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R
for strong sexual content, nudity, language throughout and brief drug use.
Starring
Keke Palmer, Demi Moore, Lakeith Stanfield, Naomi Ackie, Eiza Gonzalez
Director
Boots Riley
Producer
Aaron Ryder, Andrew Swett, All
Genres
Comedy
Released by
Neon on
5/22/2026
Nationwide
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Trailer
Review
I Love Boosters is one of those films a viewer is likely to either love or despise; there is precious little middle ground. A frantic satire of the fashion industry and consumer culture, the movie largely rejects a coherent narrative in favor of a series of unhinged moments joined by only the loosest connective tissue. Writer/director Boots Riley (Sorry to Bother You) takes some big swings, resulting in the expected mix of hits and misses. Still, while the film's in-your-face aesthetic may not be for everyone, it is next to impossible to ignore.
If you care to look for it, there is a story buried within I Love Boosters. It requires concentration to uncover, however, as Riley's primary focus lies in providing distractions. Keke Palmer's Corvette is the only semi-realized character in the film, and she essentially holds things together. Meanwhile, several of the higher-profile names - LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, and Demi Moore - occupy relatively small supporting roles.
The film transpires in Riley's version of San Francisco, which bears little resemblance to the actual city. At the center of the story is the Velvet Gang, a group of "boosters" (people who steal branded clothing, then sell it at a deep discount) consisting of Corvette, Sade (Naomi Ackie), and Mariah (Taylour Paige). Their favorite target is a fashion store run by Christie Smith (a thoroughly manic Demi Moore), an aggressively self-promoting "icon" who has declared war on the gang. After gaining employment at Smith's store, Corvette and her cohorts plan a major inside job, but their efforts are undone when they are beaten to the punch by Jianhu (Poppy Liu). Jianhu has discovered a magical device that can alter reality and teleport anything passing through its aperture. Gaining possession of this device allows Corvette to wage asymmetric warfare against Smith's Metro Design.
I Love Boosters features no shortage of off-the-wall scenes and subplots. One of the best starts with the Metro Design store manager, Grayson (Will Poulter), delivering a wardrobe lecture to his employees before segueing to the completely empty store after Jianhu has cleared it out. Conversely, one of the least successful elements relates to a vampiric demon (LaKeith Stanfield) who claims women's souls via cunnilingus. Although undeniably absurd, this particular detour feels wildly out of place, even in a movie that delights in bizarro interludes.
The film is a visual riot, with production design taking a much more prominent role than is normally the case. Corvette lives in a closed fast-food restaurant, while Smith's offices are located in a leaning tower. A vast array of Day-Glo colors causes the imagery to pop. These aren't hues with boring names like "yellow," "pink," and "purple"; instead, they are "saffron," "fuchsia," and "heliotrope."
The film's satirical streak cuts deep, not far from the vein that provided the backbone for Riley's Sorry to Bother You. Although working on a different level than other, more mainstream fashion commentaries like The Devil Wears Prada (more the first one than the sequel) and Robert Altman's Pret-a-Porter, I Love Boosters is no less acidic in its message. If The Neon Demon springs to mind, that isn't surprising. There are similarities in both style and substance, but where Nicolas Winding Refn's film was suffused with a stiflingly pretentious self-importance, Riley's approach is surreal comedy. The movie is sometimes very funny in an I'm Gonna Git You Sucka kind of way.
I Love Boosters has "future cult film" written all over it. Movies of this sort often have difficulty finding an audience during their theatrical runs because there is an inherent barrier to mainstream acceptance. They are not "multiplex friendly" in a conventional sense. But it is easy to imagine the film gaining a small, fiercely loyal cadre of supporters. Imperfect but sometimes dazzling, I Love Boosters offers something in depressingly short supply in theaters these days: a fresh, imaginative vision driven more by creative impulses than the quest for big box-office dollars.
© 2026 James Berardinelli
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