Boots Riley's new film "I Love Boosters" follows a girl gang of career shoplifters who join forces with Chinese sweatshop workers via a teleporter in the shape of a toilet seat, the director told the Brisbane Times, WA Today and The Age in an interview published November 12.
The film stars Keke Palmer as Corvette, Naomi Ackie as Sade and Taylour Paige as Mariah, three women who steal clothes and dream of designing clothes themselves. Demi Moore plays a fashion maven named Christie Smith, described as so mean she makes Miranda Priestly look like Maria von Trapp, and LaKeith Stanfield appears as a lovelorn demon who sucks out women's souls during oral sex.
Riley, who describes himself as a communist, discussed Oakland's boosters, people who steal from downtown stores and resell goods in the neighbourhood. "Somebody had the hook-up and they'd have, you know, an apartment full of stuff," he said. He went for the clothes: "Being a broke rapper for a long time and needing to look fly as part of the job requirement, you needed to know some boosters." His best-ever booster buy, he said, was a laptop.
Riley said boosterism is part of consumer culture and that despite sporadic campaigns to make the sins of the poor an issue, nobody really cares about shoplifting. "Boosters are not outside of capitalism, even though what they're doing is illegal. They're part of the distribution of the commodity." He argued that fakes and copies also serve the system: "They know it's happening, and it's the way that their products get advertised, right? Because the cool people are now wearing the stuff."
Ackie, who is from London but sounds 100-per-cent Oakland in the film, said she grew up loving craft behind clothes as the daughter of a seamstress. "With this film, I think it takes that love and then it goes really deep into the good and bad sides of it," she said. "I guess, to me, the film is about whether we can do two things at the same time: create a beautiful world, where we have access to express ourselves the way we want to through film, music, fashion, art, but also a world where the people who are behind the scenes and who are creating it aren't exploited."
Riley said politics gives the movie its aesthetic. "So much art is only considered artful when it's nihilistic. This is not nihilistic. Because I have an optimistic viewpoint. I think that we can change things."
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Riley's earlier film 'Sorry to Bother You' gained a cult following for its anti-capitalist satire; 'I Love Boosters' continues that thread with a broader canvas, reaching mainstream audiences through stars like Demi Moore and Keke Palmer.
- The film's focus on shoplifting, sweatshop labour and consumer culture speaks to ongoing debates about economic inequality and exploitation in fashion and retail.
- Riley's openly communist perspective remains rare in US cinema, making his work a cultural bellwether for leftist political art entering the mainstream.
Background
Boots Riley is an Oakland-based filmmaker and rapper who first gained attention with his 2018 debut feature 'Sorry to Bother You', a surreal comedy about telemarketing and corporate exploitation. He has described himself as a communist. His new film draws on the real-world phenomenon of "boosters", people who steal from stores and resell goods in their neighbourhoods, and combines it with fantastical elements such as a teleporter shaped like a toilet seat.
Key Perspectives
Boots Riley: Says boosterism is an integral part of consumer culture, not outside capitalism, and that fashion companies tolerate bootlegs because cool people wearing the stuff advertises their products. He adds that imagination is unlimited and that the film is ultimately about loneliness and how people seek connection through art, success and love.
Naomi Ackie: Says the film takes love of fashion and goes deep into its good and bad sides, asking whether society can create a beautiful world without exploiting the people behind the scenes.
What to Watch
- Audience and critical reception as the film opens November 12 in Australian cinemas; whether it replicates the cult success of 'Sorry to Bother You' or expands Riley's mainstream reach.
- Any industry or political response to Riley's communist framing and the film's portrayal of shoplifting as a form of distribution within capitalism.
- Whether the film sparks conversations about labour conditions in fashion, particularly sweatshop labour in supply chains.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 10 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedI Love Boosters combines shoplifting, sweatshops and a teleporter shaped like a toilet seat.WA Today - Latest News: ““a vibrant girl gang of career shoplifters joins forces with Chinese sweatshop workers via a teleporter in the shape of a toilet seat.””
- SupportedI Love Boosters is a surreal anti-capitalist satire, and its filmmaker is returning after Sorry to Bother You.WA Today - Latest News: ““Anyone who saw the filmmaker-cum-rapper’s anti-capitalist satire, Sorry to Bother You ... But Boots wasn’t finished: hell, no. So here he is again with I Love Boosters””
- SupportedI Love Boosters stars Demi Moore, Keke Palmer and LaKeith Stanfield.WA Today - Latest News: ““Demi Moore ... plays a fashion maven called Christie Smith ... And if you fancy a lovelorn demon who sucks out women’s souls during oral sex, he’s here in the comely person of LaKeith Stanfield.””
- Partly supportedRiley told the Brisbane Times, WA Today and The Age about the film in an interview.WA Today - Latest News: ““‘Somebody had the hook-up and they’d have, you know, an apartment full of stuff,’ he says.””
- Not in the sourcesThe interview was published on November 12.WA Today - Latest News: ““I Love Boosters opens in cinemas on November 12.””
- SupportedKeke Palmer plays Corvette, Naomi Ackie plays Sade and Taylour Paige plays Mariah; the three women steal clothes and dream of designing them.WA Today - Latest News: ““his three heroines – sassy leader Corvette (Keke Palmer), Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) ... The three of them dream of designing clothes themselves””
- SupportedDemi Moore plays fashion maven Christie Smith, and LaKeith Stanfield plays a lovelorn demon who sucks out women’s souls during oral sex.WA Today - Latest News: ““Demi Moore ... plays a fashion maven called Christie Smith so mean she makes Miranda Priestly look like Maria von Trapp. And if you fancy a lovelorn demon who sucks out women’s souls during oral sex, he’s here in the comely person of LaKeith Stanfield.””
- SupportedRiley said, “Somebody had the hook-up and they'd have, you know, an apartment full of stuff.”WA Today - Latest News: ““Somebody had the hook-up and they’d have, you know, an apartment full of stuff,” he says.”
- SupportedRiley said, “Being a broke rapper for a long time and needing to look fly as part of the job requirement, you needed to know some boosters.”WA Today - Latest News: ““Being a broke rapper for a long time and needing to look fly as part of the job requirement, you needed to know some boosters.””
- SupportedRiley said boosters are part of capitalism’s commodity distribution, despite their activity being illegal.WA Today - Latest News: ““Boosters are not outside of capitalism, even though what they’re doing is illegal. They’re part of the distribution of the commodity.””
- SupportedAckie said the film explores both the love of making clothes and the exploitation of the people who create them.WA Today - Latest News: ““With this film, I think it takes that love and then it goes really deep into the good and bad sides of it,” she says. “I guess, to me, the film is about whether we can do two things at the same time: create a beautiful world, where we have access to express ourselves the way we want to through film, music, fashion, art, but also a world where the people who are behind the scenes and who are creating it aren’t exploited.””
- SupportedRiley said the film is not nihilistic because he is optimistic and thinks things can change.WA Today - Latest News: ““So much art is only considered artful when it’s nihilistic. This is not nihilistic. Because I have an optimistic viewpoint. I think that we can change things.””
