Film Review: "Sorry to Bother You"

At the time that The Coup“s “Steal this Album”“ arrived in record stores ”“ we still had record stores in 1998 ”“ Boots Riley, the Hip Hop group“s front man, was already well on his way to establishing his bona fides as one of Hip Hop“s most cinematic political minds. “Steal this Album”“ ”“ signifying on the working class classic ”“ “Steal this Book,”“ is The Coup“s third full-length album and by most critical accounts ”“ contemporary and historical ”“ it was an instant classic. Boots“ artistry was on full display. He has an exceptional gift for conveying cinematic imagery through his lyrics and an unstoppable political ethos that exposes the socioeconomic evils of late-stage global capitalism. If you“ve ever wondered what the mind that made “Underdogs”“ or “Me and Jesus the Pimp in a “79 Granada Last Night”“ might make out of a major motion picture, then wonder no more. Go see “Sorry to Bother You.”“

The Coup“s corpus of Hip Hop soundings are the essential prerequisite for a fully appreciative viewing of “Sorry to Bother You.”“ The film is equal parts, quirky, crazy and horrifying, but the aesthetics at work (or play) occasionally defy (western) logic and regularly defy convention and the constraints of genre. Technically speaking, the film is a comedy ”“ what some aficionados might categorize as dark humor. But for some viewers the film will resonate more as horror than as humor. I certainly found many aspects/moments of the film to be humorous, but I couldn“t bring myself to laugh at any of them. The surreal horrors of forced labor, enslavement, and human experimentation are luminous features of the film that loom over each and every moment of humor.

This review is hard to write without spoiling key aspects of the film. Cassius “Cash”“ Green, played by Lakeith Stanfield, is a rising star in the telemarketing world where, initially he sells services and widgets that most of his customers do not need. He has an uncanny ability to envision a projection of himself speaking one-on-one with his interlocutors ”“ face to face and in their homes. Even this skill doesn“t net him much success. Enter: a wizened telemarketing veteran ”“ played by Danny Glover ”“ who instructs him on the use of another super power ”“ his white voice. The explanation and definition of this voice is the picture of privilege in audio/vocal form. From the point at which Cash perfects his white voice the film careens around a series of racial, social and economic s-curves that play on the brink of sci-fi horror and the darkest enclaves of economic dystopia. But the horrors of this story world dominate ”“ and ultimately that is the film“s triumph. No matter how hard Cash works to extricate himself from the horrific fate that awaits him, no matter how conscious he is; or how woke his friends are; no matter who steps in to help him or if they are able to wake him from his get-money stupor, the outcome is always already predetermined. Scary shit indeed.

There are lots of great performances to enjoy in “Sorry to Bother You,”“ but Tessa Thompson“s turn as Detroit steals the film from all of its other stars. There won“t be a scene that she is in where she won“t be the center of attraction – literally and intellectually. She is the film“s revolutionary and its quintessential lover. She is the voice of reason and the abstract vision of political aesthetics pitched in opposition to the dystopic death of “worryfree”“ labor. “Sorry to Bother You”“ will be a punch in the face to many of its viewers. It will be hilarious to many others, although some caution about who laughs at what moments of the film is absolutely in order here. Still for others it will be an utterly uncomfortable viewing experience. Lots of folks simply won“t like the film – it will directly offend their materialist sensibilities and their ideas about the trust-worthiness of corporate power. And for others ”“ like me ”“ it“s more horror than humor. Still it is an amazing thing to see Boots Riley“s Hip-Hop-socialist critique of the world splashed all over a 21st century movie screen. 4/5.

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