The Stream: It’s a boldfaced “message movie” that’s too heavy-handed and a bit preachy.

The Big Screen: Great production design and a few very funny, laugh out loud moments.

The Final Bill: Boots Riley brings his unique humor and vision that gets bogged down by its overly didactic themes – a little subtlety goes a long way

– Trip Fontaine
Director: Boots Riley
Writers: Boots Riley
Stars: Keke Palmer, LaKeith Stanfield, Taylour Paige, Naomi Ackie, Demi Moore, Eiza González, Will Poulter, Poppy Liu
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Sci-Fi, Drama
Rating: R for strong sexual content, nudity, language throughout and brief drug use.
Runtime: 1 hour 42 minutes
Production Companies: Annapurna Pictures, Neon, Ryder Picture Company, Savage Rose Films, Waypoint Entertainment
Platform: In theaters May 22, 2026
Notable Trailers: Leviticus, Practical Magic 2, One Night Only, Hope

I know it ain’t… I know it ain’t the STREAMERS! It’s your boy, Trip, here having seen another new summer release. We’re getting through all these original, high concept films this week, and we’re eating good, folks. In this instance, Boots Riley’s latest film, I Love Boosters stormed into theaters Memorial Day weekend with all of his unparalleled vision and special brand of humor in tow. In I Love Boosters, Corvette (Keke Palmer) and her crew, including Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie), are boosters, which means they shoplift from high end clothing stores and sell the products for discounted prices. The crew regularly steals from Metro Designers, a fashion chain owned by Christie Smith (Demi Moore). When Smith calls out Corvette and her crew, the group goes on a mission to steal Smith’s most expensive designs and fall into a complicated world of unionization, labor laws, and appropriation. Big ideas and animated hijinks ensue – and much, much more.

I’m going to cut to the chase on I Love Boosters since this review is a little tardy – there’s a lot going on here. Boots Riley is an “ideas man”, overflowing with creativity and sincere motivation for societal change. Boosters deals with themes that affect people globally in a way that are boldfaced and underlined. It comes off as very heavy-handed and overly didactic. I would hope in future productions that Riley would use a little more subtlety and trust more that he’s written and directed his thesis clearly without having to bludgeon the audience with it over and over. That being said, this movie is so fun. It takes huge swings. Some work. Some don’t. It’s very funny. There are definitely a few sight gags and lines that I will be thinking about for the rest of the year. LaKeith Stanfield’s existence in this movie – I have no words. The cast is going for it 100%. Each of these actresses get standout moments, and Keke Palmer gets to play some emotional beats as well as the absurd comedy. She’s great across the board. The costume design is eye-popping and helps to emphasize the jokes. The production design is so specific and over-the-top – it really transports you into another world. The parts are all great, but when it comes to the production overall, things get muddled and confusing. Despite that, I Love Boosters feels like a singular thing that must be witnessed.

Ultimately, I Love Boosters is a bold and original movie that overflows with ideas and creativity. Sometimes those ideas are presented in a heavy-handed and overly didactic way, which can be unsatisfying. This movie could have used more subtlety in delivering its themes. The production design, costumes, and cast are fun and add to the overall otherworldly quality of the movie. You will laugh and be challenged. Although somethings may be confusing, it is still worth a big box of popcorn to get boosted away by I Love Boosters.