--- title: "I Love Boosters" year: 2026 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/i-love-boosters" fi1m_id: "i-love-boosters" imdb_id: "tt30827810" tmdb_id: 1227877 wikidata_id: "Q131109043" fi1m_score: 64 critics_score: 69 critics_reviews: 15 published: "2026-09-21" updated: "2026-09-21T01:51:50.406925+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # I Love Boosters (2026) Directed by Boots Riley · 1h 53m · MPA R · Comedy, Science Fiction, Crime ## Identity I Love Boosters - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/i-love-boosters - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** i-love-boosters - **IMDb ID:** tt30827810 - **TMDB ID:** 1227877 - **Wikidata ID:** Q131109043 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30827810/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1227877, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q131109043 **Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 69 from 15 reviews *In a sentence:* Five women rob a boutique in colours the boutique never sold, and then the plot arrives in a tank > Boots Riley’s second film is loud, bright and often funny, and Keke Palmer holds it together for as long as anyone could. Then the science fiction arrives, and the argument about work and theft gets lost in the machinery. ## Synopsis Corvette (Keke Palmer) is a booster. She walks into shops that sell clothes she could never afford, walks out with them, and sells them at a discount to people in her neighbourhood who could not afford them either. She has a crew: Sade (Naomi Ackie), Mariah (Taylour Paige), Jianhu (Poppy Liu) and Violeta (Eiza Gonzalez), each with her own way past a security tag and a shop assistant. The fashion trade they are robbing has a face at the top, Christie Smith (Demi Moore), and a man known only as Pinky Ring Guy (LaKeith Stanfield) takes an interest in where the goods are going. When the police turn up, they turn up in a tank. The first act is a run of boosts and the arguments over the money; what the story becomes after that is another matter. ## Review Boots Riley’s first film, [*Sorry to Bother You*](https://film.one/film/sorry-to-bother-you) (2018), was about having a job. This one is about shopping, or about the women who have decided not to pay for it. Corvette and her crew lift designer clothes and sell them cheap on their own streets; the film calls this community service, and for an hour it makes the case with enough good humour that we were happy to go along. Then it goes somewhere else entirely and leaves the argument on the shop floor. It is a comedy with a great deal on its mind and not enough of it written down. Palmer is the reason to see it. She plays Corvette as a woman who moves through a shop the way other people move through their own kitchen, unhurried, already knowing where everything is, and she can turn a security guard’s approach into a small dance without the film stopping to point it out. Naomi Ackie’s Sade is the crew’s caution and Taylour Paige’s Mariah its appetite, and the three of them talking over each other in a car is the best writing in the film. LaKeith Stanfield, as a man the credits call only Pinky Ring Guy, does very little and is funny doing it, which has become his particular gift. The film looks handmade, and that is a compliment. Natasha Braier shoots the boutiques in flat, expensive white and the neighbourhood in colours the boutiques would never stock, so that every stolen garment looks better once it has crossed the line. Christopher Glass builds shops with too much glass and too few exits and a police vehicle that is plainly a tank with a badge on it. Shirley Kurata’s costumes do a lot of the storytelling: the crew’s own clothes are louder and better than anything they steal. Matthew Hannam and Terel Gibson cut the boosts tight and the getaways tighter, and Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner’s score bangs and squelches under them like a stereo in a car with the windows down. We laughed, properly and out loud, at the first big boost, which is built from sight gags rather than lines and which arrives at a police tank driven by Eric André with a straight face. Riley has a habit of naming minor characters for their job in the propaganda, and here Kara Young is credited as Crying Black Mother and Jason Ritter as Upstanding Community Member; both get a scene that is exactly as funny as those names suggest, and no more. That is the register throughout. The jokes are about systems, and the people in them are labels. The trouble comes later, and we will not describe it. What we can say is that the film is billed as science fiction and eventually behaves like it, and that once it does it is far more interested in its own machinery than in the women we came in with. We felt the film slip out of our hands in its last stretch, and then we felt cross about it, because the first hour had earned better than a shrug. Most critics have been kinder than this, and we can see why: nothing else looks or sounds like it, and the politics are stated with a directness that is rare. But *Sorry to Bother You* had one strange idea and kept a man’s job at the centre of the frame while it played out. This film has three or four strange ideas and no job, and by the end the shoplifting that gave it its title has become a rumour. See it in a cinema, with people who will laugh at a tank, and go in knowing that the first hour is the part worth holding on to. It runs 113 minutes. *Fi1m score 64, published 21 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics come away won over. The praise gathers around the same things: the handmade sight gags, the loud production design and effects, and Boots Riley’s decision to put pro-union, anti-consumerist politics inside a fashion-heist comedy rather than a lecture. The ensemble is admired across the board, with Keke Palmer singled out repeatedly for a performance that is physically nimble and grounded enough to hold the film steady, and Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige noted alongside her. The reservations are about excess. Even the warmest reviews call the film overstuffed, and the cooler ones find it scattershot, with thin characters, uneven dialogue and a second half whose science-fiction turns Den of Geek says make the script buckle. The spread is wide. The New Yorker calls its resolutions hand-waving and Vulture calls the whole thing a mess, and the reviews from the festival premiere run noticeably warmer than those published closer to release. ## Straight answers **Is I Love Boosters worth watching?** *I Love Boosters* is worth watching for the first hour, and we scored it 64. Keke Palmer leads a shoplifting crew with real comic ease, and the boosts are cut tight and staged for laughs, but once the science fiction arrives the film forgets the women it started with. See it in a cinema with people who will laugh at a police tank, and expect the last stretch to sag. **How long is I Love Boosters, and what is it rated?** *I Love Boosters* runs 1h 53m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and science fiction film. **Where can I watch I Love Boosters in the US?** *I Love Boosters* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is I Love Boosters, and is it suitable for children?** *I Love Boosters* carries an R certificate in the US, which points to adult language and content, and it is not a film for children. The comedy is built around shoplifting, police arriving in a tank and jokes about systems rather than anything frightening, and we saw nothing to trouble the squeamish. Teenagers who can take the swearing will manage; younger children will be bored rather than scared. **What should I watch after I Love Boosters?** After *I Love Boosters*, try [*Sorry to Bother You*](https://film.one/film/sorry-to-bother-you) (2018, Fi1m 81): Riley’s debut: one strange idea, one man’s job, and a much steadier hand on both. Then [*Parasite*](https://film.one/film/parasite) (2019, Fi1m 91): Class war in a single house, from Korea, with every joke landing and every turn earned. ### Reviews we read (15) - **Los Angeles Times**, Amy Nicholson (90/100, inferred): A maximalist delight full of practical sight gags and handmade craft that spins societal critique into maniacal physical comedy. Riley smuggles revolutionary ideas about labor and inequality into an exuberant, absurdist romp. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2026-05-21/i-love-boosters-review-boots-riley-keke-palmer-demi-moore-lakeith-stanfield) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Angie Han (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the SXSW premiere a wild, weird, and delightfully unique anti-capitalist satire that is blisteringly funny and joyfully rousing, praising its surreal realities, visual creativity, and hopeful tone while noting it can feel overstuffed. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/i-love-boosters-review-keke-palmer-boots-riley-demi-moore-1236529169/) - **Screen Daily** (70/100, inferred): The critic finds Boots Riley’s fast-fashion satire imaginatively outlandish and visually loud, with a pro-union story that will appeal to fans of his earlier work despite occasional narrative overload. A strong ensemble cast, led by Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie and Taylour Paige, holds together the spasmodic vision. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/i-love-boosters-review-keke-palmer-naomi-ackie-and-taylour-paige-anchor-boots-rileys-anarchic-sxsw-opener/5214783.article) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (70/100, inferred): The film is a spirited, out-there cosmic send-up of fashion consumerism that is more fun than Riley's debut but doesn't always cohere. It invites viewers to enjoy its playful provocation and the quippy camaraderie of its stars. [Read](https://variety.com/2026/film/reviews/i-love-boosters-review-keke-palmer-boots-riley-sxsw-1236684495/) - **The Guardian** (60/100, inferred): The review calls the film a mixed bag: outrageously funny and militant in its absurdist political satire on capitalism and shoplifting as resistance, but too scattershot and distancing to fully land. It praises the brash humor, sight gags, heist scenes, and ensemble performances while noting that characters feel limited and defined mainly by their place in the messaging. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/may/19/i-love-boosters-review-boots-riley) - **Vulture** (40/100, inferred): The critic finds the film colorful, gonzo, and visually ecstatic but ultimately an absolute mess, faulting its shallow characterization, leaden dialogue, and lack of emotional depth that undermines the political messaging despite strong production design and effects. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/review-i-love-boosters-is-colorful-gonzo-and-a-total-mess.html) - **The New Yorker**, Richard Brody (30/100, inferred): An exuberantly inventive but overstretched comedy about the redistribution of luxury goods that piles on genres, plotlines and hyperbolic socialist-surrealist fantasies. It features vivid characters and colorful visual flair but relies too often on hand-waving resolutions. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/06/01/i-love-boosters-movie-review) - **Deadline**, Glenn Garner (85/100, inferred): Riley knocks it out of the park with another absurdist, stylized take on modern society that successfully captures the hopelessness of capitalist dystopia. Palmer's grounded performance anchors the writing, complemented by strong supporting turns from Ackie and Paige. [Read](https://deadline.com/2026/03/i-love-boosters-review-keke-palmer-boots-riley-1236746447/) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (8/10): The critic calls it an ambitious, odd, and timely film of unlimited imagination that mostly succeeds in its cohesion and cleverness, feeling essential in 2026. They single out the vibrant, bold, and inventive direction with visually stunning choices and the committed ensemble cast. [Read](https://collider.com/i-love-boosters-review-keke-palmer-boots-riley-sxsw/) - **/Film**, Bill Bria (8/10): The critic praises the film as a delirious and hilarious satire that blends genre elements effectively while retaining Boots Riley's distinctive socially conscious voice. They highlight its visual innovation and crowd-pleasing qualities despite some structural unevenness. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/2176349/i-love-boosters-movie-review/) - **HeyUGuys**, Nathan McVay (4/5): The critic finds the film bold, original, and unapologetically fresh, with strong performances and dynamic visuals that elevate its story of boosting and class commentary. They note it delivers effective, accessible satire on consumerism and inequality. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/i-love-boosters-review/) - **The Playlist** (80/100, inferred): The critic calls it a wildly original, imaginative anti-capitalist satire that provokes discussion through its layered narrative on the fashion industry and working-class struggles. They single out its visual engagement, strong cast, and willingness to blend silliness with serious themes. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/i-love-boosters-review-boots-riley-takes-on-the-fashion-industry-with-biting-anti-capitalist-comedy-sxsw-20260313/) - **The Wrap** (80/100, inferred): Riley delivers an uproarious, emotional anti-capitalist romp that is his most character-attuned work yet. Palmer's captivating, energetic performance provides both comedic spark and needed emotional heft amid the satire and surreal elements. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/creative-content/reviews/i-love-boosters-review-keke-palmer-boots-riley/) - **The Ringer**, Adam Nayman (70/100, inferred): The critic notes that the film clothes leftist labor politics in hyper-stylized commercial filmmaking and questions whether its message remains effective. They praise its buoyant tone and vibrant agitprop style while highlighting Keke Palmer's graceful physical performance amid hit-and-miss dialogue and thinly sketched characters. [Read](https://www.theringer.com/2026/05/22/movies/i-love-boosters-review-boots-riley-keke-palmer-demi-moore) - **Den of Geek**, Alec Bojalad (3.5 out of 5): The critic praises the film's vibrant style, fashion elements, cast chemistry (especially Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, LaKeith Stanfield), and Riley's consistent surreal political satire in the first half, but complains that the sci-fi twists in the second half make the script buckle, with characters disappearing and a too-simple conclusion. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/i-love-boosters-review-boots-riley/) ## Details - **Director:** Boots Riley - **Director:** Boots Riley - **Writer:** Boots Riley - **Cinematography:** Natasha Braier - **Editor:** Matthew Hannam, Terel Gibson - **Music:** Merrill Garbus, Nate Brenner - **Production design:** Christopher Glass - **Costume design:** Shirley Kurata - **Producer:** Andrew Swett, Aaron Ryder, Jon Read - **Cast:** Keke Palmer as Corvette; Naomi Ackie as Sade; Taylour Paige as Mariah; Poppy Liu as Jianhu; Eiza Gonzalez as Violeta; Demi Moore as Christie Smith; LaKeith Stanfield as Pinky Ring Guy; Will Poulter as Grayson - **Runtime:** 1h 53m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 22 May 2026 - **Genres:** Comedy, Science Fiction, Crime - **Budget:** $20 million - **Box office:** $9 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xZegSgN8w ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $19.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-21.* Also available in: CA, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Sorry to Bother You* (2018), Fi1m 81: Riley’s debut: one strange idea, one man’s job, and a much steadier hand on both — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/sorry-to-bother-you.md) - *Set It Off* (1996): Four women, one city, robbery as the only sensible response; played straight and better for it - *Putney Swope* (1969): The grandfather of this kind of thing: advertising, race and revolution, played as farce - *Hustlers* (2019): Women taking money from men who took it first, with real people under the glitter - *Parasite* (2019), Fi1m 91: Class war in a single house, from Korea, with every joke landing and every turn earned — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/parasite.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/i-love-boosters