‘I Love Boosters’ Review: Keke Palmer Electrifies Anti-Capitalist Heist Comedy

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Boots Riley, the director known for his debut film Sorry to Bother You, is back with I Love Boosters, a wildly imaginative and sharp satire of capitalism. It’s even bolder than his first film! Keke Palmer shines as the leader of a shoplifting crew targeting a hilariously villainous fashion designer, played by Demi Moore. Think of it as a *Looney Tunesstyle heist movie set in a dark, modern world – a fantastical and urgent critique of today’s society.

Corvette (Palmer) dreams of becoming a fashion designer, but for now, she and her friends Sade (Naomie Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) make money by stealing clothes and reselling them. They call themselves the Velvet Gang and are focused on targeting Metro Fashions, a high-end clothing store owned by the demanding Christine Smith (played by Moore). Christine is a tough, controlling businesswoman who exploits both the people who make her clothes and the retail workers who sell them, all to push her trendy, but cheaply made, collections. Outside of running a questionable pyramid scheme disguised as a support group (led by a surprisingly unrecognizable Don Cheadle), Corvette tries to escape debt by selling Christine’s clothes to locals at a significantly lower price. Sade jokingly calls this their mission the “three Fs”: Fashion, Forward, and Philanthropy – though she quickly assures everyone she can spell ‘philanthropy’.

Corvette discovers that Christine has stolen one of her designs for the new Metro fashion line, and the Velvet Gang decides to retaliate with a daring plan: infiltrate a Metro store as employees and steal everything at once. However, their scheme is interrupted by Jianpu, a competing thief with a high-tech device that can pull off large-scale heists incredibly quickly. With help from a disgruntled Metro employee, Eiza González, the gang cleverly enlists Jianpu, who reveals she’s one of many exploited workers at Metro’s clothing factory in China.

Though they shared a common opponent, the women clashed because each had different goals. Corvette was driven by a desire for revenge, while Jianpu hoped to use the situation to bargain for improved pay and working conditions. Sade wanted to offer affordable clothes to her community and earn a living doing so, and Mariah simply needed to provide for her family.


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With a vibrant soundtrack by Tune-Yards, I Love Boosters is visually stunning and delightfully strange. It’s full of colorful costumes and bizarre imagery, like a giant ball of bills and eviction notices that follows the main character, Corvette. Even the setting – Corvette’s abandoned fried chicken restaurant home – is creatively designed, reminiscent of Pee-wee’s Playhouse. LaKeith Stanfield also shines as a local troublemaker said to have a mysterious, powerful charm. Styled after Prince, with smoky eyes and curly hair, Stanfield delivers a memorably unhinged performance in a scene best experienced without spoilers.

Riley uses playful, cartoon-like movement and stop-motion animation to create a wildly energetic and complex final act. This section features fast-paced chases across different settings, all sparked by a surprising twist that’s as unpredictable as the movie Sorry to Bother You. While the film can get a bit confusing at times and might be even better with a little trimming, every element of I Love Boosters ultimately feels important to the overall story.

“I Love Boosters” keenly examines the challenges of people working together effectively, and the difficulties that arise when trying to unite groups with differing goals. The film highlights how easily self-interest – even when we believe it’s important – can overshadow the needs of the larger community we belong to.

Sade often asks Corvette to pause and think about the bigger picture, but Corvette always claims they can’t afford to get bogged down in details. This back-and-forth is meant to be funny, but it also reflects a real trend in today’s world: we’re losing our ability to appreciate subtlety. With reading rates falling, more people relying on AI for answers, and our attention spans shrinking due to constant scrolling on social media, it’s becoming harder to think critically and focus on anything complex. These quick bursts of satisfaction from our phones are actually changing how we see ourselves and the world around us.


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She has a point. If people aren’t willing to consider the complexities of a situation, sometimes a forceful approach is necessary. This could mean taking strong action, or using tools that quickly escalate and resolve conflict. However, Corvette seems to be missing a key idea that often hinders groups: understanding that different viewpoints and motivations within the group don’t undermine shared goals. In fact, breaking down systems that harm everyone ultimately benefits us all.

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It’s hard to foster a sense of community in a society that prioritizes individual success. Riley’s work doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of capitalism and the challenges of creating lasting change. It makes you wonder if there was a way to quickly expose the conflict between ordinary people and the wealthy elite. Imagine if we could jump ahead to a point where everyone recognizes that, despite our differences, we’re all fighting the same battle – a struggle between the vast majority of us and a small, powerful group exploiting us for their own gain.

It’s a strange situation that the wealthiest people can easily work together across different areas like politics, business, and technology, but the rest of us struggle to unite even though we vastly outnumber them. We have the numbers to make a difference, but we often get stuck arguing about which problems to solve first, letting the real source of our difficulties go unaddressed.

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2026-03-16 23:06