150 Word Review: 'I Love Boosters' (2026)
Style is eternal
One mark of artistic perfection is a lack of perfection. Writer/director Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters is a whimsical, overtly political comedy about shoplifters battling the forces of corrupt capitalism; it is a hoot, occasionally stunning, frequently surreal, but it collapses in on itself by the end.
Keke Palmer stars as a member of the “Velvet Gang,” a threesome of ‘boosters’ who steal from a retail fashion chain run by superstar designer Christie Smith (a grounded, but villainous, Demi Moore) Riley barely controls the chaos as demons, teleportation guns, and sweatshops are folded into a story about flamboyant have-nots trying to even the score against a cold-blooded have.
Riley surrounds his political critique with inventive cartoonish absurdity: offices slanted for no reason, monochromatic clothing stores, LaKeith Stanfield as a smooth-talking, soul-sucking incubus. Palmer continues to prove she’s a movie star. Poppy Liu pops as an avenging Chinese factory worker.