More Isn't More: I Love Boosters Falls Flat Despite the Flash

I Love Boosters’ director Boots Riley is a bit of an enigma to me. From his Q&A at The Somerville Theatre during the IFF Boston opening night screening of the film, I certainly got an impression that fans in the audience were long-time fans. Not just of his debut movie Sorry to Bother You, but going further back. He’s very honest about his heritage, talking about his ancestry and what he stands for. That frank way of living comes across in his films; there’s nothing subtle about them. Riley wants to tell us something with I Love Boosters, it's really just a question of whether it's worth getting there. 

Small-time con woman Corvette (Keke Palmer) admires fashion, creates her own pieces, and imagines a life where her clothes were coveted. But that’s not her life. Instead her group, known as the Velvet Hang, steals from clothing boutiques owned by MIT drop-out turned fashion mogul, Christie Smith (Demi Moore). Corvette’s crew includes Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) who seem satisfied going along with Corvette’s mission– as long as they remember to sell the clothing they’re heisting. When I Love Boosters is operating as a Robin Hood-esq tale of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, is when the movie really sings. 

Despite I Love Boosters vibrant use of color and sets, it loses steam with its many subplots.