The film “I Love Boosters” centers on the booster, a neighborhood figure who sells shoplifted goods at steep discounts, presented as a complicated folk hero. The story resonates in the Bay Area amid headlines about smash-and-grabs and increased retail security. When asked about crime trends, Boots Riley questions the premise, citing reporting that drugstore executives overstated theft impacts and that police unions use public relations to amplify perceptions of crime despite data showing declines. Riley frames the issue as a misattribution of capitalism’s problems to the bad decisions of impoverished people. The film blends political anticapitalist ideas with madcap, genre-bending energy, featuring a gang targeting high-end retailers in Oakland and a scientist-turned-designer villain.
"But when asked about how crime trends influenced the film, Riley is quick to question their very premise, citing reporting on how drugstore executives overstated the effects of theft and police unions hire public relations firms to increase the perception of crime when data actually shows declines. "It's conspiracy theory, because people do conspire," he told SFGATE. "What this does is to try to explain the problems of capitalism as the problems of the bad decisions of those impoverished.""
"The film, which is inspired by a Coup song from 2006, begins with Corvette (Keke Palmer) and her cohorts in the Velvet Gang targeting a chain of high-end retailers in Oakland called Metro Designers. The brand is helmed by scientist-turned-designer Christie Smith (Demi Moore), who makes for a devilishly fun villain. The gang is framed as a group of modern-day "philanthropists.""
"Oakland director and hometown hero Boots Riley's new film, "I Love Boosters," pays homage to a complicated folk hero: the booster, a neighborhood figure who sells shoplifted goods at a steep discount. The topic feels particularly poignant in the Bay Area, where high-profile smash-and-grabs make headlines and drugstores put toothpaste behind lock and key."
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