Sorry to Bother You is an audacious first film by Boots Riley, whom I know very little about other than he was a performer, but apparently is equal parts Salvador Dali and Jordan Peele. The film unfolds in Oakland, California as Cassius Green struggles to financially survive everyday and contemplates the significance of his existence in the whole scheme of things. When he finally thinks that he has found the answer to both these issues, he is plunged deeper into a moral quandary of his responsibility to himself, those he loves and humanity.
If you go into Sorry to Bother You simply thinking that it is a straightforward comedy set in the present day, you may leave angry. It is a genuinely hilarious movie, but even I didn’t completely grasp the direction that this film would take. There are sci-fi elements that crop up then seize center stage as the movie approaches the denouement. The fictional world that Riley has created is similar to our world, but he also has a talent for taking elements of our world to extremes by plunging our psychological reality into a visual literal one until it becomes uncomfortable then funny once again. For instance, when someone answers a telemarketer’s call, the telemarketer plunges into that person’s home, desk and all. Instead of subliminal messages in marketing, there are literal, automated messages praising the sexual prowess of the targeted audience. This world is detailed, familiar and strange, and one that I am eager to revisit either by seeing the movie again in theaters or on DVD so I can take the time to pause and have the closed captioning on and really appreciate the richness and depth of this world.
There is still a lot of time left in 2018, but Sorry to Bother You may be the best movie of the year. A lot of people like to think that they traffic in satire, but Riley’s creation actually succeeds. At one point in the movie, a person asks about the significance of a work of art, and a bystander who happens to be the artist replies, “Maybe it is literal.” It is a world where most people do not want that much and would be satisfied with surviving whereas some want to take everything away from them, including their humanity. Rich megalomaniacs are called Jesus and only receive more accolades as their wrongdoing comes to light while the government is complicit by claiming that allegations are false. As I discussed the movie with friends and family, we initially agreed that we were heading down the road to this world then paused when we realized that some of the seemingly more sensational aspects of the movie are already happening. Really think of the name of the villain and what famous person and company that it combines. Then Google what happened in China and why nets had to be placed on the roofs of certain factories.
Sorry to Bother You shows its audience that even the most revolutionary activist is willing to make some level of compromise in his or her identity to navigate and survive in corporate America, but even those willing to sacrifice the most (love, friendship, self-respect) will be asked to give up more. There is no such thing as enough for everyone, but especially for black Americans, who are depicted as sporting some sort of injury once he has achieved some level of success. If Riley has a lesson for those who want to survive, it is to avoid the point of no return by remaining faithful to your friends, telling the truth and never forgetting your roots. Success is constantly shown as anti-climatic, awkward and inhospitable from a glimpse of a VIP room to an invitation to an exclusive party. He also has a lesson for those who exploit others—do not push people so far that they have nothing to lose because most of us will adjust to any kind of abuse, even slavery, but there are limits.
Sorry to Bother You also reflects a deep anger of the performer in popular culture or high art and the casual cruelty of the unthinking audience. There are examples of intellectual contemplation of art, but the typical response is crass and cruel. I recall that during the Oscars So White period, someone innocently asked how there could be racism if there are so many successful black actors and musicians. I think that this movie answers that question by depicting the pleasure elicited from inflicting pain deliberately or accidentally while the performer has to consent to this abuse in order to convey a message or simply get to work. Black pain is entertainment, and this movie forces the viewer to contemplate who really benefits from it. Of course, not only black people experience this phenomenon. They are the canary in the coal mine. Marina Abramovic, a performance artist, famously showed the sadistic glee of her audience in one of her early works.
Sorry to Bother You may have a serious message, but it is also a really fun and gorgeous movie to watch. I really enjoyed the characters, and their interactions. Lakeith Stanfield carries the movie with ease, but his costars, some notable (Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Armie Hammer) and some not as well known (Robert Longstreet, Michael X. Sommers, Kate Berlant and Omari Hardwick) are equally as magnetic and engaging. Even the villain is kind of seductive when he says, “I’m not evil.” Um, yes, you are. I was actually surprised that the movie was not more pessimistic at a couple of moments: during the final protest, which stops just short of Charlottesville, and unlike real civil rights movements, there is no mole.
I am stunned that I live in a day and age when a movie such as Sorry to Bother You is a mainstream summer hit and not relegated to the margins of art house cinema, especially considering its surreal nature. No one spoiled the movie for me, and it appears that most people hear about it through word of mouth. I saw it on a Sunday during the second week of its release at a local theater. It was packed, and I have never seen such a line at the concession stand. It is also showing at numerous multiplexes throughout various metropolitan areas.
Americans are hungry for a movie that unflinchingly shows how life feels, joy and desperation, without going full dystopian. Sorry to Bother You shows that tough times equal great art, but it does make me wonder about where does cinema and life go from here when the extreme is centered and consumed by the masses. This movie is our version of The Bridge on the River Kwai. I really look forward to Riley’s future work while hoping that real life stops giving him so much material to work with.