A One Mann’s Movies review of “I Love Boosters”. (From the 2026 London Film Festival). (2026, 4*, ’18’).
My first film of the 2026 LFF Press week, and it was a real doozy of a comedy. As we finished the first-reel, I was even contemplating reaching for my 5-star badge. But, sadly, for me the recipe was over-cooked.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Corvette (Keke Palmer) is an aspiring fashion designer and leader of The Velvet Gang, a group of ‘boosters’ who rob clothes from fashion entrepreneur Christie Smith’s boutiques. Corvette is, as described by her friend, a “raw-ass make-it-happen hustler” but is racked with self-doubt and mentally pursued by a giant rolling ball of stress! But when Smith (Demi Moore) steals one of Corvette’s designs, The Velvet Gang are pushed to the next level.
Certification:
UK: ’18’; US: R. (I can’t see that this film has yet received a classification by the BBFC, but I would expect it to be an 18 based on language and a very explicit, but hilarious, sex scene!)
Talent:
Starring: Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield, Don Cheadle.
Directed by: Boots Riley.
Written by: Boots Riley.
Running Time: 1h 53m.
Review:
Positives:
- This starts as a riotous blast of comedy as the devious Corvette (Keke Palmer) lures a mark to her cut-price clothes shop with the promise of sex. This opening of the film is stuffed with comic gold, including:
- The self-help group – “Friends being Friendly” – run by Dr Jack (an unrecognisable Don Cheadle) which turns out to be nothing more than a hustling pyramid scheme! (The ‘pyramid’ has “You” at the peak, with Elon Musk, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates in the layer below and… etc etc. LOL!)
- Some of the comedy is very much close to the bone and not something you could imagine a white writer/director ever getting away with: case in point, Sade (an hilarious Naomi Ackie) making herself more presentable to shop in a high-end clothing store.
- Christie Smith’s ‘Metro Designers’ stores, which specialise in stocking a single colour of outfit at a time (basically, if you don’t like this colour, sling your hook!). The store is managed by Grayson (another hilarious turn by Will Poulter) whose hairpiece is always dyed to match the colour and who’s idea of atmosphere is a techno track turned up to 11.
- Various heists on the clothes’ store are hilarious, including one where the plot takes a 90-degree turn with a bizarre sci-fi angle.
- There’s a deliciously raucous turn by Demi Moore who, against the odds is an MIT-genius (a video history narrated by Viggo Mortensen, no less) and is constantly fighting the boosters (or “low-class urban bitches” as she calls them) to maintain her profits. She is want to pontificate with ostentatious bullshit: for example, that clothing items are “things that reflect the light their owners want to reflect” and they are a “synchronicity between light and memory”. She lives in a super-trendy apartment that is literally on a slant… inside and out. A brilliant deceit for some truly funny slapstick comedy involving a ‘Heavy Ship’ coffee trolley!
- LaKeith Stanfield is also brilliant as Corvette’s dream man (his picture literally vibrates with lust whenever she looks at him). He is well read (Salmon Rushdie!) and has a reputation for having a ‘particular set of skills’. This is demonstrated through one of the most ridiculous and hilarious sex scenes I am likely to see in the cinema this year.
Negatives:
- The film starts as a really funny comedy film, with moments of surreal humour. We then get to the sci-fi plot twist that I referred to earlier, and I was OK with that too. A bit mad. But inventive and funny. But then the plot doubles and then triples down on that and it felt like the surrealism was wound up to 15 on the dial. Too weird. Too overblown. Too overcooked. When we get to an element where the CGI guys earn their dollar, then we really enter the realm of “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once” and it felt like a completely different film.
- I can well see this being a ‘Marmite film’, and that seems to be reflected in the current ratings on IMDB (the film is on release already in the US), with a peak at 7/10 but a bunch of 10’s and a bunch of 1’s. For some, the comedy, including the sex scene, earning its 18/R, will be too close to the edge for them.
Monkeys?
Yes, there is a monkey after the end of the titles, with more of the same philosophical musings.
Summary Thoughts:
A really, funny, inventive film from Boots Riley, who also made the equally funny and inventive Sorry to Bother You (which I thought I’d reviewed, but can no longer find: but I did rate it highly). Recommended if you want a great laugh and have a broad mind!
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xZegSgN8w.
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