Flagrantly distinctive Oakland, Calif.-born filmmaker, rapper, songwriter, and activist Boots Riley rails against the machine with a torrent of gags in his sophomore movie, I Love Boosters, and award-winning documentarian Daniel Roher strikes multiple chords like a virtuoso with his first dramatic feature, the heist drama Tuner.
‘I Love Boosters’
While it first appears to be a manic farce about a group of female shoplifters plundering retail stores and creating havoc from the East Bay to San Francisco, I Love Boosters turns out to be that — and so much more. Or maybe too much more. This is Boots Riley’s follow-up to his fresh, fearless 2018 screenwriting and directing debut, Sorry to Bother You, which was an absurdist comedy about a black telemarketer who utilizes a “white voice” to be more successful at his job. I Love Boosters shares similar DNA with that previous film, marshaling a parade of comic scenes that can lean into racial disparity and class conflict for laughs then suddenly jump headlong into unexpected science-fiction concepts. A barrage of streetwise, down-and-dirty dialogue and loony slapstick moments serve as Riley’s cheerful cover for his denunciation of late-stage capitalism and the exploitation of workers. It seems right in line with his background as the founder of the political hip-hop group The Coup and self-proclaimed communist beliefs.
In slang terms, a booster is a shoplifter on a mission to steal merchandise and resell it for profit. That’s not quite the aim of the Velvet Gang — a trio of ambitious, community-minded Bay Area thieves on the make in I Love Boosters. Wannabe clothing designer Corvette, played by Keke Palmer, is the ringleader of the larcenous threesome, which includes Mariah (Taylour Paige) and Sade (Naomi Ackie). They spend their time boosting clothes from the Metro Design off-the-rack clothing chain owned by ruthless fashionista Christie Smith and selling the stolen goods at bargain prices to friends and neighbors. Realizing that Christie has ripped off some of her designs, Corvette plans revenge and decides that the best way to bring the company down is from within.
All three Velvet Gang members get jobs at a Metro Design store that they intend to pillage as their first blow in the accelerated campaign against Christie. Before they can “liberate” the stock, they’re beaten to the punch by Jianhu (Poppy Liu), a young woman with a cutting-edge piece of technology and an agenda related to the toxic conditions at the Chinese factory that makes clothing for Christie’s company. Teaming up with Jianhu to bring down Metro Design, Corvette, Mariah, and Sade learn some freaky things about some of Christie’s wealthy and famous local customers and what they’re actually buying from her. Things get crazier and crazier as I Love Boosters hurtles to its climax with an assault on a fashion show, an insane car chase up and down the hills of San Francisco, a phalanx of striking Metro Design employees, the unexpected introduction of animated elements, and the presence of a high-tech device that somehow manages to reference the philosophy of dialectical materialism.
Palmer and the actors playing her comrades are clearly having a blast as they rampage across the screen, spouting heady proclamations about lifting up the downtrodden working class, and doing virtually anything for a laugh. Casting Demi Moore as couture celebrity Christie was inspired, given her recent starring role in The Substance with its sinister, sci-fi coded takedown of fame and glamour — and she delivers. There are a few more familiar names on hand in relatively small yet significant roles: LaKeith Stanfield as a demonic love interest for Corvette, Will Poulter as a fussy Metro Design store manager, Eiza González as a labor organizer, and Don Cheadle as a glib pyramid-scheme promoter. Their limited screen time suggests that they were eager to be on board with a Riley project. Although it’s cluttered with stray ideas, has a few frustrating leaps of logic, and isn’t quite as funny as intended, I Love Boosters, like Riley’s superior Sorry to Bother You, tries to elevate while it entertains and has a jolly time flaying the fashion industry. The ride is occasionally bumpy, but it’s colorful and exuberant and gets where it’s going.
I Love Boosters is currently in theaters.
Tuner
Crime and thievery are also important to the plot of director-co-screenwriter Daniel Roher’s Tuner — the fascinating character portrait of a piano tuner with ears so sensitive that he’s recruited as a safecracker by a gang of security guards scheming to rip off their upscale clients. Roher won an Academy Award for his 2022 documentary Navalny about the crusading Russian politician Alexei Navalny and very recently codirected and appeared in The AI Doc, a cautionary look at the rise of artificial intelligence. Tuner is an entirely different undertaking: a drama that intertwines a caper movie and a romance, spiced up with a touch of humor. Despite it being his initial attempt at a film that isn’t a documentary, Roher has it well in hand, aided by a measured and effective lead performance by Leo Woodall as Niki White, a young man forced to abandon a career as a concert pianist because of his super-acute hearing.
The pain Niki feels when exposed to normal levels of noise requires adjustable ear plugs. Still, he has perfect pitch, which allows him to work as a piano tuner under aging boss Harry Horowitz, an old-school curmudgeon brought to vivid life by the venerable Dustin Hoffman. Niki is slated to take over the business when Harry retires. In the meantime, they tune pianos in the New York City metropolitan area, which allows them to meet a wide variety of people. One of them is talented composition student Ruthie (Havana Rose Liu). She could be a girlfriend for Niki under the right circumstances. A less pleasant encounter brings Niki in contact with the band of thieves whose promise of easy money convinces him to help them break into safes. As you might suspect, once they pull him in, it’s not that simple for him to get out.
Regardless of the dangerous situation Niki finds himself confronting, there’s a light quality and a zip to Tuner that makes it a pleasure to watch. Woodall, previously the youthful love interest opposite Renée Zellweger in the rom-com Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, is impressive in every aspect of his portrayal of Niki, wielding a quiet charisma that befits the overall delicacy of the story while playing off Hoffman like an old pro and bringing a sweetness to his scenes with Liu. Further enhancing Tuner, two canny vets are on board: Tovah Feldshuh as Harry’s stalwart wife and Jean Reno as Ruthie’s mentor. As one would hope with a movie about hearing and music, the sound design used to approximate Niki’s disability and the way he hears the world around him is excellent and immersive, and the score, which mixes jazz and classical pieces, is lovely. Tune into it and enjoy!
Tuner is currently in select theaters.
