---
title: "Sorry to Bother You: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/sorry-to-bother-you/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/sorry-to-bother-you"
critics_score: 77
critics_reviews: 25
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."
---

# Sorry to Bother You (2018): what the critics said

Critics' score 77 from 25 reviews: 20 positive, 4 mixed, 1 negative.

## The Times — Kevin Maher

Rating ★★★★★. 7 December 2018. 

Riley’s exuberant and original debut deviates from commercial clichés with a restless, inventive style. The film succeeds as a triumph of ideas and physical texture, anchored by Stanfield’s performance.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/sorry-to-bother-you-review-n03mslzql)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 2018. 

Riley’s assured debut is a gleefully anarchic satire on capitalism that shifts from acerbic humour into bizarre territory. The film stands out for its inventive use of the ‘white voice’ conceit and literal sight gags.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/dec/09/sorry-to-bother-you-review-boots-riley)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 July 2018. 

The review lauds the rapid, profuse, and overwhelmingly inventive comedy that uses caustic satire to blast societal horrors. It highlights the righteous rage channeled into a vision of collective resistance and the rich loam of experience behind the film.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/sorry-to-bother-you-reviewed-a-wild-workplace-comedy-energized-by-righteous-anger)

## The New York Times — A.O. Scott

Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 2 July 2018. 

The critic praises the film's wild, inventive dystopian satire that flips, swerves, and explodes with ideas and inspirations. It singles out the director's originality as both an omnivore and an original in blending influences into something fresh.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/02/movies/sorry-to-bother-you-review-lakeith-stanfield.html)

## Vulture

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 January 2018. Festival review. 

Riley's rambunctious, surreal comedy has focus, conviction and rhythmic drive as loud, inventive and impolite revolution-minded cinema that stays human amid the weirdness.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2018/07/review-sorry-to-bother-you-is-the-punk-film-2018-deserves.html)

## Empire — Alex Godfrey

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2018. 

The critic calls it a wildly inventive, adrenalised anti-capitalist satire that throws ideas at the screen with audacity and invention, praising Stanfield and Thompson's performances while noting it can be overwhelming in its crazed energy.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sorry-bother-review/)

## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2018. 

The critic calls it a joyous dystopian cackle of a directing debut and an arrestingly surreal satire on class rage and cultural identity. It singles out the playful, restlessly imaginative work drawing from eclectic influences like blaxploitation and Spike Jonze’s whimsy.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-sorry-to-bother-you-review-20180705-story.html)

## Total Film

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2018. 

The critic hails it as wildly inventive and unhinged, a riotous blend of comedy, satire and sci-fi that tackles race and capitalism with irreverent humour, praising the perfect bemused lead and abundance of ideas.

[Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/sorry-to-bother-you-review/)

## IndieWire — Eric Kohn

Rating B+. 21 January 2018. Festival review. 

The film is a whip-smart satire of racial dynamics that reaches into the stratosphere with bonkers, crystal-clear ideas and hits its targets more often than not.

[Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/2018/01/sorry-to-bother-you-review-boots-riley-lakeith-stanfield-sundance-2018-1201919699/)

## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 7 December 2018. 

The critic describes it as a loopy, audacious debut that mixes hilarious gags about fascism and capitalism with sci-fi elements, praising the originality, magnetic lead performance, and magical sequences while noting a romantic subplot falls short.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/sorry-to-bother-you-review-a-crazy-call-to-arms-a4011006.html)

## Little White Lies — Matthew Eng

Rating 4/4/4. 1 July 2018. Festival review. 

Riley's surrealist vision of corporate servitude is a hard-hitting, go-for-broke comedy that rattles and exhilarates, articulating social anxieties with craft, intelligence and imagination despite some overstuffing.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/sorry-to-bother-you)

## Sight and Sound — Adam Nayman

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 December 2018. 

The critic praises Boots Riley's wildly inventive debut as an unruly, outrageous corporate satire that takes aim at the racial politics of late-stage capitalism with invention and ingenuity.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-sorry-bother-you-unruly-outrageous-corporate-satire)

## Variety

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 27 January 2018. Festival review. 

The review describes the gonzo debut as deliriously creative and ambitious, a sui generis satire that knocks socks off with its confrontational take on the system. It singles out the immensely likable lead performance against fat-cat capitalists in this wildly inventive piece.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/sundance-film-review-sorry-to-bother-you-review-1202671492/)

## Radio Times — Terry Staunton

Rating 3/5. 

Boots Riley has fashioned an intriguing absurdist comedy with a message and mirth, though the premise escalates into outlandish fantasy that occasionally risks losing sight of its intentions and sags in the final third.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-rt32ci/sorry-to-bother-you/)

## Screen Daily

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 21 January 2018. Festival review. 

Riley delivers an original satire on race and greed that is hit-and-miss, alternatingly socially-conscious and ludicrous, packing in so many ideas that it does not always cohere but stands out as ambitious and outrageous.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/sorry-to-bother-you-sundance-review/5125765.article)

## Time Out — Michael Gingold

Rating 3/5. 2 December 2018. 

Riley's race satire is a funny, offbeat and wildly original wild ride that spins into science-fiction but never quite balances its topical concerns and bizarre flights of fancy.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sorry-to-bother-you)

## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 20 January 2018. Festival review. 

The critic finds the film a blithely messy absurdist satire lacking clarity of vision that feels like a stoner riff, but praises its originality, wacky creativity and impressive cast.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/sorry-bother-you-review-sundance-2018-1076466/)

## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez

Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 20 June 2018. 

The film is unmistakably alive to the humiliations of social systems keeping the lower classes in place but loses something as its wild digressions and overdone jokes turn it into a lark.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/sorry-to-bother-you/)

## Polygon — Monica Castillo

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 6 July 2018. 

The critic calls it a sharp-witted, must-see hybrid of workplace satire and social commentary on racial inequality, economic strife, and corporate exploitation. Stanfield’s bemused lead performance and the film’s bold, surreal style and memorable imagery are singled out for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/6/17540348/sorry-to-bother-you-review/)

## Den of Geek — Patrick Sproull

Rating 4/5. 3 December 2018. 

The critic praises the film's bold, bonkers satire on capitalism and its unique vision, highlighting Lakeith Stanfield's performance. They note a minor shortcoming in the climax but overall call it an exceptionally skilled and caustic debut.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/sorry-to-bother-you-review-a-potent-prickly-debut/)

## /Film — Ben Pearson

Rating 8/10. 23 January 2018. Festival review. 

Praises the stellar cast grounding the mind-bending social satire, the eccentric debut with plenty to say; singles out the balance of weirdness and meaningful story, and standout performances.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/555824/sorry-to-bother-you-review/)

## HeyUGuys — Luke Channell

Rating 4/5. 21 October 2018. Festival review. 

The critic praises its ambition, distinctive humor, and political engagement, calling it a future cult classic; singles out the inventive satire on capitalism and race, and strong performances especially Armie Hammer.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/sorry-to-bother-you-review/)

## NME — Alex Flood

Rating 4/5. 7 December 2018. 

The review calls it one of the funniest films of 2018, a dystopian workplace satire with surreal elements, praising Riley's script and Stanfield's performance as a wake-up call on white privilege.

[Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/sorry-to-bother-you-film-review-2417001)

## Collider — Matt Goldberg

Rating B. 6 July 2018. 

The critic finds the film an ambitious but uneven satire that tackles too many ideas at once and feels sluggish in places despite strong moments. Stanfield’s grounded lead performance and Riley’s fearlessly weird visuals and gags stand out as highlights.

[Read the review](https://collider.com/sorry-to-bother-you-review/)

## The Wrap — Alonso Duralde

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 5 July 2018. 

The critic praises this ambitious, outrageous satire as a timely and provocative debut that swings in many directions and largely succeeds in capturing the 2018 zeitgeist with humor and ideas about race and power. The cast is singled out for making the absurd feel real, particularly Stanfield and Thompson's performances that ground the film's themes.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/sorry-to-bother-you-film-review-boots-riley-lakeith-stanfield-tessa-thompson/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/sorry-to-bother-you.md