Sorry to Bother You
Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out) leads this oddball comedy as a black telemarketer who discovers the secret to professional success - putting on a white voice. Also stars Tessa Thompson (Thor: Ragnarok), Steven Yeun (Okja), Armie Hammer (Call Me By Your Name), and the almighty Terry Crews.
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Steve Newall
flicksAn astonishing, surreal, shit-stirring satire, Sorry to Bother You is a fucking trip of a film. Its hectic, heady mix of disparate elements fuses together into a whole that defies description as it smartly, often cynically, critiques racism, classism, late-stage capitalism, assimilation, conformity, art and commerce, romance, consumerism, activism—you name it (ok, white America’s obsession with black men being hung like horses also makes the list).
One of the most cinematically ambitious, inventive + hilarious movies you'll see in cinemas this year
A first feature by musician Boots Riley this is a brilliant and bold satire about life, just a little way up the road from now. It has a few glitches but is really worth seeing if you like a cinematic adventure in this world, not the past, not on another planet but contemporary America after another year or two of Trump
Vulture
pressSorry to Bother You is a house party of a movie, some rooms more lively than others, some you wish you could spend more time in, some downright unforgettable in the best way.
Variety
pressIt's a hugely ambitious project that ultimately caves under the weight of its own artistic intentions, but that shouldn't stop this revolutionary statement from making its mark.
The Guardian
pressRapper Boots Riley's first feature film shows a great deal of spirit and promise, and further secures Lakeith Stanfield as the one of the key performers of the moment.
Stuff
pressOne-part dystopian satire, one-part Faustian-morality tale, but mostly a hard-edged comedy/horror set in a world so absurd, it might just be the truth. Hugely recommended.
Screen Daily
pressSorry to Bother You is ambitious and outrageous, but as much as Stanfield is a likeably hapless hero (like an African American version of Brazil's Sam Lowry), the film struggles to give its central characters authentic wants and desires.
Rolling Stone
pressWhat the movie lacks in focus it makes up for in flipped-bird absurdity.
New Zealand Herald
pressMaintains a metaphorical approach that prevents it from ever being preachy.
Hollywood Reporter
pressWhile the filmmaking is raw, undisciplined and groaning under a cargo of self-conscious quirks, it scores points for originality and wacky creativity, which no doubt will earn it avid supporters.
Collider
pressDirector Boots Riley is a talent to watch, but his debut feature takes a kitchen sink approach to satire.
Flicks, Steve Newall
flicksAn astonishing, surreal, shit-stirring satire, Sorry to Bother You is a fucking trip of a film. Its hectic, heady mix of disparate elements fuses together into a whole that defies description as it smartly, often cynically, critiques racism, classism, late-stage capitalism, assimilation, conformity, art and commerce, romance, consumerism, activism—you name it (ok, white America’s obsession with black men being hung like horses also makes the list).
Vulture
pressSorry to Bother You is a house party of a movie, some rooms more lively than others, some you wish you could spend more time in, some downright unforgettable in the best way.
Variety
pressIt's a hugely ambitious project that ultimately caves under the weight of its own artistic intentions, but that shouldn't stop this revolutionary statement from making its mark.
The Guardian
pressRapper Boots Riley's first feature film shows a great deal of spirit and promise, and further secures Lakeith Stanfield as the one of the key performers of the moment.
Stuff
pressOne-part dystopian satire, one-part Faustian-morality tale, but mostly a hard-edged comedy/horror set in a world so absurd, it might just be the truth. Hugely recommended.
Screen Daily
pressSorry to Bother You is ambitious and outrageous, but as much as Stanfield is a likeably hapless hero (like an African American version of Brazil's Sam Lowry), the film struggles to give its central characters authentic wants and desires.
Rolling Stone
pressWhat the movie lacks in focus it makes up for in flipped-bird absurdity.
New Zealand Herald
pressMaintains a metaphorical approach that prevents it from ever being preachy.
Hollywood Reporter
pressWhile the filmmaking is raw, undisciplined and groaning under a cargo of self-conscious quirks, it scores points for originality and wacky creativity, which no doubt will earn it avid supporters.
Collider
pressDirector Boots Riley is a talent to watch, but his debut feature takes a kitchen sink approach to satire.
One of the most cinematically ambitious, inventive + hilarious movies you'll see in cinemas this year
A first feature by musician Boots Riley this is a brilliant and bold satire about life, just a little way up the road from now. It has a few glitches but is really worth seeing if you like a cinematic adventure in this world, not the past, not on another planet but contemporary America after another year or two of Trump
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