I Love Boosters Review: Boots Riley Once More Targets Capitalism in His Quirky Comedy

      Note: This review was initially published as part of our coverage of SXSW 2026. The film will be released in theaters on May 22.

      A satire of dialectical materialism (which will become clear once you watch the film), superficial economies, and the fast fashion phenomenon, I Love Boosters—the second feature film by rapper, activist, and director Boots Riley—delivers an energetic and humorous comedy in its initial two acts, but ultimately resorts to action-comedy clichés in its conclusion. It may be challenging to maintain the anarchic energy presented in the beginning, which offers a critique of capitalism as acerbic as Riley’s first film, Sorry to Bother You.

      Beginning in a nightclub where Corvette (Keke Palmer) charms a man into returning to her apartment with heavily-discounted items from high-end designers like Tom Ford, the film takes us into the realm of “Boosters.” This term is used in earnings reports by CEOs of public companies to describe “organized retail theft.” Among the collective are Sadie (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige), who proudly embody the “three Fs”: “Fashion Forward Philanthropy.” They know how to spell, but it’s all about the branding. They seem to be motivated by a smooth con artist played by Don Cheadle, who tricks his community into a pyramid scheme that they unwittingly embrace.

      Eventually, they come to realize that the pyramid scheme is capitalism itself, with “genius” Christine Smith (Demi Moore) at the helm—a fashion mogul who bizarrely insists on offering only one color in each of her Metro Designers boutiques, echoing Brandy Melville’s “one size” policy. Referencing the documentary Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion, Riley’s perspective highlights the environmental and labor implications, as well as the treatment of workers in the fashion industry’s push toward vertical integration through boutiques. When the boosters (referred to in the news as “The Velvet Gang”) are employed by Smith’s local manager (Will Poulter), they find themselves in a precarious situation, scheming the “mother of all heists.” However, chaos ensues with the arrival of Jianpu (Poppy Liu) in a whimsical third act that causes the film to lose momentum.

      A humorous and often intriguing take on aspirations both attainable and elusive, I Love Boosters is ambitious and, similar to Sorry to Bother You, examines the structures that allow the American Dream to be reachable for only a privileged few. Nevertheless, the film also joyfully celebrates the underdogs who continue to struggle as living costs rise.

      I Love Boosters addresses a multitude of topics: branding, consumerism, labor abuses, and the health and environmental repercussions of mass-produced fashion. Infusing absurdist comedy, Riley’s film evolves into an action-horror narrative with mixed outcomes, slightly losing its way as it tries to tie up various plot lines. Still, it remains a piece of creativity and originality, functioning in an unexpected form until it can no longer uphold its premise. It’s uncommon to encounter a film this free-spirited; notably, LaKeith Stanfield plays a soul-draining demon, contributing one of the year's most amusing comic sequences.

      At its essence, I Love Boosters is an ambitious heist film. Although it does not always maintain the energy established in the first act, I prefer an imperfect film rich with innovative ideas to a polished one lacking substance. Characters like Eiza González’s disenchanted retail employee remain fixated on the notion of dialectical materialism—the idea that a thesis and antithesis create a new synthesis. I Love Boosters certainly lays the groundwork for reexamining the idea that property is theft and that fashion can often serve as a mechanism of control instead of personal identity. Like Riley’s previous work, I Love Boosters is a bold and unrestricted film, even if it strays off course as it heads toward its concluding synthesis.

      I Love Boosters premiered at SXSW and will be in theaters starting May 22.