Boots Riley's Sorry to Bother You is an accomplished film debut. I have been a fan of Riley's musical work with his band, The Coup, but nothing, not even their witty videos, prepared me for the tonal variety and dexterity of this film. The underlying Marxist critique of American capitalism that grounds his music is apparent in Sorry to Bother You as protagonist Lakeith Stanfield struggles to keep his head above economic waters by taking a McJob as a telemarketer. Similarly, his main squeeze, charmingly played by the dependable Tessa Thompson, must toil as a sign spinner in order to support her artistic career. Still, the tone of the film is of cheerful resistance to one's plight, not despair in the face of economic determinism. Even Ms. Thompson's sign spinning is an opportunity for Mr. Riley to engage is some playful semiotics.
Even when Mr. Stanfield's success as a "white-voiced" telemarketer leads the film into dystopian horror, Riley maintains a spry tone of wry humanism. The camaraderie between Stanfield and his coworkers is stressed in the face of corporate inhumanity. Jerome Fowler, Danny Glover and Steven Yeun all register as fully rounded characters and not faceless proles. Even the white corporate sleazeballs played by Michael X. Sommers and Armie Hammer are portrayed as all too human in their clueless malfeasance.
Sorry to Bother You is hardly perfect. The satiric barbs at our media saturated culture are hit and miss and the last act could have used some trims. However, the film is so full of vitality and belly laughs that there is not much to carp about. Riley is too clear eyed a critic of our culture to not demand revolutionary change. What heartens me is that there is room in Riley's revolution for humor, dance and music. (11/13/18)
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