Bursting with creative energy, hip-hop artist-turned-director Boots Riley’s directorial debut Sorry to Bother You made a splash at Sundance and now the first peek has arrived ahead of a summer release. Starring Lakeith Stanfield’s character as he climbs the corporate ladder only to find Armie Hammer’s coke-snorting boss character at the top (and much stranger things best left unspoiled), it’s a satire that would make Robert Downey Sr., Michel Gondry, and Spike Lee proud.
I said in my review, “Sorry to Bother You is a bold debut–in every sense of the word–for rapper-turned-director Boots Riley. There are truly radical, thrilling ideas both in the script and on screen, and also his boldness sometimes undercuts the character- and narrative-building aspects as we jump from compelling idea to idea. Mixing the droll comedy of Office Space with the race-backed satire of Putney Swope, and adding an imaginative dash of Michel Gondry (who gets a parody shout-out in an animated bit), at least something in Sorry to Bother You will surely strike a chord with any viewer, even if it doesn’t fully cohere.”
See the first trailer and posters below for the film also starring Tessa Thompson, Steven Yeun, Jermaine Fowler, Omari Hardwick, and Danny Glover.
In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, black telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success – which propels him into a macabre universe.
Sorry to Bother You opens on July 6 and expands wide on July 27.