• 15:17Aisha Harris?

  I totally understand that. And I think while the execution at times was dizzying, almost to a distraction for me, where I was trying, I was like, I'm trying to take notes, but I can't. It's too, it's too hard.

• 15:31Speaker 05

  Absolutely.

• 15:31Aisha Harris?

  I'm missing something. But at the end, the vision is clear. The message is clear.

• 15:36Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 15:37Aisha Harris?

  And so like, you may have to take a lot of circuitous paths to get there, but you know what he's trying to say by the end. And I think that's what's important. And also, it's part of the fun. Even the little details of storytelling, because Kiki Palmer's character, Corbett, is, she's not just facing all of this stuff, but then she's also facing this like existential crisis of what am I doing with myself? And I don't feel fulfilled. And I love the way he visualizes this as a literal ball of anxiety. All of these things are happening, but were you also able to connect with these characters as characters? There is a relationship between these three women, and then once Poppy Liu's character comes in, there's also, we have to say, LaKeith, Stanfield.

• 16:20Speaker 05

  I was gonna say, we haven't brought up Pinky Ring Guy yet.

• 16:23Aisha Harris?

  Pinky Ring Guy, who, again, another kind of circuitous path, but like, what do we feel like? Were we connected to these characters in meaningful ways?

• 16:34Speaker 05

  Really, the only moment where I didn't connect with these characters is when I kind of wanted them to go a step further. And that maybe is in line with my personal politics more than the movies, but like, Christie's assistant, for example, she is clearly brimming with anger, but doesn't go past the threshold. And maybe part of that is her whiteness in the movie, and I think Boots is saying something about race implicitly throughout the film. But there's moments where I thought that he was holding back a little bit.

• 17:11Speaker 05

  On what these characters could actually do.

• 17:15Aisha Harris?

  Yeah, I can definitely see that. I mean, when I, when I think about his first two filmmaking projects that we've already mentioned, I'm a Virgo and Sorry to Bother You, they are focusing a lot on the racial aspect. I mean, Sorry to Bother You is about, you know, Lakeith Stanfield's character having to put on a quote unquote white guy voice, right, as a telemarketer. Here, I can totally see that. I think had he gone a step further, I'm not sure the movie would have been able to handle.

• 17:44Speaker 05

  Handle anything else?

• 17:45Aisha Harris?

  There's already so much going on.

• 17:48Aisha Harris?

  That was enough for me to just be able to see it. And while Christie Smith, the Demi Moore character, while she doesn't, from what I recall, she doesn't actively say anything that could be like a quote unquote dog whistle in terms of racism. It's like, it's just kind of implied because she is stealing from the hood. She's stealing from the community, the locals, and selling their designs at a markup price. And I think.

• 18:13Speaker 05

  Doesn't she call them urban bitches?

• 18:15Speaker 06

  She has to say she most definitely.

• 18:17Aisha Harris?

  You're right, she does. She does, actually. I forgot, never mind.

• 18:20Speaker 05

  Low-class urban bitches.

• 18:23Speaker 00

  Low-class urban bitches. With all due respect to urban bitches.

• 18:30Aisha Harris?

  The way that Demi Moore says, calls them the B word is just chef's skill. Like, it's, she's doing a great job here. Like, I love it. But like, you've also got, there's little, little details here too with other characters who come up later, quote unquote stereotypes, who are literally stereotypes. You see little news segments where it's like crying black mother, upstanding community. Like, they're there, but I can also understand the, the desire for more.

• 18:57Speaker 06

  Boots Riley has a lot of ideas, has a lot of ideas. And I think it's great that he has those ideas and I think he's able to really like consol. Well, actually, I don't know if he's really good at consolidating. It's like, it's like that one quote, it's like, before you leave the house, take one thing off. He never takes that one thing off. He never takes that one thing off.

• 19:18Speaker 05

  For sure.

• 19:19Speaker 06

  I do imagine, and I would love to imagine a world where if he did take that one thing off, what would the actually ending of the product look like? Because, yeah, I don't even really know if Lakeith Stanfield's character was necessarily needed, in my opinion. Like, I was like, I just kept thinking, I was like, is Lakeith Boots Riley's Daniel Kaluuya? Like, is he, is he just like someone that he really connects with and just loves seeing him on screen and he just like finds a place for him to be in his projects? And if that is, that's, I love that. I love that, that chemistry that they have. But I also was sort of like, I could have dealt without all of that. Kind of made me uncomfortable seeing his scene a lot of times.

• 20:00Speaker 03

  It makes people want to close. My model, mainly for Ross and TJ Maxx. But that's.

• 20:08Aisha Harris?

  Oh, see, I don't know. Those were, for me, the funniest moments. I think his character is kind of like meant to be a distraction. Like, it's another way that she's trying to like not do the work that needs to be done. And I like the way that he functions as that, like, distraction. In a way, I don't know. It feels kind of like feminist in a way. It's like, don't let these men take you away from your journey. Like, he may be cute, he may be able to do things that you may really want him to do, but I don't know, man. We gotta focus, focus on the task at hand. I love that idea of take one thing off, but at the same time, it's kind of like the, it's, it's the, it's the blessing and the curse, right?

• 20:51Aisha Harris?

  I think it's partially why we, we love Boots Riley and also it's, it can be why, like, sometimes it can be hard to fully understand what he's trying to say. But the fact that he's even able to say it in the way that he is in this era is just astounding to me.

• 21:07Speaker 05

  It's as anti-capitalist as it can be.

• 21:09Aisha Harris?

  Yes.

• 21:09Speaker 05

  In the studio system.

• 21:11Aisha Harris?

  Exactly.

• 21:12Speaker 06

  Absolutely.

• 21:13Aisha Harris?

  Well, that brings us to the end of our show. I think it's safe to say, we're telling people, go out and see this. Go to the movies, go to the theater. It is quite a ride. That's the end of our show. Ryan Mitchell, Rihanna Cruz. Thanks so much for being here. This was so fun.

• 21:29Speaker 05

  Thank you for having us. Happy to be here.

• 21:31Speaker 06

  Thank you.

• 21:32Aisha Harris?

  And just a reminder that signing up for Pop Culture Happy Hour Plus is a perfect way to support our show and public radio because you get to listen to all of our episodes sponsor free. Go find out more at plus.npr.org/happyhour or visit the link in our show notes. This episode was produced by Liz Metzger and Mike Cassiff and edited by our showrunner Jessica Reedy. Hello, Kamin provides our theme music. And thank you for listening to Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR. I'm Aisha Harris and we'll see you all next time.

• 22:05Aisha Harris?

  Stay tuned for the following announcements and messages from our sponsors. This message comes from the Carter Center, waging peace, fighting disease, and building

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• 22:26Speaker 00

  This week on the NPR Politics Podcast, the midterm elections are wrapping up and millions of people have already voted. We're taking one final check of the electoral pulse with a new NPR PBS News Marist Poll. It shows Democrats still poised to make gains, but also with some warning signs for just how many. We'll explain on the NPR Politics Podcast.